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‘One in four’ consumers polled will only book discounted holidays

One in four consumers would only book a holiday providing they could negotiate a discount on the price, new research reveals.

And more than half agreed that they enjoy their holiday more if they saved money on the original price quoted.

This means that destination and timings are no longer the main considerations for Britons booking a holiday.

The study of 2,188 people who had booked online in the last 12 months by affiliate management agency Acceleration Partners shows that the ability to negotiate a good saving is one of the most important factors.

All respondents were asked: “Would getting a discount on the original price of a holiday influence how likely you would be to book it?” to which a quarter (25%) said that they would not book a holiday without a discount.

A further 61% said that they would be “more likely” to book the break if there was a saving to be made.

All respondents were then asked: “What effect would saving money on the price of the trip have on your experience on holiday?” to which 52% agreed that they would “enjoy the holiday more”, while 29% said that they would “be more relaxed with spending money”.

Those who said that they would not book a holiday without a discount were then asked how much they would want to save, as a percentage of the total original price quoted.

A third (33%) said that the amount of the discount “wouldn’t matter”, providing they were making some kind of saving.

Of the remaining respondents, the average answer revealed that the ideal amount of discount search for when it comes to booking a holiday is 25%.

Finally, they were asked: “If a discount was available to use for your holiday, would you be likely to increase your spend in other ways e.g. extend the length of the holiday, upgrade the room or board option?” to which 41% said that they would opt to add on other luxuries thanks to saving money with the discount.

Acceleration Partners managing director Helen Southgate said: “Travel organisations, from agents through to hotels, airlines and excursion providers themselves, need to take heed of these results – it’s got to be about more than offering a fair price, the focus needs to be one the perceived saving the consumer can make on whatever is quoted too.

“While you don’t want to price yourself out altogether or set unrealistic expectations, businesses should learn to adopt discounts and financial incentives in order to convert bookings, which is where affiliate programmes can come into their own.”

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