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Recent market analyses, such as PwC's UK Hotels Forecast 2020-2021, indicate that the Staycation trend to is set to continue in a strong position throughout 2021, particularly favourably for coast and country properties. In our own recent survey, we asked our panel of mystery guests about their recent staycation experiences, and what their plans were for 2021, and the results portrayed a similar scenario. Read on to discover our top insights from the Consumer Staycation survey.
Overall guest satisfaction
Since the first lockdown, almost 3 out of 5 people have been on a Staycation (a short break or holiday in the UK), which is a surprisingly high figure, given the uncertainty and low consumer confidence reported in the media throughout the pandemic. It appears that guests also thoroughly enjoyed their stay, with the average satisfaction score across all respondents being 8.25 out of 10. Guests over the age 66 rated their stay particularly highly (8.44), whilst Gen-Z (18-25) and the Baby Boomers (56-65) we're slightly less satisfied (8).
Likelihood to recommend
The study shows respondents were also eager to recommend their stay to a friend or colleague, with the average score of 8.19 out of 10 on likelihood to recommend. Men, we found, were slightly more inclined to recommend their recent experience (8.39) than women (8.13). In terms of age, the likelihood to recommend on average was lowest in the Gen-Z generation (8.04), and highest in the 66+ age group (8.5).
Value for money
When it comes to 'value for money' our panel's satisfaction rating came in slightly lower, at 7.69 out of 10. There were no significant differences from a gender perspective, however, when analysing the results by age, we found that perceived value for money increased gradually with age, from average rating of 7.52 in the Gen-Z category, to 8.08 in the 46-55 age group, and then followed a downward pattern, back down to 7.52 in the over 66's category.
Food & Drink Offering
Since the first lockdown, a lot of hoteliers have been offering a reduced menu, and we were curious to find out how that affected customer satisfaction. Our survey showed that out of the guests who had food & drinks on the premises (as opposed to those who didn't have food and drink available or decided to dine elsewhere), over 85% of respondents were satisfied with the menu options available to them.
Results were similar between men and women, however there was some variation within different age groups. The least satisfied with the menus were customers in the 36-45 age group (79%), whereas Gen-Z (93%) and 46-55's (95%) were age groups easiest to please.
Staycation Plans 2021
Based on our results, it appears that Staycations will continue to be very trendy in 2021 as 3 out of 5 consumers (60.15%) are already planning their next break, to go within the next 6 months, and almost 45% of the respondents are already planning a summer staycation as well.
Within the next 6 months, the most popular Staycation destination will be a countryside retreat (45%), followed by city break (27%) and beach break (12%).
In the summer, as you'd expect, the most popular destinations are: beach break (37%), countryside retreat (27%) and city break (23%).
Other, less popular destinations included SPA breaks, campervanning and visiting relatives in other parts of the country.
