Travel experiences are still better shared in person, claim researchers

Travel experiences are still better when they’re shared in person rather than online, researchers have found.

The study by CityBase Apartments questioned 1,000 people about how they like to communicate their adventures after trips.

And despite the rise in recent years of social networks and online review sites, the majority of travellers said they shared their experiences face to face with friends, family and collegaues.

A staggering 57% of respondents said that they shared their experiences in person after their trip, compared to 41% sharing on social media.  While 44% of people also said that they share some of their city break experiences on social media whilst they’re still away.

Stuart Parker, Managing Director of Citybase Apartments, said: ‘As a family business we weren’t surprised to see that the majority of people still choose to share their city break experiences with family and friends in person.

‘There’s something about reliving your trip first hand that keeps the experience alive, and inspires others to take their next break.

‘It was interesting for us to reaffirm that families, couples and solo travellers made up the majority of our leisure customer base, and that’s the beauty of a serviced apartment. It can cater for everyone, and every kind of trip.’

The survey, which captured the responses of over 1,000 Citybase customers who have chosen to stay in one or more of their serviced apartments, went on to reveal a number of city break travel habits.

It found that almost two thirds of city apartment bookers are women (61%) according to the responses from the survey, with families (57%), couples (26%) and solo (16%) being the main types of travellers. Only 9% of survey respondents were below the age of 25, with the majority of serviced apartment customers aged between 25-54.

Solo travellers were found to be the most frequent travellers taking on average 6+ trips every year, compared to families and couples who both said they typically travel 2-3 times a year.

Data from Citybase bookings made in 2014 highlighted that London was the top UK city that customers were travelling to, with Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Leeds all making the top 5.

The most popular activities enjoyed by city travellers included sightseeing (69%), shopping (64%), local cuisine (60%), exploring (54%) and bars and clubs (48%).

The most popular form of transport for getting around cities is by walking, selected by 56% of the survey respondents. Conversely only 6% of respondents chose cycling as a form of transport they normally use during city breaks, despite many major cities offering cycle hire. 35% said they were happy to drive during their trip, but parking facilities were found to be the least important factor when selecting city accommodation.

When it comes to packing for a city break, both men and women said that their number one travel item was a mobile phone (31% men, 24% women). Men also favoured iPads/computers (24%) and money (13%) as their top travel items, while women were sure to pack hair and beauty products (20%) and a camera (11%).

As well as highlighting a number of travel behaviours, the survey also touched on the key reasons why serviced apartments were chosen as an accommodation choice over hotels, and the main factors that are considered when it comes to booking accommodation.

The survey showed that the location of the accommodation in relation to places the customer wished to visit was the most important factor when deciding on what apartment to book (29%), with the general quality and standard of the accommodation close behind (23%).

The main reasons why serviced apartments were chosen over hotels were space (65%), value for money (67%) and cooking facilities (52%). Other top reasons included affordability (34%) and a personal feel (39%). 65% of people claimed they read reviews before booking accommodation, with 54% also establishing a budget before they commit to book.

The most popular activities after booking accommodation are to identify nearby attractions (41%) and restaurants (43%) to visit, while 39% of people also took this time to work out transport routes.

About Citybase Apatments

Citybase is the UK’s leading serviced apartments booking agency, offering over 25,000 serviced apartments across 38 countries. It helps business and leisure customers save 30% or more on comparable hotels with the space, value and freedom that hotels struggle to compete with.

Citybase are completely independent, offering the widest possible range of choice in the UK, Europe and beyond. Citybase pride themselves on their great service, easy booking and excellent value for money prices.