A new survey of 2,000 adults has found that nearly half of Brits consider themselves the 'Chief Vacation Officer' (CVO) in their friendship group – the person who turns holiday chat into a real plan. The research, commissioned by Samsung, identified six main personalities on a group trip, including the 'Busy Bee' (15%), who is never free, and the 'Ghost' (10%), who vanishes until they show up at the airport.
Key Personalities on Group Holidays
One in five (20%) said they are the 'Snap Happy One', taking photos of everything. Another 14% described themselves as the 'Fluent-ish Friend', who attempts to speak the local language. Meanwhile, 11% admitted they are 'Window Shoppers' – they scroll social media for ideas and send recommendations to the group, but never actually book anything.
The Role of the Chief Vacation Officer
The research also found that 64% believe a trip would not happen without the CVO. From starting the group chat to picking a destination, 53% said the CVO's role is often overlooked. Samsung teamed up with Vicky Pattison, who describes herself as a CVO, to highlight the complexities of travel planning. The brand noted that travel planning has become more complicated, with people switching between many apps, and that the Galaxy Z Fold7 can help thanks to its Multi Window feature.
Vicky Pattison said: “It’s safe to say I love a holiday, and in my friendship group I am absolutely the lead booker and honestly, I thrive from the challenge. What starts as a simple ‘we should all go away’ somehow turns into you sorting dates, comparing hotels, collecting passport details and reminding people to pay you back and I secretly get a kick out of it. Everyone loves the holiday once it’s booked, but very few people see what goes into making it happen.”
Planning Challenges and Tools
Phones are now a key tool for planning group trips, with 67% using them to help organise everything. This includes using social media to find new destinations (40%) and using AI tools to help build an itinerary (42%). Even so, 46% said they still struggle to keep the group chat, bookings and everyone’s preferences in one place. Planning is not just done at a laptop or kitchen table either. Gen Z are fitting it in during spare moments, with 24% saying they have planned a holiday on their lunch break or while commuting.
Top Holiday Planning Challenges
The biggest planning headaches included finding dates that work for everyone (42%), choosing where to stay (27%) and collecting passport details (11%). When asked what would make planning easier, 37% said it would help to see flights, hotels and messages side by side. Others said they would like to view multiple apps at once (38%), switch easily between chats, bookings and itineraries (34%), and have a bigger screen for comparing options (32%). More than a third (37%) said better tools would encourage them to organise more trips abroad.
Top 10 Holiday Planning Challenges
- Finding dates that work for everyone
- Agreeing a budget everyone is happy with
- Choosing where to stay
- Making decisions when no one else will commit
- Dealing with people changing their mind repeatedly
- Getting everyone to reply in the group chat
- Chasing people for payments or deposits
- Comparing too many destination options
- Agreeing activities so everyone feels the trip is worth it
- Deciding on flights or travel times
