Payday booking spikes replacing traditional peaks
The traditional ‘peak’ booking periods are shifting, according to the latest insights from The Personal Travel Consultants in Partnership with Blue Bay Travel (PTCs).
The homeworking business is seeing customers increasingly booking in the post-payday windows, creating short, sharp surges in demand that are replacing traditional peaks.
This new behaviour highlights a more value-driven consumer, potentially driven by the rising cost of living.
Summer 2025 is seeing strong demand across both Europe and long-haul destinations, but with changing booking patterns, the PTCs say agents need to be more responsive than ever to changing demands.
Looking further ahead, The Personal Travel Consultants has seen an increase in long-haul bookings for Summer 2026 with destinations like the Maldives, Mexico, Mauritius and Thailand gaining popularity.
Abbie Heaton, Group Manager for the Personal Travel Consultants in partnership with Blue Bay Travel, said: “We’re seeing a clear preference for value with a focus on European destinations this summer, with Turkey, Greece, and Egypt topping the list.”
Looking ahead to summer 2026, high-end long-haul markets are showing growth, particularly among families, multi-gen enquiries and couples seeking luxury experiences.”
Data indicates that customers are delaying their booking decisions, with quote-to-booking conversion taking longer than usual.
Trading remains more unpredictable than normal, with ‘peaks’ no longer experiencing such a clearly defined trading window.
Current trends show fewer late bookings, with more customers planning high-value holidays, averaging £8,000 per booking, 2–3 seasons in advance.
However, this is contradicted by the core Blue Bay business as it continues to perform well with late bookings.
Learn more about : Blue Bay Travel ( United Kingdom )
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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