Book holidays from home for happier travels
Pic: Getty
If you're currently dreaming of your summer holiday abroad and eagerly searching the Internet for the perfect destination, researchers have a word of warning - don't book until you get home.
According to a study in the US, those who book their holiday whilst at work are more likely to splash the cash on a pricey hotel, only to be left dissatisfied when they actually travel.
Related Searches
Using data from a major online hotel reservation site, researchers from Rice University and Iowa State University found that of 4,500 US holidaymakers, 35 per cent made reservations during their working day.
They were more likely to book an expensive hotel and travel further to get there, but were ultimately less happy with their stay than those who had travelled a shorter distance or those who had made a booking from home.
Ajay Kalra, Professor of Marketing at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business, explained: "We speculate that occurs because people are either more fatigued at work and tend to buy more expensive items or that vacations seem more appealing while people are at work.
%VIRTUAL-AFCSponserAds%
"This kind of preliminary data indicates that people should not be making purchases when they were working."
Furthermore, consumers who booked well in advance of travelling, who also selected high quality hotels, were found to be more satisfied than last-minute bookers, which researchers suggested was down to the 'pain of paying' diminishing over time.
The paper is due to be published in the Journal of Marketing Research.
Have you ever booked a holiday whilst at work, and were you satisfied? Leave your comments below...
