Stress of booking pushing couples to third parties, says Flight Centre

Stress of booking pushing couples to third parties, says Flight Centre

‘As many as 14% of couples have broken up over holiday booking process’

Holiday-booking research conducted by Flight Centre Travel Group has found that approximately two thirds of couples have had a negative holiday-booking experience, while for some it has led to a breakup.

The Australian retail travel outlet’s study, derived from a poll of 2,000 people in relationships, reveals that as many as 14 percent of couples have broken up over the holiday booking process, while 60.2 percent of couples have fought over organising one.

Flight Centre’s research shows that on average, 37 percent of couples describe the holiday booking process negatively.

While 4.5 percent of couples search for help to alleviate this stress, 45 percent of people in relationships admitted they would rather have a third party organise their holiday for them, said Flight Centre.

In response, Flight Centre is recommending that couples wanting to save their relationship from the “pre-holiday cool-off” should add a third person to mediate disagreements and book a holiday that suits each couple.

Lucy Clifton, Flight Centre head of operations, said: “Couples’ escapes are for making precious memories, bringing them closer together. However, with so many stumbling blocks in the way of the perfect holiday, it’s easy to become bogged down by the details and let tempers escalate.

“We want to put the romance back into couples’ holidays, letting both partners speak with our expert consultants to plan their dream holiday and make the difficult decisions on their behalf.”

According to the company’s research, deciding on when to travel and fly (24.1 percent), budget (17.7 percent) and destinations (15.8 percent) proved to be the biggest causes of friction when couples book holidays together.

On average, couples spend 105 minutes arguing per holiday booking session, reported Flight Centre.

When it comes to post-booking, the retail travel outlet found that 8.3 percent of people surveyed said they argued while on holiday due to poor planning and not booking excursions in advance.

Furthermore, according to Flight Centre, 59 percent of women surveyed would not trust their partner to book their holiday by themselves, with nearly 18.6 percent admitting that their partner doesn’t know them well enough to book a holiday they would enjoy.

The study reveals that 60 percent of surveyed men, however, have confidence in their partner to plan their holiday alone.

10.3 percent of people surveyed would rather divide the holiday into sections so that each partner gets equal amounts of the trip to plan, reported the Australian company.

Holiday-booking conflicts add in part to the 19 percent of couples who are forced to book shorter breaks, saying that longer holidays “take too much time and effort to organise, and add stress on their relationship.”

Clifton added: “Flight Centre’s expert travel agents are the perfect solution to alleviate tension and put the fun back into booking.

“Couples can choose to speak to their agent individually or together, and their dedicated agent will take the time to ensure you get a trip suited to both your desires.

“A Flight Centre Travel Expert isn’t just for Valentine’s Day, however. Our customers build genuine, lasting relationships with our consultants, as evidenced by our Trustpilot score of 9.7 out of 10. This is driven by 17,000 five-star reviews and customers often make the point of praising our consultants by name.

“And when it comes to long-distance relationships, Nathalie Adams from Flight Centre’s Clapham Northcote Road store wins hands down. As one of our most experienced consultants she is still taking care of customers who started booking with her over 13 years ago.”