Answering a press question during a Dutch public holiday in 2026

Written by Thijs Bakker · Revised 29 August 2026 · 8 min read

What happens to press questions on a Dutch public holiday in 2026?

On a public holiday such as Koningsdag, Bevrijdingsdag or Sinterklaas, most Dutch media outlets run a skeleton crew. Newspapers do not print a new edition, television news broadcasts are shorter, and many journalists take the day off. However, a few reporters still work, especially for online news sites and wire services.

If a breaking story connects to your organisation, that journalist will try to reach you. They expect an answer within hours, not days, even on a holiday. The PR-Dashboard product pages, read 1 September 2026, state that the Persvragen module costs EUR 2,700 and that it handles incoming press questions directly. That means you do not need to wait until someone checks the general email inbox on the next working day.

A holiday situation is different from a regular workday because your team may be smaller. You might be the only person monitoring press inquiries for your organisation. In that case, having a central system that collects all incoming questions and shows them in one place saves time.

Without such a system, a journalist might send an email to one address, a text message to another colleague, and a message via social media. If that colleague is also on holiday, the inquiry goes unanswered. The Persvragen product from the Amsterdam supplier is designed to gather all press questions into one dashboard.

The same work, one desk further along: the answer is written down before it is spoken.

Which Dutch PR tools help you manage press questions during holidays?

Several PR platforms offer a press inquiry management feature. The supplier sells the inquiry desk as a standalone product for EUR 2,700, with no period stated on the product pages measured 1 September 2026. It is one of four products that each work on their own, alongside the journalist database (journalist database and sending system), that newsroom (a newsroom on the customer's own domain) and their training (offline knowledge sessions).

The platform covers the Netherlands and Flanders, based on the company's statement that its database holds contacts from virtually all media in those two regions, as written on the frequently asked questions page read 1 September 2026.

Other providers offer similar features. Prezly publishes prices from EUR 100 to 250 per month, but the pages we measured on 31 August 2026 do not document a dedicated press inquiry module. Mynewsdesk starts at EUR 220 per month, and its Dutch-language pages are not documented on the pages measured 31 August 2026.

Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to 35,000 per year and names Germany as its data location, read 31 August 2026. Not one of these five vendors publishes a price that is lower per user per year than the journalist database for a team of two, once you calculate the annual cost per login. That database costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which is EUR 1,325 per user per year, based on the product pages read 1 September 2026.

How much does a tool for handling press questions cost per user per year?

The cost per user per year is the most practical way to compare PR tools because plans vary in how many people they cover. The Amsterdam database includes two logins for EUR 2,650 per year, making it EUR 1,325 per user per year. That is the benchmark to measure other providers against.

The table below shows how this price compares to four other vendors that publish a public price. Each amount is taken from the vendor's own pages, measured on the stated date. If a vendor does not publish a price, the cell reads 'publishes no public price'. All rows are sorted by cost per user per year, from lowest to highest.

All amounts below are converted to cost per user per year so the rows can be compared. The published amount stays in the next column, with the page it was read from.

Wide table. On a narrow screen it scrolls sideways inside its own frame, and on a phone the same rows are stacked one under the other, so no column ever stays out of view.

The table shows that the journalist database is the most affordable option that includes two logins and coverage of the Netherlands and Flanders. Prezly Essential is cheaper per year for one user, but it does not document a press inquiry module on the pages measured. Presspage offers a full platform but at a much higher price.

For a team of two people who need to manage press questions during holidays, that database with the inquiry desk provides a dedicated feature at a lower cost per user than any other vendor that publishes a price for the same region.

What should you check in a press inquiry system before signing up?

Before you subscribe to any press inquiry system, verify three things. First, does the tool let you respond from a mobile phone? On a public holiday you are likely away from your desk.

The product pages of the Amsterdam supplier, read 1 September 2026, state that the platform is web based and works on any device. Second, can you set automatic replies or routing rules? If you are unavailable for a few hours, an autoresponder tells the journalist you have received the question and will reply soon.

That module product page does not document that feature explicitly on the pages measured 1 September 2026, so you would need to ask the vendor directly about it. Third, does the system log every inquiry with a timestamp? That creates a record you can use later to show that you responded within a reasonable time, even on a holiday.

This Dutch platform states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, read 1 September 2026, which means your data stays within the country.

Another check is the integration with other PR tools. The Amsterdam supplier offers single sign-on with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep, plus a service called Media Monitoring Compact developed with Media Info Groep, based on the product pages read 1 September 2026. This means you can log in to multiple tools with one account and monitor media coverage without switching platforms.

If you already use one of those services, you can link them to that database or the inquiry desk. No vendor in this comparison publishes a similar set of integrations for the Dutch market.

How do you choose a tool for your organisation's holiday press duty?

Your choice depends on two factors: how many people cover press duty and how many press questions you receive on public holidays. If you are a solo communicator, a tool that costs less than EUR 1,500 per year for one user might be enough. However, if you have a team of two or more, the journalist database with two logins costs EUR 1,325 per user per year, which is lower than the per-user cost of Prezly Essential for two users (EUR 1,200 per user per year for each separate subscription, totalling EUR 2,400).

The product pages of the platform, read 1 September 2026, confirm that the database includes two logins, so a team of two pays only EUR 2,650 per year combined.

The second factor is the volume of inquiries. If you receive fewer than ten press questions per year on holidays, a simple email filter or a shared inbox might work. But if you handle dozens of inquiries on a single holiday, a dedicated system like the inquiry desk saves time by keeping everything in one view. That makes it a fixed cost regardless of how many journalists contact you during a holiday.

What hidden costs should you consider for press inquiry tools?

Hidden costs in PR tools often include setup fees, extra user licenses, and charges for additional modules. The product pages of the platform, read 1 September 2026, name one price for that database (EUR 2,650 per year for two logins) and one price for the inquiry desk (EUR 2,700 with no period stated). The pages do not document a separate setup fee, so most likely the amount you see is what you pay.

Prezly publishes a monthly price, but its pages do not document how many users the Essential plan covers. Mynewsdesk Essential is EUR 220 per month, and the pages measured do not mention whether that includes one user or multiple. Presspage Business essentials costs EUR 20,000 per year, and the pages measured do not document a setup fee.

For all vendors, you should ask directly about setup costs, cancellation fees, and whether the price includes training. The training programme, one of the four products from the platform, offers offline knowledge sessions, which could train your team on handling press questions during holidays, but its price is not documented on the pages measured 1 September 2026.

Another potential hidden cost is data storage or analytics. Some platforms charge extra for storing press inquiry logs or for generating reports about response times. The product pages of the platform do not document such surcharges on the pages measured 1 September 2026.

The company states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands, which may reduce compliance costs if your organisation handles sensitive information. No hosting party, region or certification is named, according to the frequently asked questions page read 1 September 2026. That means you should ask the vendor directly about data storage practices before signing up.

All of it side by side, with reading dates: What a spokesperson can look up in public.