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GUEST house owners in Weston say they hve endured a decade of downturn in trade as tourists move away from traditional-styled holidays to the town.

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Visitors are staying in the town for less time and are choosing large hotels and self-catering apartments over established family-run guesthouses, the owners say.

Florence Guest House owner Jan Otten said the improvements to Weston seafront had made little impact to trade at his Upper Church Road business.

Mr Otten, who has run the house for seven years, has re-submitted a planning application to convert his business into four flats, calling it a ‘fall-back plan’.

He told the Mercury this week: “We are certainly seeing less trade than we did a few years ago.

“There seems to have been a shift in people’s habits when visiting the town - they want a different type of accommodation and the demand for the traditional guesthouse is no longer high.

“It’s sad, because it means a lot of small, family-run businesses in the town are disappearing.”

Mr Otten said he took over the guesthouse hoping for resurgence in demand for guesthouse accommodation in the Victorian seaside resort, but admits it never came.

A survey carried out by North Somerset Council four years ago found that 69 per cent of visitors to the resort were coming for the day, compared to 58 per cent who visted for two days in the past.

He said: “I would not say we are struggling, but trade here is not what it should be.

“It is why we have this planning application for flats in – it is our security in case business worsens.”

Mr Otten’s experience is shared by other guesthouse owners, including Gwen Wilson, of the Corbiere Guest House, also in Upper Church Road.

She said: “What visitors to Weston want has changed a lot over the past 10 years.

“In their chase for value they are staying for only the weekend and opting for self-catering holiday apartments instead of guesthouses.

“We stand in hope things will improve now a lot of work along the seafront has been finished.”