All inclusive versus self-catering

At I Love Meet and Greet, after years of conversations with our customers about their holidays, we’ve heard all the arguments about whether it’s better to go all inclusive or stick to self-catering. When booking a holiday, most people are faced with the dilemma of trying to figure out which board type is going to be most cost-effective and at the same time enjoyable. We’ve done some research which we hope will come in handy to our customers in the future…

Firstly we looked into the pros and cons of self-catering. According to research by TravelSupermarket, only 29% of British holidaymakers travelled on a self-catering basis for their main 2013 holiday. One of the obvious main perks of self-catering is that of course you can control your food and drink costs and eat at whatever times suit you. Want to eat breakfast at midday? No problem. Self-catering accommodation offers you the flexibility to come and go as you please and allows you to be in control of eating times .You can also buy all of your meals in local shops for a reasonable and it’s great if you or somebody your travelling with has a special dietary requirement.

That’s the pros, but of course with most things there are always a couple of cons. While self-catering can work out as a cost-effective option, be honest with yourself when you choose this board type in an effort to save money. If you know you’ll never use your apartment’s kitchen because eating out is too tempting, or that you’ll end up buying unnecessary items whilst food shopping which will result in spending lots of money, then maybe self-catering isn’t for you! Before you book your accommodation you must always check it has all of the appliances and equipment you want to be able to cook at home.

For some, the thought of having to cook on holiday or go food shopping is dreaded and therefore all inclusive holidays are becoming more and more popular. According to TravelSupermarket, more than one in 10 British holidaymakers chose to go all inclusive last year. All inclusive is great for those who want to budget for their holiday before they get there and don’t have to spend much whilst they’re there as in most cases all food and drink is included. For those who like to indulge in the odd ice cream breaks here and there, again all inclusive is great as there’s no need to worry about these little extras adding up. Others are also attracted to the fact it prevents never having to walk around with too much currency.

Like self-catering, all inclusive also has it’s negative points. The most popular one being that people tend to get to their hotel and realise they don’t like the food on the first night which then gives the holidaymakers no choice but to eat out adding great expense to the holiday.

Although we may be able to establish whether it’s going to be more practical for you to choose self-catering or all inclusive, we can however confirm that if you use I Love Meet and Greet you will start your holiday in the most efficient and hassle free way.

By Sarah Anglim at 6 Aug 2014