When it comes to booking holiday accommodation, the Dutch are leading the way in Europe. This is shown by research by Eurostat, the bureau of statistics of the European Union. The organization retrieved the online travel data of all EU members. 86% of the holidays (flights, accommodation, car rental, trips) abroad is booked online.

Booking online accommodation: OTAs have the largest share

6.3 million hotel nights are booked online for all holidays. 3.5 million of these bookings is for accommodation in the Netherlands and 2.8 million is abroad. Accommodations are mainly booked through an intermediary organization (OTAs) such as Booking.com, Trivago and Expedia. In total, this is 38% of all online booked accommodations. 16% book an accommodation through a travel agency or tour operator and already 11%, and still growing, of the Dutch via the website of the hotel itself.

Profile of the online hotel booker

35% of the online hotel booker is between 35 – 54 years old. The age 18 – 34 has an equal share of 20% with the generation of 55 – 64 years. 70% of all online hotel bookings are made by the upper social classes. 67% of all online hotel bookers have a family without children and 11% are single.

Babyboomer (55-64) also books online

It still seems plausible to say that the babyboomer is not online savy. Further investigation shows that this is absolutely not true. 78% of the over-56s book their holidays online. The rest of the babyboomers book their holiday via telephone or travel agency on site.

Device used while booking

Nowadays we can choose from different devices. Generation Y (21-30 years) booked the least through a desktop or PC and most via a laptop (62%). Only 4% book through a mobile and this accounts for 56% of all mobile reservations made. With generation X, the ratio of desktop / laptop is different and 11% of the total is booked via a tablet. Mobile follows with 3%. This is more than Generation Y!

The Babyboom generation prefers the desktop (48%) above a laptop (42%). Only 1% of babyboomers book with a smartphone. The study also includes generation Z (-21 years). For them, it has been determined by the booker (ie parents) which device is being used.

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Source: travelnext.nl
Disclaimer: The figures and facts are published by NBTC-NIPO research on 28 October 2016.