Parents booking air-conditioned hotels to keep babies safe in UK heatwave

Families, including parents with newborn babies, are booking air-conditioned rooms in hotels to escape the UK heatwave, with companies reporting a surge in demand. Data from the accommodation reservation website Booking.com shows that since 1 June, the share of searches using the “air-conditioning” filter has tripled across Great Britain coinciding with the latest heatwave in northern Europe. Meanwhile, data from the payment company Adyen shows the UK hotel industry experienced a 34% increase in revenue between 22 and 25 June this year compared with the same period in 2025, based on authorised transactions via the platform in Great Britain. The UK has endured one of its hottest weeks on record, with temperatures climbing into the mid-to-high 30Cs across parts of England and Wales. The Met Office issued extreme heat warnings during the week, while the UK provisionally recorded a new June temperature record of 36.9C on Friday, at Wattisham, Suffolk. Heartwood Inns, which operates pubs with rooms across the UK, said it was running at 86% occupancy this week, with many of its sites at or near capacity. The group has also seen a noticeable shift in inquiries, with about a third of callers asking whether rooms had air conditioning before booking. The chain said it had also seen an increase in inquiries from parents with newborn babies looking for air-conditioned rooms after struggling to keep their homes cool enough for their infants to sleep comfortably. …