Online travel agency announces results of poll that shines the spotlight on Britons and their behaviors abroad indicating a nation of fibbers.

According to a new poll, British holiday-makers are more than content with telling lies and exaggerating experiences in order to profit from it. The anonymous survey conducted by www.sunshine.co.uk asked 2,510 people aged 18 and above about their holiday experiences and what, if anything, they have done or said to benefit their experience. Those who were asked had all been on a foreign holiday in the last year so these results are very fresh, and a little worrying.

The first question up was a multiple choice option that asked: ‘Which of the following, if any, have you previously done on a holiday abroad to get what you want/benefit in some way?’ The results of the answers revealed that 23% of those asked had lied about or exaggerated a bad experience and 19% had been over generous with tipping when told not to. These figures aren’t the most shocking, overtipping isn’t something done by bad people and an exaggeration of a bad experience can often simply be human nature to emphasize a point.

The results go on to say that 13% of people polled had threatened to leave a bad online review, 10% had refused to pay a bill and 8% had lied about a special occasion or birthday to gain something extra. Speaking about the results, Sunshine Managing Director Chris Clarkson had this to say:

“Threatening bad reviews is clearly one of the top tools in Britons’ bargaining arsenal. Hotels and restaurant rely a lot on good reviews only to drive custom and bookings, so it’s easy to see why threatening a bad review would make them bend over backwards to accommodate a customer’s request. Still, Britons shouldn’t bend the truth or fabricate stories for their own personal gains!” 

The poll pursued those who had exaggerated or lied by asking them to specify what exactly they had done or said to gain a benefit from the hotel or restaurant. The results are as follows:

1- Lying about a hair in my food – 31%

2- Lying about room cleanliness – 22%

3- Lying about noise disturbances – 14%

4- Lying about suffering food poisoning – 9% 

The next question asked which members of staff had suffered these lies and exaggerations. Restaurant staff topped the charts at a huge 65% with hotel receptionists (21%) and housekeeping staff (18%) following behind.

Finally the questionnaire asked the participants what they had hoped to achieve from their complaints and exaggerations. Unsurprisingly, 47% of those asked confessed to having hoped to save money or score a discount whilst 38% hoped to receive an upgrade of some description. The surprising statistic here however is that 51% of those who lied were successful in their attempts to gain a benefit. Figures like this indicate that, with a near 50/50 success rate, it is unlikely that British holiday makers will cease in their efforts to save money or get an upgrade in the future.