But this trend is hitting many of those running traditional holiday lets hard, according to the Professional Association of Self-Caterers (PASC) UK.
“People are now booking much shorter holidays which means they are not filling all the weeks, so you’ve got dead days that you can’t fill in a week,” according to Nicky Williamson, its lead policy advisor in Wales.
“The shorter breaks have as much work in them as a longer break – you’re still paying for the change overs, you’re still paying for the linen. You’ve still got the same amount of work for a one-night stay as a seven-night stay.”
PASC said a growing number of shorter breaks made it harder for holiday let operators to achieve occupancy rates of 182 days over the year.
If they do not hit this figure, they face paying extra council tax as owners of a second property or holiday home.
But Ms Osti said this change to short break, last-minute holidays was being seen across Europe and only looked likely to grow.
