Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Other differences could be seen with the 'gain perspective' and 'like
being waited on' options. These received low responses in this study (8%
and 4% respectively) but were higher in Plog's (2005) research (31% and
24% respectively). The full comparison is outlined in Table 8.2.
Conclusion
Stress levels are for many parents unchanged or worsened by a holiday.
Parents are often among those most in need of a holiday, yet in some cases
they are not experiencing the benefits that holidaying can bring to others.
What is of significance is that the cause or at least a contributor to stress
is often the simple things missing from the accommodation. Respondents
spoke of major angst arising from having no blinds in a child's bedroom,
preventing the child from being able to have an afternoon nap. As the lack
of the afternoon nap resulted in irritable behaviour from the child, the child
became a poor companion for the parents and led to a loss of enjoyment of
the holiday.
At other times, cooking utensils were inadequate for a family, despite
brochures advertising the accommodation as being suited to families. In one
instance only a small saucepan was available and therefore the parents had
to cook two dinners instead of one. Small washing machines resulted in
more loads of washing. A lack of facilities to dry clothes was awkward and
created angst. Other stories included the dining table having only four seats
in a three-bedroom apartment designed to sleep six people. Other sources of
stress arose from the parents requesting accommodation with no stairs yet
having an apartment with stairs, which was considered a hazard for young
children. Where requests for a laundry were not addressed it meant that
parents were washing in a hand basin for an entire family. These examples
added to people's workload of household chores that are not typically con-
sidered relaxing. In some cases, then, the holiday resulted in an increase in
unpleasant tasks, not a relaxing and enjoyable experience.
This research adds to our understanding of the diverse needs of families,
particularly those families with pre-school children. Specific requirements
to ensure young children's sleep routines are maintained are considered
essential for those families. This family stage can be identified as family life
cycle (FLC) stage III, which is an area discussed in Chapter 12. Accommoda-
tion developers are most likely not in the FLC stage III, resulting in those
small but essential design components being forgotten. Realising the stress
impact that relatively minor shortcomings of accommodation can have on
the family holiday can lead to change. Only by catering to the varied needs
of families can the long-term future of these businesses be ensured. The
costs of ensuring a relatively stress-free holiday experience can be considered
minor compared with the costs of families not returning or poor word of
mouth and poor word-of-mouse (i.e. negative consumer comments made
