Home Redecoration Starts with a Holiday

• New Booking.com research reveals more than half (56%) of travellers return from holiday so enthused by their holiday accommodation that they are inspired to undertake interior design work to their own home
• A third say they have spent more time in their holiday accommodation than planned because they loved the interior design so much
• Holiday rental homes offer more unique or unusual interior design than other types of holiday accommodation
• 70% select where to stay based on its design (look and feel) being different to their own home
• Booking.com has partnered with interior stylist and lifestyle expert, Will Taylor, to provide practical interior design tips to empower more travellers to be able to bring that holiday feeling home with them

London – 19 February 2018 - For a third of people across the world, interior design is a top passion point. What’s more, our love of beautiful homes is inspired by the world around us, and in particular by the amazing places we stay when we go on holiday.

Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travellers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, has conducted research across nearly 19,000 global travellers to reveal that the interior design of our holiday accommodation can provide such an unforgettable experience that over half of travellers (56%) are motivated to undertake interior design work inspired by their travels when they return to their own home, rising to 67% amongst Millennials.

Such is our desire for our holidays to live on, that a third (32%) of travellers say they want to update their home because they like interior design that reminds them of happy times spent on holiday, and one in five (21%) like to recreate their holiday experiences when back at home.

In addition to the interior of their holiday accommodation, taking wider inspiration from local design ranked highly (44%) in influencing home redecoration. Those interested in following suit should consider Helsinki (Finland), Copenhagen (Denmark), Eindhoven (Netherlands), Graz (Austria) and Milan (Italy) – as these are the top five destinations endorsed for design globally by Booking.com travellers*.

Other top sources that influence travellers’ plans to redecorate post-holiday include

• The sights and sounds e.g. colours, textiles of their holiday (36%)
• Being immersed in a new culture (32%)
• Visiting museums, galleries or other places of interest (20%)

Holidays by design

Interior design is also a lead factor in travellers’ decision-making process ahead of booking somewhere to stay. Four in 10 (39%) say the interior design of their accommodation is the most important factor when choosing where they stay. In fact, three in 10 (29%) say they have spent more time in their accommodation than originally planned, because they loved the interior design so much (rising to 60% amongst those from India and 56% amongst travellers from China).

With such a variety of holiday accommodation options available today, four in 10 (39%) travellers say that it is the chance to stay somewhere new that inspires them to refresh their home.

It’s rental homes (e.g. cottages, villas, gites) that lead the way, with 34% of travellers saying they select these unique types of stay for their inspirational décor, compared to just 25% who select hotels on this same basis. Nearly one in two (47%) support this thinking as they say they would choose to stay in a holiday home over a hotel if they wanted to experience unique or unusual interior design (rising to 67% amongst those from Thailand and 71% amongst travellers from India).

Fresh ideas come from different settings

For the large majority of travellers (70%), a key motivation for choosing somewhere to stay on holiday is that its design (look and feel) is different to their own home. This allows travellers to escape physically and mentally, with two thirds (57%) enjoying being in a completely different setting, as it helps them to get the most from their holiday. Other reasons for selecting accommodation with different interior design to their own home, include:

- Embracing new experiences while on holiday (54%)

- Experiencing different cultures (45%)

- Enjoying staying in accommodation more unusual than their own home (29%) 

- Experiencing different types of design when on holiday before trying a new style in their own home (20%)

- To give them inspiration for future home makeovers (15%)

- Experiencing different styles that they wouldn't be brave enough to replicate in their own home (15%)

Over half (57%) of travellers report that going on holiday encourages them to be more creative with their home interiors, Booking.com has partnered with interior stylist and lifestyle expert, Will Taylor, to provide practical interior design tips to empower more travellers to be able to bring that holiday feeling home with them. Five of Will’s top tips include**

1. Turn the pieces you fell in love with and brought home from your holiday into statement design features in your house. For example, why not turn a basket into a unique lighting pendant over the dining table, or hang a rug behind the headboard of your bed for an unexpected addition of colour, pattern and texture to the room.
2. If you loved the colours you saw when you were travelling, but don’t know where to start in bringing them into your home, don’t fear. Look through all of the pictures and purchases you made (postcards, clothes, accessories) and see what the colour pattern is. It’s likely, you will have been drawn to one or two hues over others – those are the colours to pick up at the paint store.
3. Shop smart! You’ll fit a lot more local design pieces into your luggage if you leave behind the pieces you can buy back home. So if you find a set of throw pillows you love, take the covers and leave the inserts behind. For example, a neutral couch ‘redressed’ with a series of colourfully patterned kilim pillows from a Moroccan bazaar, will immediately give a warm and exotic bohemian feel to your living room.
4. Scent can be powerful in transporting us back to a holiday. Did you love the feeling and smell of the fireside glow in your Scandinavian apartment? Buy a smoky-wood scented candle and light it on your next snow day to instantly feel like you are back by that cosy fireplace.
5. Colour is an emotive element of design and it’s perfect for recreating a holiday moment or favourite view back at home. Plus, if you love the colours that are around you, you’re likely to want to spend more time in the space – and, importantly, feel happier while you do. Why not DIY an ombre blue wall behind the bed or in your entryway to remind you of that Mediterranean trip of a lifetime? There are countless painting tutorials online that can guide you through creating a design statement such as this with paint.

Pepijn Rijvers, Chief Marketing Officer at Booking.com comments: “The experiences we have while on holiday can last for a lifetime; whether that’s the memories we create, the purchases we make or the inspiration we come home with. Passion for interior design is one that spans all continents, and what better way to get new ideas and fresh inspiration than looking to the accommodation we stay in while on holiday.

“At Booking.com we offer 30 different types of accommodation – from home and apartment rentals and B&Bs, to tree houses and igloos, all of which are designed to give travellers the ultimate holiday experience, and may even inspire them to make home décor changes in the process.”