When Is The Best Time To Plan A Respite Campaign?

Respite accounts for around 39% of the enquiries a service will likely receive; this varies slightly based on the care types provided by the home, its facilities, and its target audience.

Sometimes, respite care can be seen as a lot of hard work for little long-term reward. However, on average 27% of respite placements convert into long-term residents and those who do leave, frequently return.

Enquiries for respite happen throughout the year but there are a few times a year when seasonality plays its part and they jump up; a great time to start your promotions.

The table below shows the typical enquiry profile for respite enquiries throughout 2022. As you can see, there are some peaks and troughs.

April

Respite enquiries increased slightly in April which could be due to the Easter holidays. Families may have wished to make use of the Easter bank holidays to go away on holiday meaning that they needed to arrange respite care for their older relatives whom they would usually support. Often, people like to have peace of mind that their older loved ones will be well looked after while they are away.

Furthermore, the cost of living crisis has affected the expense of travel and holidays. Some families may try to travel before the peak months of July and August to cut costs. Many European countries begin to warm up in April making it one of the cheaper months to catch a little bit of sunshine!

June, July & August

Respite enquiries heightened during June, July and August. We generally start to see a rise from June onwards as the weather warms and holiday plans are made for the summer holidays. People who provide support to their older relatives may need to arrange respite care for the duration of their holiday.

Furthermore, the summer months offer more opportunities for outdoor events, festivals and day trips so families and primary carers may decide to take some respite to recharge their batteries while the weather is nicer.

At this point, most care seekers are looking for something urgent or in the coming weeks. We have seen a growing trend in homes only offering a 2-week respite stay at a minimum. Although this works for some care seekers, the majority are looking for a week to 10 days.

December

The biggest increase in respite enquiries came in December 2022 with 46% of enquiries being for respite care, not far off half of all enquiries made to the care providers we support with enquiry management. Contributing factors could be the fact that December 2022 was the first year since 2019 that families were able to have a ‘normal’ Christmas with no restrictions.

Our team received many last-minute phone calls from families looking to place their older relatives who were due to visit them in a care home over the Christmas period after realising that their care needs had grown significantly over the duration of the pandemic. Furthermore, many families may have opted to travel somewhere for Christmas, especially if they have family living abroad. This would give them a need to arrange respite care for any older relatives they support close to home while they are away.

December is also known for being a colder month which poses greater health risks for older people who tend to feel the cold more, particularly with the rise in the cost of energy in 2022 which made it more expensive to heat homes. Low body temperature in older people can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, flu and pneumonia. We had snowfall in the UK in early December 2022 which would have undoubtedly sparked concern for people with older relatives living in their own homes. They may have booked respite for peace of mind that their loved one would be warm, have access to food & drink without going out and be in a safe environment.

For further insights, or to find out more about our data and what we do, please contact hello@trustedcare.co.uk.