More than two in three Americans who book vacations find the process stress-inducing (70%), citing air travel as most likely to cause stress, according to a new YouGov report.

The three most stressful travel booking activities for Americans are booking airport transfers (46% find stressful), booking flights (45%), and selecting luggage allowance (41%), followed by booking accommodations and booking rental cars.

YouGov’s new Booking burnout: US travel stress report unpacks how Americans plan vacations in 2025, which parts of the booking process they find the most stressful, and which OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) have the most satisfied customers.

The report finds that Booking.com leads the industry in customer satisfaction (Net +63.9), followed by Trivago (+63.2) and choicehotels.com (+62.0). Meanwhile, CheapTickets improved most in 2024 year (up +7.3 YoY).

Among the findings:

• 64% of US vacationers plan to take at least two personal trips in 2025, and 14% plan to take four or more
• Nearly half of US vacationers begin booking more than 3 months in advance (47%), while less than a sixth (16%) of vacation bookers book within a month of traveling
• 46% of vacation bookers who use AI-powered recommendations say it is “unhelpful” or “neither helpful nor unhelpful” – indicating much potential for improvement to AI-powered booking experiences
• 39% of US vacationers plan to take an international trip in 2025, with nearby Canada leading as the most likely destination, especially among vacationers aged 18-34 (17% vs 11% gen pop). Americans aged 65+ are looking at the Caribbean or West Indes (6% vs 5% gen pop)
• 67% of US vacation bookers get their flights and accommodations separately, while 14% opt for vacation packages
• 70% of Americans find at least one part of the travel booking process to be stressful, and those who book vacation packages are more likely to find every part more stressful

“Advances in technology, such as AI-driven recommendations and mobile-friendly platforms, are transforming how travelers research, compare, and secure their trips,” said Kenton Barello, VP at YouGov America. “But not every traveler is taking advantage of these tools, or the tools aren’t necessarily helping with the most impactful pain points, leading to continued stresses for US travelers.”

Booking burnout: US travel stress report 2025 draws on data from YouGov’s panel of 27+ million consumers worldwide, sourcing insights from YouGov Surveys, YouGov Profiles, and YouGov BrandIndex.