Scroll through Instagram and it can feel as though Britain’s rich and famous spend half their lives hopping from one luxury holiday to another.

But what you might miss is that someone else is usually picking up the bill. Because behind so many picture-perfect social media posts of lavish getaways lies a vast celebrity freebie economy, with brands competing to whisk famous faces away on trips in return for a stream of online plugs.

These free trips can range from £5,000-a-night Maldivian villas and superyacht charters in Dubai, to Coachella compounds, Caribbean resorts and influencer junkets in Miami.

A perk that was once reserved for individual celebs or content creators has now become a group activity, with entire friendship groups, partners and even children flown overseas on all-inclusive trips to create content for millions of followers.

But as the freebies become increasingly extravagant and more frequent, tax specialists warn that creators should be mindful that ‘gifted’ doesn’t always mean tax-free.

Joseph Adunse, a tax partner at accountancy firm Moore Kingston Smith, tells me: ‘A supposedly free luxury holiday is not always free in the eyes of HMRC. If an influencer is expected to post, promote or plug the brand, the taxman may see that trip as payment, just paid in sunshine rather than cash.’

PR specialist Mark Borkowski agrees. ‘The tax position is potentially more serious than many creators realise,’ he says. ‘HMRC says gifts and services received in return for promoting products online count as income. In principle, the value is what the creator would have had to pay for the experience.’

And there are certainly a lot of freebies flying around. But few trips captured the extravagance of the industry better than Space NK’s Summer Society getaway to Miami in May.

The luxury make-up retailer flew a cast of celebrities and creators across the Atlantic for several days of five-star excess with luxury hotels, yacht trips, chauffeur-driven cars and extravagant dinners.

Michelle Keegan travelled to Abu Dhabi with her ten-month-old daughter Palma earlier this year and stayed at the £2,000-a-night Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island hotel free of charge

Marvin and Rochelle Humes – reported to have a combined fortune of around £24million – attended Space NK’s Summer Society getaway in Miami at no cost

Among those invited were presenter couple Marvin and Rochelle Humes – reported to have a combined fortune of around £24million – alongside Olivia Attwood, influencer Perrie Sian, former Love Island stars Sophie Piper, Josh Ritchie and Samie Elishi.

Even the guests’ loved ones became part of the spectacle. Partners were invited not simply as plus ones but as participants in the campaign, while Stacey Solomon brought along her eldest sons Zachary, 18, and Leighton, 14.

But as attendees shared pictures of first class flights to Miami, waterfront dinners and mountains of complimentary beauty products, some followers questioned whether the week bore any resemblance to a beauty campaign.

‘What was actually the point of this trip?,’ one wrote. ‘Could anyone enlighten me because all I can see is sheer excess for the sake of it. Why are they getting all this for free?’

Australian fashion giant White Fox laid an equally indulgent jamboree during the Coachella festival in April. A group of British influencers were housed in a sprawling Palm Springs mansion, complete with a swimming pool, palm-fringed gardens, designer interiors and rails of complimentary White Fox clothing, ensuring there was a fresh outfit for every photo opportunity.

Among those flown to California on the all-expenses-paid trip were Love Islanders Chloe Burrows, Millie Court and Sophie Piper.

The arrangement was simple: wear White Fox clothing, film endless reels of social media content and flood your feeds with poolside photos, ‘get ready with me’ videos and festival content.

One video posted by White Fox showed the influencers wandering around the sprawling mansion in amazement, but it seems not everyone was as impressed.

Beneath the video, one customer wrote: ‘So glad White Fox could afford this Coachella house but couldn’t refund the shipping on a broken item they sent me.’

The reaction reflects what some industry insiders tell me is a growing impatience from fans with the endless parade of lavish influencer freebies.

Love Islander Chloe Burrows was flown out to Coachella to promote White Fox clothing, film endless reels of social media content and flood feeds with poolside photos

Stacey Solomon also attended the Space NK event and brought along her eldest sons Zachary, 18, and Leighton, 14

‘The optics are changing,’ one source tells me. ‘Five years ago people thought “Good for them.” Now the first question is usually, “Why are these rich people taking so many freebies?”.’

And nowhere is that shift more striking than among the celebrities who could most easily afford to pay for their holidays themselves.

First are showbusiness royalty Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright. She, a Hollywood actress, and he, a reality star, have a combined net worth of £19million – yet seem unable to resist a freebie.

The 39-year-olds travelled to Abu Dhabi with their ten-month-old daughter Palma earlier this year and stayed at the £2,000-a-night Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island hotel free of charge.

But the couple attracted a backlash online, with critics suggesting the trip looked out of touch. ‘They are pretty shameless, but have gone past the point of caring because they wanted the best house they could get,’ one insider says. ‘But one thing they don’t like is people criticising them for taking free holidays.

‘They genuinely did believe they deserved that holiday. For them, it’s not a perk of being in the public eye, it’s a necessity. They think they work harder than everyone else.’

And it appears even Hollywood hasn’t proved immune to the temptation. The Riot Club actor Douglas Booth, 34, and the Morning Show star Bel Powley, 34, are reportedly worth £12million.

Yet they celebrated their honeymoon at the £5,000-a-night luxury resort, Soneva – presumably for free – in return for tagging it on their Instagram pages.

The pair tied the knot in 2023 but due to busy work schedules, the not-so-newlyweds only managed to celebrate their honeymoon this year with the Maldives trip.

‘They’ll be embarrassed about how this makes them look,’ an industry source said. ‘But it just goes to show, no one is impartial to a shameless freebie, no matter how highbrow you consider yourself in this industry.’

For others, the occasional gifted trip has evolved into a regular feature of family life – precisely the sort of repeated arrangement that tax lawyer Dan Neidle tells me could leave HMRC ‘extremely interested’.

Former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas, 42, and ex-TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh, 34, have enjoyed a number of idyllic holidays with their children, regularly tagging the companies behind them – a sure sign that they are getting some ‘help’ with the cost.

Last year alone, they shared stays at the Country House Cumbria, where a three-night break costs around £4,530, a visit to the Hendra Holiday Park in Newquay and a stay at the boutique Hyde Hotel in Ibiza.

Nor are Ryan and Lucy alone, for - despite finding fame on Made in Chelsea’s world of champagne bars and glossy west London privilege - Millie Mackintosh appears just as fond of a freebie, regularly sharing a stream of gifted luxury trips and high-end experiences with her 1.3million followers online.

Among the lavish getaways she has showcased was a stay at Turkey’s Hillside Beach Club, where rooms go for around £1,300 a night, complete with lavish all-inclusive dining, multiple restaurants and two spas.

As a descendant of the famous Quality Street chocolate makers, insiders claim Millie’s acceptance of freebies is ‘all a bit gross’.

But that didn’t stop the 37-year-old enjoying a ‘half term trip to Turkey solo parenting’ – after her divorce from her Made In Chelsea co-star Hugo Taylor, 40 – at the ultra-luxury XO Cape Arnna, which has 37 swimming pools and can cost up to £3,250 for a three-night break.

Closer to home, Millie also documented a complimentary staycation at the Four Seasons in London, as well as a trip to Ibiza’s alma Festival – both priced at around £1,000 per night.

For brands, the appeal of these trips is obvious. A handful of complimentary rooms and flights can generate days of glossy Instagram posts and celebrity endorsements seen by millions – exposure that, one source tells me, would ‘cost far more through traditional advertising’.

But it may only be a matter of time before HMRC decides it’s time for celebs to pay up for their lavish getaways.