[Infographic] British are Europe’s latest bookers in Rocket Fuel’s research

[Infographic] British are Europe’s latest bookers in Rocket Fuel’s research

Britons are the most “relaxed” holiday-bookers in Europe, leaving it almost twice as long to book travel as the French. Marketing technology firm Rocket Fuel has compiled an infographic documenting UK booking habits.

Britons are the most “relaxed” holiday-bookers in Europe, leaving it almost twice as long to book travel as the French.

Marketing technology firm Rocket Fuel has compiled an infographic documenting UK booking habits.On average, Britons book with 29 days to go before their check-in date, later than travellers from Italy (30 days), Spain (31 days), Germany (49 days), and France (54 days), as well as the US (39 days).

Rocket Fuel has found that when British holidaymakers do go away, they often rank Wi-Fi as their most-treasured hotel facility, with gyms and swimming pools cited as the least important.

Premier Inn is the most popular hotel choice amongst Britons at 57%, and travellers across Europe, with the exception of Germany, cite price as the most important aspect when choosing a hotel.

Britons list price, location and online reviews as the most important factor in their decision, with food and drink and the brand of the hotel listed as the least important.

The research finds that early-bird hotel bookers across Europe are more concerned with price and location, whereas services and brand are more important to those booking nearer to the date of their check-in.

Britons also consume the largest amount of travel advertising before making a final decision to book, tending to book travel after viewing 14 adverts.

While hotels are still the most popular choice for Britons, one in four has used Airbnb in the past year. However, this is less than others in Europe.

Travellers from Germany and Spain are the most frequent customers of Airbnb with 35% having used the service in the last year, followed closely by 34% of French and Italians.

Commenting on the research, Dominic Trigg, senior vice president and managing director Europe and emerging markets at Rocket Fuel, said: “On the whole Brits are less interested in brand, and are more concerned with the location of the hotel. Brits therefore spend more time on travel sites, exploring options, customer reviews, locations, advertising and deals, compared to other nationalities.

“Understanding how people plan and book travel – what people are booking and how they’re booking – is vital to helping anticipate changing consumer demands.”

Rocket Fuel’s research is based on a study of hotel and accommodation campaigns conducted between June and August 2015 and a consumer survey of 1,500 travellers.