Study reveals 42% of adults have booked a holiday while drunk

Drunk holiday bookings occur among 42% of UK adults. That is the finding of OTA sunshine.co.uk, which has been investigating the trend

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Drunk holiday bookings occur among 42% of UK adults.

That is the finding of OTA sunshine.co.uk, which has been investigating the trend after a number of customers got in touch to amend details of late-night bookings, confessing they had “overdone it” the night before.

The research revealed that as many as two fifths of Britons have booked an overseas holiday while intoxicated, with more than a quarter of these admitting that they regretted the drunk booking they had made the next day.

Top regrets of drunk holiday bookings include the amount of money spent, choice of fellow passengers and the accommodation selected.

A total of 2,170 people aged 18 and over from around the UK took part in the research, all of whom had been on a holiday abroad within the last 12 months.

Initially, respondents were asked ‘Have you ever booked an overseas holiday, either online, over the phone or in a travel agency, while under the influence of alcohol?’ to which 42% of those taking part admitted that they had.

These people were then asked how they had felt about their booking the next day, to which 26% admitted that they had regrets about the booking they had made.

Of the respondents asked to elaborate on their reasons, 33% said they had spent too much; 26% said they were not happy about the people they had chosen to go with; 18 were unhappy with their accommodation choice; 15% said they wished they had picked a different destination and 4% even said they wish they has spent more.

The survey also revealed that 27% of those who had made a drunk holiday booking 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, downgrading the accommodation and changing the destination completely.

According to the research, the people most likely to make drunk holiday bookings were revealed to be from the Yorkshire and Humberside region of the UK; making up 21% of all those who said they had booked a trip while under the influence. This was followed by people in the West Midlands and those in the South West.

Chris Clarkson, managing director of sunshine.co.uk, said: “There are plenty of things that you shouldn’t do when drunk; and while 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.

“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.”