Don't Drink and Surf (The Net) - Rise of the Drunk Holiday Booker

Booking a holiday is tempting at even the most sober of moments, so after a few cheeky cocktails or a round of pints, that urge only gets stronger; even if your bank balance won't thank your drunken-self. We got thinking about how many people book holidays whilst under the influence of alcohol, because we've had customers getting in touch before requesting changes to bookings that they'd made after one too many.

We polled 2,170 people aged 18 and over from around the UK and asked them questions about holiday bookings (they'd all been abroad in the last 12 months). The first question we put to the people taking part was 'Have you ever booked an overseas holiday, either online, over the phone or in a travel agency, whilst under the influence of alcohol?' How honest were they, do you think?

42% Admitted To Drunk Holiday Bookings

Well, 42% of those taking part admitted to us that they had booked a holiday whilst drunk before. We then asked these people how they'd felt about their booking the next day when they had sobered up, to which the majority (61%) said they were 'excited/looking forward to the trip'. However, more than a quarter (26%) admitted to us that they had regrets about the booking they'd made whilst under the influence. We wanted to find out what the top regrets were, so the relevant respondents were asked to elaborate.

Spending Too Much Top Regret of Drunk Bookings

According to our findings, the top regrets about drunken holiday bookings were as follows:

1. Spent too much/couldn't really afford it - 33%

2. Fellow passengers I chose to go with - 26%

3. Unhappy with my accommodation choice - 18%

4. Wish I'd picked a different destination - 15%

5. Didn't spend as much as I could have/could have splashed out more - 4%

Our survey also revealed that 27% of those who'd made drunk holiday bookings in the past had ended up having to contact the travel provider to either cancel or make changes to the booking. The most common changes made included shortening the length of the holiday (16%), downgrading accommodation (12%) and changing the destination completely (10%).

Those most likely to make drunk holiday bookings were revealed to be from the Yorkshire & Humberside region of the UK; making up 21% of all those who said they'd booked a trip whilst under the influence. This was followed by people in the West Midlands (16%) and those in the South West (13%).

There are plenty of things that you shouldn't do when drunk; and whilst there are the more obvious ones like driving, operating heavy machinery or texting an ex-partner, booking a holiday should be right up there with them. If you book a holiday when you are drunk, you are more likely to spend more money than you can realistically afford to part with and you might make poorly judged decisions in terms of destination or hotel choice. You need to have a clear head when booking a trip, or else you risk making mistakes that are hard to undo. There are often charges to make changes to a booking and even something as small as inputting your name exactly as it appears on your passport, as is required, can be a challenge after one too many vodkas.