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What European Travellers Want

From outside terraces to inside air conditioning, we all have our preferred creature comforts when we travel. What might be more surprising is how different the preferences are among European travellers.

For example, nearly a quarter of Italians searching on Only-apartments.com demand a kitchen, but it mattered to only half as many Brits.

We’ve looked through the request data from the site and highlighted how our habits differ from country to country. Though, some preferences are universal and we all love staying in comfortable well priced accommodation.

Give us a lift

We know the travel doesn’t stop when you reach a destination. For many Spaniards taking the stairs is too much of an ordeal with 12 per cent requesting an elevator in their apartment! While the French prize their independence and the freedom of a car – 12 per cent of them will need a car park nearby.

Coughing and cooking

Food is a shortcut to the heart and many travellers need a kitchen when they search for an apartment. What is a holiday without beautiful meals? The Italians are the most enthusiastic chefs (24 per cent searching for a kitchen) while the German’s weren’t as keen (with only 8 per cent including it in their criteria).

A taste that’s less widely enjoyed is smoking and it’s probably a good sign for Europe’s collective lungs that only 4 per cent of travellers ask for a smoker’s apartment.

What’s on the internet?

It’s part of all our lives and even on holiday we can’t bear to be without it. The internet is close to becoming standard in ever home, however 20 per cent of French ensure it’s on their apartment’s checklist, along with 15 per cent of Spaniards. The low priority other travellers seem to put on it could be down to the expectation that it will be available. Though British holiday makers should be aware that’s not always the case and, particularly in rural Europe, internet connection is by no means guaranteed.

View

Sipping on a coffee and taking in a sunrise, a glorious ocean or perhaps the view over the terra cotta roofs of the old town – soaking in a view is an unparalleled pleasure of a holiday. This is probably why terraces are such a popular cross-European search term. It’s most important for the sun-starved British (26 per cent) and least important for the Italians (8 per cent) but on average it’s the top criteria for a fifth of all travellers.

What’s the one amenity you can’t do without when you visit an apartment?

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alon Eldar .