Lastminute finds British holidaymakers’ love of gadgets, free Wi-Fi and ‘selfies’

A quarter of British holidaymakers refuse to stay in a hotel that does not offer free Wi-Fi, lastminute.com research has discovered.

A quarter of British holidaymakers refuse to stay in a hotel that does not offer free Wi-Fi, lastminute.com research has discovered.

A survey by the online travel agent found that using gadgets eats up two days of a holiday on average for 90% of Brits, whether it’s using social media or taking ‘selfies’.

The online study, which included responses from 2,000 adults plus fieldwork and was conducted by OnePoll for lastminute.com, found nearly half rely on devices to keep them occupied.

It also found a third of people post real-time updates on social media while a quarter like to snap ‘selfies’ (pictures of themselves) rather than the scenery.

Women were found to be the biggest ‘selfie’ sharers, with nearly a third (30%) using their phone to take pictures of themselves on holiday.

Men also appear keen to prove to friends and family how great they look with a tan, with 1 in 4 (25%) taking self-portraits for photo sharing sites.

When asked about access to Wi-Fi, 27% said they would refuse to stay in a hotel that does not offer free Wi-Fi, favouring this over how luxury the property is.

In addition nearly 30% would choose restaurants and bars with Wi-Fi over those without when abroad.

Over 14% purchase a foreign SIM-card on their holiday to access the internet on the go.

Mark Maddock, managing director of lastminute.com UK and Ireland, said: “Whether it’s a good distraction or not, the reality is our customers are now always connected – and they want this to continue seamlessly when they are abroad.

“We are finding with our hotel partners it is no longer enough to offer guests free Wi-Fi, it is also about the quality and speed of the internet connection.

“We have connected travel with technology since 1998 but would be the first to say to customers – don’t forget to switch off when you are on holiday and open your eyes to where you are in the world.”

Other findings included:

• Brits are so dependent on their gadgets for entertainment that 13% would pay an extra baggage fee if it meant being able to take all of their tech essentials on their getaways;


• Mobiles phones and smartphones top the list of holiday gadgets (85%), followed by digital cameras (70%) and iPods and MP3 players (31%);


• Portable games consoles, however, are least popular this year, with less than 1 in 10 (8%) people taking one away with them.