Most of us book our annual holiday at 12.01pm on a Monday afternoon, new research reveals.
The “Monday blues”, a bad start to the working week and a lunchtime break from a heavy workload is behind this trend.
It also emerged that sun-starved Brits will book two holidays every year.
The research is by Holiday Lettings, the holiday home lettings company. A spokesman for the company said: “Everyone is familiar with that Monday feeling – the lull after a particularly good weekend made even worse by the unsettled weather that seems to be the norm for a British summertime now.
“The Monday lunchtime trend could also be attributed to jealousy. Hearing tales from colleagues who have just returned to the office after their own holiday can leave you desperate to book your own.”
Researchers polled 2,000 people and found that three in ten have booked a holiday during their lunch hour.
Another 28% admitted to arranging their next break during their working hours, with 24% of those getting caught out by their boss.
One in three even said they often find themselves browsing holiday sites while at work to escape from their busy, stressful or boring workloads.
And more than one in ten even book a holiday just because they had a bad day in the office.
But while 40% say they always have a holiday around that time, more than a third claim they usually decide to book a holiday because they get so fed up with the bad weather.
Friends and families going on holiday cause a quarter to book their own break in response, while another one in five are inspired after reading about a particular destination.
More than a fifth even admitted to arranging a sunshine break for no other reason that because they had seen pictures or links to where a friend, relative or colleague had just visited on social media sites such as Facebook or Pinterest.
Once the holiday is booked, Brits then take delight in letting everyone know about it, with 22% admitting to sending links or pictures to colleagues to make them jealous.
And another 24% post pictures and links onto social network sites (otherwise known as smoasting).
Researchers also found that three quarters of people now book their holidays online, with just 14% still going into a travel agents.
Top 5 reasons for deciding to book a holiday
1. We always have a holiday around that time of year
2. Constant bad weather
3. Friends or families going on holiday
4. Reading about a destination in a magazine/online
5. When I’m having a bad day at work
(Featured image: adactio)
