Despite the fact that we are entering the fourth year of an economic crises and that the previously gushing tap of easy money, in the form of rising home equity, has been cut off, many people in the UK can still afford to go abroad for a holiday at least once a year. But the nature of those holidays is changing. Five star all-inclusive hotels are once again out of reach for most of us but remain the destination of choice for honeymooners and the wealthy.

However, after one too many holidays cocooned behind three-metre-high walls eating at the same limited selection of restaurants every night, I for one, now find the idea of renting a home, either with a swimming pool or next to a beach, while buying food at a local supermarket and eating in private amongst friends and/or family, a much more appealing prospect. Not only can it be much cheaper than a traditional package hotel holiday, thanks to the continued expansion of budget airlines, but it actually makes a pleasant change and reminds many of us of the previous holidays taken on a budget (werent they all!) when we were children.

It seems I am not the only one feeling nostalgic about renting a holiday home, as self-catering travel is booming again according to a new report by Holiday Lettings, which reported recently that booking enquiries were up nearly 40%, year-on-year, in November 2011, totalling 1.3m enquiries.