Self-catering holiday market booms

Due to an increase in the number of travellers choosing self-catering holidays and making independent arrangements on accommodation-only websites, private holiday home rentals are taking off. At the end of December UK website Holiday-Rentals.co.uk reached a historic milestone as it uploaded its 20,000th holiday home.

The site has been established for 10 years and has seen enquiries from travellers increase by over 50 per cent, year on year. Site visits now total over 8.5 million per year.

As leading industry analyst Mintel has observed*, a growing number of Brits value the freedom and flexibility offered by self-catering accommodation. Mintel predicts that self-catering holidays will represent 62.2 per cent of overseas holidays in 2007. However, operators have reported a decrease in the number of self-catering packages, as more travellers now prefer to tailor-make their ideal holiday by booking each element of their trip separately online.

With an estimated 1.2 million Brits owning property abroad**, and foreign property purchases continually on the rise, private rental accommodation now represents a significant part of the accommodation-only market and increasing numbers of travellers are discovering this new way to holiday. Renting a private property provides more space, privacy, flexibility and often more luxury pound for pound than other accommodation. It is also extremely cost-effective, often working out at a fraction of the price per person than hotels of a similar standard.

Another benefit of holiday rental accommodation is the huge variety on offer. Holiday-Rentals.co.uk has holiday homes available from around £100 to over £10,000 per week. With cottages and country houses, budget apartments and luxury villas, in the city or the country, by the beach or in the snow, it has a home for every holiday. Advanced search tools and special indexes make it easy to find accommodation with specific features or themes in just a few clicks.

Holiday-Rentals.co.uk lists holiday homes suitable for: City breaks, romantic hideaways, family fun, golf and ski getaways, spa holidays, rural retreats, group get-togethers, holidays with pets and people with reduced mobility.

*From the Mintel report, ‘self-catering holidays - UK - March 2005’.
**According to the ‘UK foreign property ownership report’ published in November 2006 by Grant Thornton.