By Deepak Chhabra, Director, Holy Hotels
The New Year 2025–26 travel season marked a noticeable change in how travellers approached one of the busiest holiday periods of the year. Instead of planning weeks in advance, a large share of travellers chose spontaneity, finalizing their plans just days before New Year’s Eve. What emerged was not just a spike in last-minute bookings but a broader behavioural shift in how people now view celebrations, time off, and travel itself.
At the core of this trend was a change in mindset. For many travellers, New Year no longer felt like an event that needed rigid planning. Instead, it became an extension of personal mood and momentum; decided by how the year ended rather than how early plans were made. This emotional approach to travel, driven by burnout, the need for quick resets, and a desire to celebrate on one’s own terms, pushed decisions closer to the date.
This behaviour was still being affected by work culture, albeit in a more subtle manner. Although hybrid and remote work gave flexibility, it also brought the work life and personal life together. Most professionals hesitated to estimate end-of-year closures, deadlines, and carry-forward commitments until they were sure of travelling. Instead of making bookings blocked out, they preferred to keep agile, causing a flood of bookings in the last window.
Hotels facilitated this spontaneity. During the New Year season, a lot of properties abandoned old-fashioned festive constraints and tilted towards flexibility. Instead of focusing only on long-stay packages, hotels introduced flexible formats; short stays, experience-led celebrations, and all-inclusive New Year offerings that reduced planning fatigue for guests. For travellers, the appeal lay in being able to arrive, celebrate, and unwind without coordinating multiple elements.
The nature of the celebration itself also evolved. Large, over planned New Year trips gave way to intimate, experience-driven stays. Travellers increasingly prioritized atmosphere over itinerary -choosing properties that offered curated dinners, live music, wellness experiences, or scenic settings. Boutique hotels, resorts, and premium homestays benefited from this shift, as they aligned naturally with shorter, last-minute celebratory breaks.
This behaviour was also strengthened by the digital confidence. Real-time availability and instant confirmations helped to ensure that travellers made quick decisions because of transparent pricing. The flexibility of booking and the possibility to compare alternatives, evaluate the experience of the past guests, and exclude the fear of last-minute travelling erased the panic that was traditionally related to last-minute travelling. Because of it, spontaneity ceased to be risky; it became efficient.
This trend was also supported through connectivity enhancement quietly. It became easier to make decisions at the last moment with respect to the comfort of travelling due to the fact that the frequency of the flights was improved and the road network was smoother and more accessible to the leisure destinations. This stimulated travel at New Year, which was more intentional than logistical.
One of the most important changes was probably the change in the values of travellers. Instead of trying to get the first offer, most people waited till they got the experience at the correct price. Hotels that had matched dynamic pricing with added-value inclusions (dining, entertainment, or wellness) experienced better check-ins in the last days of the month of December.
Reflectively, the 2025-26 New Year was not a case of panic buying but rather a case of spontaneous buying. The increased number of late bookings indicated an emotionally oriented, digitally empowered traveller who is not ready to commit too deeply. In the case of the travel and hospitality sector, the season highlighted a valuable lesson, i.e., flexibility, experience design, and timing are currently as essential as destination and price in defining peak-period demand.
