Thinking of Booking a Last Minute Break? Tell Us Your Motivation!

Posted by Sue Anderson, 7th Sep 2016

There's something quite exciting about the idea of booking a last minute trip; you could be sat at your desk one minute daydreaming about beach life and jetting off the next day to make that wish a reality!

Most people think that the driving force behind late holiday bookings is the price and it's certainly true that you can often get almost too-good-to-be-true deals when you book at the last minute. However, when we surveyed 2,865 people aged 18 and over from around the UK who had each been on a last minute break in the last year, their reasons were quite different!

For the poll, we classed 'last minute' as a holiday that was booked four weeks or less in advance of travelling.



Accurate Weather Predictions Top Motivation Behind Last Minute Holiday Bookings



We initially asked everybody taking part, 'What was your reason for leaving your holiday booking until the last minute?' and they could provide us with more than one answer if they had more than one reason. This revealed the following top five reasons why Britons book last minute holidays:

1. Meant I could get a more accurate weather prediction for my destination - 33%

2. I received an unexpected windfall (e.g. a bonus) - 27%

3. Uncertain work commitments/deadlines meant I couldn't book sooner - 18%

4. Felt like being spontaneous - 16%

5. To get a good deal/save money - 8%

Majorca Top Last Minute Holiday Destination



When we asked what destination they had booked for their last minute break, the top five answers were:

1. Majorca -11%

2. Turkey - 9%

3. Tenerife - 7%

4. Cyprus - 5%

5. Spain - 5%

Our research also revealed that 39% of the last minute holiday bookers found the process of organising a holiday so close to the travel date 'stressful'. When asked why, 54% explained that it was the 'pressure of finding a great holiday.'

Often, the further in advance you book a holiday, the more time you have to stress about the finer details of the trip. Booking last minute has many advantages; not least that it means you are more likely to cut to the chase and not spend ages deliberating about where to go. We have to say that we were so surprised that the main reason for last minute bookings was Britons being able to get a more accurate weather check for the chosen destination; we all know that rain one minute doesn't necessarily mean rain all day and weather predictions should be taken with a pinch of salt!
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