Julie White, Vice President Commercial, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, EMEA said, “Our Wyndham Rewards survey reveals that British holidaymakers’ decisions are still very much influenced by the current climate and travel trends. With an uptick in demand and an eagerness to plan their next trip in the year ahead, domestic travel interest has continued alongside a desire to experience those international trips once more. We are also seeing continued interest in flexible and remote working, as well as the importance of sustainability when making booking choices. At Wyndham we are committed to meeting the evolving demands of our guests and supporting our partners as they welcome guests back to their hotels.”

Renewed Appetite for both International and Domestic Travel

Staycations remain at the top of Britons’ 2022 travel plans with 70% of respondents intending to visit the UK this year with pet friendly options and proximity to major attractions factoring highly. In addition to the demand for UK staycations, the survey revealed 73% of travellers are planning a trip abroad this year to European destinations such as Spain (35%), Italy (25%) and France (25%). Trips to long-haul destinations still seem to be on hold, with the exception of America, which over 40% of respondents expressed an interest to visit in 2022, making it the second most popular following the UK.

Demand for Business Travel and Hybrid Meetings

UK respondents revealed an intention to continue with new ways of business travel and working, with 53% foreseeing more hybrid than in person meetings for their work. Remote working has meant that workcations rapidly increased last year, and 34% said this has affected them positively with more time to travel for leisure with a flexible working schedule and 24% of people wishing to combine their leisure with their business travel in 2022.

Factors Influencing Travellers’ Choices: Sustainability, COVID-19 and more

35% of respondents said that they were unsure how to make their holidays sustainable, but cited use of energy efficient lighting (41%), single use plastic minimization (36%) and availability of recycling (32%) as most important practices of sustainability for them when booking a trip. A 26% rise in respondents wanted to understand more ways in which they can make their trip sustainable.

Nature and visiting family and friends ranked as the top two purposes of trips for 2022, highlighting the desire to reunite with loved ones and appreciate the outdoors which has become more apparent than ever in the wake of COVID-19. Travel restrictions and COVID-19 continue to impact bookings severely, and with that consumers are valuing flexible cancellation terms (81%) and the ability to reschedule free of charge (75%) as the most important factors when planning trips.

The survey was commissioned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ loyalty programme, Wyndham Rewards®. The award-winning programme gives more than 90 million members globally generous points earning and redemption options, including free nights at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is the world’s largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,000 hotels across 95 countries around the world, including over 60 hotels in the UK and over 400 hotels in Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa, from economy accommodations in vibrant cities to relaxing resorts by the beach and upper-upscale hotels.

*The independent online survey was conducted in November 2021 with a sample of 1,635 UK respondents aged 18-60+.