Early bookers find value in lower prices and more choice

Sunweb customers’ early booking habits are back to pre-pandemic levels. They are traditionally booking their summer holidays in January again. In the first month of 2023, the number of bookings is on average 50 percent higher than in the same month in 2022, and is back to pre-COVID levels.

Currently, we see that 90 percent of bookings are for the summer holidays. Where we saw some delay in bookings in recent years due to the uncertainty the pandemic posed, January is now as busy as ever. 

Many consumers use the winter months to plan their summer holidays, making this a logical time to book. Moreover, we have splendid early-booking offers and there is still plenty of choice. Affordable Turkey is currently our most popular summer destination, while Spain and Greece also remain popular.

Same amount of bookings

In current bookings, we mainly see an increase in longer holidays as well as luxury accommodations. We do expect last-minute bookings to be popular throughout the year. 

Besides, we notice an increase in all-inclusive holidays and a steady demand for package deals. As we’ve mentioned before, the revival of the package holiday has been an ongoing trend, as they are both flexible and offer guarantees – something that became more important during the pandemic and recent issues at European airports.

Tom Roth
director revenue management

Sunweb Group