Race is on for summer holiday lets

Figures from holiday home rental portal Holidaylettings.co.uk show thoughts of summer sunshine and holiday escapes are what people consider most in January. New Years’ parties and resolutions are mere memories and the excitement of recent snowfalls has melted with the snowmen. The hankering for sunshine, however, has yet to fade and summer holidays are more than just a daydream.

Holidaylettings.co.uk can reveal that 37% of holiday enquiries made since January 1st have been for holidays throughout July and August.

A further assessment of holiday enquiries made in January, expanded beyond traditional school holidays and including June and September revealed that over half (54%) of holidaymakers have already sussed their plans for the summer months. Such volume of interest in booking holiday accommodation online is supported by recent research carried out by Continental Research that predicted 63% of people would book part of their main holiday on the Internet in 2007.

The most interesting figures though, are those that show where holidaymakers are planning to spend their summer holidays. Despite the entry of new EU countries into the rental market, the old favourite holiday destinations still attract the most enquiries per home.

For example, Spanish mainland properties form 31% of over 10,000 holiday homes advertised on holidaylettings.co.uk, yet Spain received 37% of all July and August booking enquiries made in January – more than its fair share. Similarly, Balearic Island properties amount to only 2% but received 6% of enquiries. For the same period, France covers 14% of properties but received 18% of holidaymaker enquiries and properties in Italy make up 8% of the total and yet attracted 10% of holidaymakers.

The results also show favouritism for staying home this summer. Whether holidaymakers are making an eco-friendly vow or just avoiding airport chaos, eight percent of enquiries for July and August were for UK holiday homes, which have a seven percent share across the site.

Ross Elder, MD of holidaylettings.co.uk commented: “These figures show that despite ongoing debates of the prospects of overseas property investment and prospective rental markets, there is still very much a demand for self catering accommodation in traditional locations, including those just a couple of hours from home.”