Demand for leisure travel is seeing an upward trend, with almost 72% of travelers planning to take at least three trips in the next 12 months, a recent survey has found.
According to the latest Annual Travel Survey by the Cheval Collection, travel intent for leisure saw a 46% surge from 2023. The number of respondents planning to take five or more trips was almost a quarter of the total.
It is reassuring to see that there is still strong demand from the leisure market, at a time when we are seeing headwinds in other segments, said Cheval Collection’s Director of Marketing Robert Speirs.
“Serviced apartments have proven resilience and are now part of the mainstream for guests and investors, as we are hearing through the conversations we are having in dynamic locations around the world. The combination of flexible, luxurious accommodation and limber, efficient operations is only growing in popularity.”
The preference to combine leisure and business was muted, with at least half of the respondents not traveling for business purposes at all. Of the people who plan on traveling for business in the next 12 months, 70% said they would only combine work with leisure if the hotel had a strong Wi-Fi for remote work. This was considered more important than a dedicated workspace (22%) and access to kitchen facilities (8%).
Post-pandemic working patters are yet to be fully implemented, with almost half of the respondents stating that their workplace was yet to adopt an official remote working policy. Among those who considered working from a location that was not their primary residence, in 47% of cases their employers did not have a defined policy in place.

Booking Habits
The recent spike in the cost of living, particularly the increased in the cost of air travel, has influenced booking behavior. About 53% of the respondents said they would travel at less convenient times just to avoid peak fares and lower costs. Some 22% of the respondents said they were planning to reduce the number of trips over a 12-month period to save money.
When making a booking for an accommodation, nearly 77% said they prefer to book directly or actively consider doing so if the price was competitive. Online travel agents, such as Booking.com or Expedia, found favor with only 18.5% of the respondents.
Value is a major factor for travelers and around 43% and 45% of respondents said they would either book the cheapest, non-refundable rate or they would wait for a sales event before committing to a purchase when booking an accommodation. Just over 30% of travellers indicated a preference for a provider with an attractive loyalty program.
Sustainability
While respondents prioritize sustainability, it is not as significant as ensuring a good deal on an accommodation booking. In terms of leisure travel, only 9.4% of respondents said they would stay in a property with a coherent sustainability action plan, while 14% of respondents for business travel said sustainability policy was a company requirement.
Price emerged as more important than ensuring sustainability initiatives in choosing an accommodation.
This year, the travel survey comprised over three-quarters of the participants from the U.K. and Ireland. The respondents were mainly towards the upper end of the age range, with more than two-thirds aged 45 and above. A total of 2,582 responses were received, of which around 76% were from the U.K. and Ireland and 10.3% from North America. The rest of the responses came from more than 60 countries. Some 45% of the respondents had stayed in at least one Cheval Collection property.
Currently, Cheval Collection has nine locations in London, three in Edinburgh and one in Dubai.