Hotels.com reveals stags continue celebrations while hens tighten their belts

According to a poll by leading accommodation website Hotels.com, British men are preserving the right to enjoy their last days of pre-nuptial freedom while brides-to-be are reining in their spending and economising on hen parties.

Hotels.com and Wedding Ideas magazine found that stags continue to revel in a final fling of freedom as three quarters (74%) say their celebrations will last for a weekend or longer. Stay-at-home hens, meanwhile, are far more likely to economise as two-thirds (59%) say their pre-marital celebrations will only last one day.

Accordingly, the research found, stags are spending considerably more - parting with £179 each on average for each party they attend. Hens spend a more modest £118 on the celebration.

Stags are far more likely than their hen counterparts to venture beyond British shores for their celebration, with a third (32%) planning parties overseas. Of all stags polled, a quarter (27%) will head to European party destinations while another one-in-twenty (5%) will venture even further afield to the US or Canada. As a result, a number of the top stag do destinations were foreign cities: Prague (second), Amsterdam (third), Barcelona (fifth) and Tallinn (eighth) all feature in the top ten destinations for stags, although London retained the top spot. With many stag nights now going beyond one night and into a weekend, this saw a boost for London hotels last year.

At the other end of the scale, the vast majority (96%) of brides-to-be will celebrate in the UK and more than a quarter (28%) will not venture further than their home towns. In fact, only one foreign destination - the Spanish city of Barcelona - made it into the top 10 most popular locations for hen parties. Hens booking accommodation for their celebrations looked first to London, closely followed by Brighton, then Edinburgh hotels and accommodation in Devon, Cornwall and Bath.

Alison Couper, director of communications for Hotels.com says "Traditionally the wedding day is all about the bride, so it would seem that many grooms use their stag do as an opportunity to take share the limelight ahead of the big day."

Rachel Moschke, editor of Wedding Ideas magazine, said: "Most of us worry about keeping our wedding costs to a minimum, and brides are becoming increasingly conscious of what they ask their friends and family to pay for. The hen do is one area where brides feel like they need to keep their eye on the budget and are celebrating in the UK so there is more in the kitty for their big day."

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Notes to editors:
Research was conducted among 300 Wedding Ideas magazine readers in May/June 2009.

About Hotels.com
As part of the Expedia group which operates in all major markets with dedicated staff, Hotels.com offers more than 100,000 quality hotels worldwide including New York hotels, Rome hotels and Paris hotels. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com benefits from one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating the best rates for its users, plus the site has user-contributed reviews of its properties.

About Wedding Ideas Magazine
Wedding Ideas Magazine is the UK's best-selling handbag-sized bridal magazine and is on sale from newsagents and supermarkets nationwide. Wedding Ideas has hundreds of ideas every month, from dresses and accessories to stationery, gifts and honeymoon ideas.

PR Contact:
Cordy Griffiths
Hotels.com
42 Earlham St
Covent Garden
London
WC2H 9LA
020 7019 2268
www.hotels.co.uk