17 February 2009 Acrobat (pdf, 23 KB)
Travellers are so determined to keep their holidays that they are shortening their stays and are going away for a single night so they get the break without the cost, says leading hotel booking site Hotels.com.
There has been a 29% increase in the number of UK holidaymakers searching for single-night holidays – or “nano-breaks” – over the past year, according to Hotels.com*.
UK cities have been the biggest beneficiaries of the increase in enquiries for nano-breaks. Customers wanting single-night, weekend stays in Brighton were up by 140% in January. Searches for Edinburgh nano-breaks were up 82%, while they rose 20% in London and by 143% in Bournemouth, the UK city that has seen the biggest rise in “nano-break tourism”.
However, the nano-break trend is not limited to UK cities, according to Hotels.com. Travellers are also taking single-night breaks in major European and North African cities, travelling out on Saturdays and returning on Sundays to get away with less of the cost.
Searches in January 2009 for single-night weekend stays in Marrakech rose 86%, while the numbers of people looking for single-night stays in Venice was up by a similar proportion – 84% – compared to January 2008.
| City | Growth in searches for nano breaks from January 2008 to January 2009 |
|---|---|
| Bournemouth | 143% |
| Brighton | 140% |
| Edinburgh | 82% |
| London | 30% |
| City | Growth in searches for nano breaks from January 2008 to January 2009 |
|---|---|
| Marrakech | 86% |
| Venice | 84% |
| Rome | 47% |
| Copenhagen | 41% |
| Nice | 40% |
Alison Couper, Communications Director for Hotels.com, said: “All of our research shows that people see holidays as a right not a luxury and the rise in searches for nano-breaks is further evidence of holidaymakers’ determination to keep travelling.
“The simple act of going on holiday for just a single night is relaxing and a change from the stresses and strains of life, so travellers are keen to make sure that they are getting away from it all, if only for a couple of days.
“With falling hotel prices in many destinations and fantastic deals on sites like ours, with up to 50% off, now is a great time to take that break.”
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* Hotels.com analysed searches for breaks during the weekend for single-night stays (to remove business travel) at the top-75 UK destinations for UK travellers during January 2009 and January 2008
Hotels.com website is the most visited in the 'Hotels/Accommodation provider' category, according to comScore Media Metrix (Dec-Jan 2007).
Operating in all major markets with dedicated staff, www.hotels.com offers more than 80,000 quality hotels worldwide, and promises a price guarantee in 40,000 of these properties: if a customer can find the same deal for less, Hotels.com will match it. www.hotels.com also has one of the largest independent hotel teams in the industry, meaning that users get an honest review of the properties. Travellers can book online or by contacting one of our multi-lingual call centres on +44 (0)20 7492 0979
For further information visit www.hotels.com or call +44 (0)20 7492 0979
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“All of our research shows that people see holidays as a right not a luxury and the rise in searches for nano-breaks is further evidence of holidaymakers’ determination to keep travelling.
”Alison Couper,
Director of Communications at Hotels.com
