Are self-catering holidays near the end of their shelf life?

Personally, I have never been a fan of self-catering holidays. It seems to me that you have all the work of cooking and shopping that you get at home but you are just somewhere else with a cooker that you don’t understand. It’s almost like staying at home.

But many millions of people have opted for self-catering holidays over the years – me included. But is it reaching then end of its natural life? There isn’t that much difference between the prices charged for self-catering over the more preferred B& B rates. And if you go abroad the margins seem even smaller.

Now, from Roger Burgess, the chair of the Wales Association of Self-Catering Operators, (WASCO) comes news that some of his members think that business has “never been as bad”. The BBC quotes him as saying that “although there has been a recent increase in late bookings, he said this year was possibly worse than the washed-out 2012.” WASCO covers over 2,500 rural and city properties throughout Wales so if they say it is tough then they should know.

There seems to be no recent comment by similar associations in England, Ireland or Scotland so could it be that it is only self-catering holidays in Wales that are on the decline? Is the offer unappealing, the location or the pricing? Certainly every other type of company in the domestic market is reporting higher bookings despite the rain of the last few days. If they can’t get last minute bookers maybe the time for self-catering is reaching its natural cycle. Or at least in Wales.