Kiwis opting for luxury on holiday

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Men want their holiday places big and comfy but women hunt out value for money.

They're among findings of a national survey by holiday home rental and management company Bachcare. It also found our preference for the classic quintessential Kiwi bach was now surpassed by our desire for the modern and luxury holiday home.

Leslie Preston, Bachcare founder and general manager, said the survey of more than 1000 people found we're changing our idea of a good break, demanding more modern places including luxury holiday homes.

"Women make the decisions and when they're co-ordinating the family they're operating on a budget, so they're more conscious of value for money. Men are away for a break from work and they want comfort, so the two [genders] are in different head-spaces," she said.

Space and comfort are most important to men but less important to people aged 18-34, the survey found. Value for money was most important for that age group, followed by 24 per cent of women and least important to the age group 55-plus.

"Kiwis prefer holiday homes to be pre-serviced, cleaned and checked prior to their arrival," Ms Preston said. Forty-three per cent said they'd prefer a place where the rubbish was taken away afterwards, 34 per cent said it was highly likely they'd like that sort of place but 22 per cent said it was not likely.

WiFi rates as a prized creature comfort: more than 53 per cent of all guests were influenced by internet access when booking.

"WiFi probably surprised me the most," Ms Preston said. "Less than 20 per cent of our places would have WiFi."

Hadley Dryden, Destination Coromandel manager, said WiFi was becoming a necessity for domestic and international travellers.