Half of Brits admit to muting their group chat to avoid holiday planning, leaving 'holiday heroes' to dedicate a whole working week to it, according to research from travel firm GetYourGuide. Only 24% of Brits identify as the group's 'holiday hero' who makes the trip happen.
Muting and avoiding responsibility
Despite seven in 10 Brits agreeing that you need that one person to get the trip out of the group chat, almost half (46%) admit to muting a WhatsApp group chat to avoid taking the responsibility. A quarter of Gen Z travellers (24%) admit they've even gone as far as faking an illness to avoid helping out.
The cost of being the holiday hero
This is despite a quarter of holiday heroes (22%) spending the equivalent of a full working week (37 hours) planning group holidays by booking flights, hotels and experiences. A surprising one in two (49%) are even left out of pocket after covering costs upfront.
GetYourGuide's reward campaign
GetYourGuide has teamed up with podcasters and seasoned travellers Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo. They say they'll reward the holiday hero in every group with a chance to win £5,000 worth of GetYourGuide experiences with 20 £200 vouchers as runner-up prizes.
During their first baby-free getaway to Paris this month, Sophie and Jamie battled it out for the crowning title of Holiday Hero. While Sophie planned a pastry class by a French grandmother, Jamie took home the trophy for his planning of a vintage car tour around the City of Love. This backed up the nationwide research where more men (58%) claimed to be the Holiday Hero vs women (53%).
Quotes from Jamie and Sophie
Jamie said: "Ever since a disastrous trip to Mykonos in 2024 which resulted in a hotel change minutes after arriving at the one Sophie hadn't even checked a photo of, I have proudly stepped into the holiday hero role. I get very excited picking the destinations, researching the hotels and convincing Sophie to join me on our unforgettable experiences. My next challenge is persuading her to join me in New Zealand to skydive."
Sophie said: "While holiday admin is not my forte, I excel in finding the hidden gem restaurants, and of course, bringing the vibes. Since Ziggy came along, we have a new passenger princess in the family who requires my full attention. I'll admit I don't always give Jamie the recognition he deserves for getting our holidays from ideas to reality so it's brilliant that GetYourGuide are rewarding the nation's holiday heroes. Who knows what Jamie would have us doing if he got his hands on £5,000 worth of travel experiences."
Tips from the Holiday Expert
GetYourGuide enlisted the advice of Chelsea Dickenson, aka The Holiday Expert, to navigate group dynamics. Her tips include: making sure holiday zeros still pull their weight by reading the itinerary, showing up on time, and not being negative; avoiding heat-heightened tensions by booking skip-the-line tickets; sorting out the budget before going with an anonymous survey; getting creative if on a tighter budget by merging budgets; and letting everyone have their say by catching up in person or using the Wishlist feature.
You can nominate a holiday hero by tagging them in the pinned Instagram post @getyourguide and tell them why they deserve to win.
