Travelers Spend Over 5 Hours Researching a Trip Before They Even Book

Travelers Spend Over 5 Hours Researching a Trip Before They Even Book

Planning a trip today is far from a quick decision. Long before travelers book a flight or choose an accommodation, they spend weeks consuming travel-related content, often without realizing how extensive the process has become.

According to Expedia-related research conducted by Luth Research and ZQ Intelligence, travelers spend an average of approximately 303 minutes — more than five hours — engaging with travel content in the 45 days leading up to a booking. This time is spread across inspiration, destination discovery, accommodation research, and final decision-making.

To put that into perspective: travelers spend more time researching a trip than it takes to run a marathon.

The Modern Travel Research Journey

The way people plan travel has changed dramatically. Instead of moving directly from idea to booking, travelers go through a long and fragmented digital journey. Inspiration often starts casually, with images, videos, or recommendations, but gradually shifts into more focused research.

Travelers move back and forth between destinations, accommodations, reviews, and pricing, often revisiting the same options multiple times. This constant loop of inspiration and evaluation makes the planning phase much longer than expected.

What appears to be a simple choice is actually the result of dozens of micro-decisions spread over weeks.

Why Research Takes So Long

The sheer volume of available information plays a major role. Every new option introduces another comparison, another question, and another moment of doubt. Travelers want reassurance that they are making the right decision, especially when booking expensive trips or accommodations.

Instead of clarity, this abundance of choice often leads to hesitation. The goal is to reduce risk, but the outcome is frequently prolonged research, delayed decisions, and mental fatigue. Even after hours of reading and comparing, many travelers still feel unsure.

Time: The Hidden Cost of Travel Planning

Spending more than five hours researching a single trip highlights a hidden cost of modern travel planning. Beyond money, travelers invest a significant amount of time and attention before they ever reach the booking stage.

For busy professionals and families, this time investment can quickly become frustrating. What should feel like the start of a holiday instead becomes another task competing for attention.

A Simpler Approach to Planning

At The Villa Club, we see this behavior every day. Travelers don’t necessarily want more options they want better ones. They want confidence, relevance, and a clear path to a decision without weeks of research.

By curating and verifying villa options in advance, we reduce the need for endless browsing and repeated comparison. Instead of spending hours researching, travelers receive a focused selection that fits their needs from the start.

Because a great holiday shouldn’t begin with five hours of scrolling, but with peace of mind.

Source: Expedia research conducted by Luth Research / ZQ Intelligence
(Web in Travel, 2023)