This Summer, Vacation Is the One Thing Nobody Wants to Cut

A few weeks ago I started looking at flights for a trip later this year. I’ve pulled the same search up more than once since then, priced out a couple other options, and still haven’t actually booked anything. I keep pulling up the price, running the math, and closing the tab without booking.

Turns out that’s basically what Priceline’s own research describes. Planning a summer trip is exhausting this year for 81% of Americans, and most of that comes down to the deal hunt itself: 43% point to searching for the best price as the actual source of the fatigue. The strange part is that people keep doing it anyway. Finding a great deal feels as good as the vacation itself for 85% of people, even though 65% think finding a truly great one is basically impossible. That’s a pretty accurate description of pulling the same flight search up for the fourth time.

Four stats from Priceline on trip planning burnout: 81% say planning a summer trip is exhausting, 43% say the deal hunt is the exhausting part, 85% say a great deal feels as good as the vacation itself, 65% think finding a truly great deal is basically impossible.

None of that exhaustion is really about the industry itself, though. If anything, travel is having a calmer stretch than it has in a while: the American Customer Satisfaction Index just called 2026 the most normal travel year in quite some time, now that post-pandemic “revenge travel” and the operational chaos that came with it have cooled off.

But normal doesn’t mean people have stopped thinking about cost. ACSI’s own researchers pointed out that travelers are rethinking what a trip is actually worth to them, not just paying whatever it costs and moving on.

That rethinking shows up clearly in the consumer surveys that come out every spring too. KPMG and Priceline both landed on some version of the same finding this year: people are cutting back somewhere to make the trip happen, not cutting the trip itself. Priceline found that 73% of Americans are determined to make a summer vacation happen this year, even while most of them admit travel costs more and delivers less than it used to.

What people are willing to give up first

Here’s where people say they’d actually make cuts before they’d give up a trip:

Horizontal bar chart: what people would give up first, before giving up vacation. Alcohol 83% highlighted in pink, dining out 45%, reality TV 39%, online shopping 38%, streaming 30% in blue.

People will give up alcohol before they’ll give up eating out. Makes sense once you think about why each one exists. A drink is easy to skip without changing any plans. Skipping dinner out usually means skipping the plans altogether, the time with friends, the break from cooking, whatever got you out of the house in the first place.

KPMG saw something similar. 67% of people say they’re eating at home more instead of dining out, and 76% of them say it’s specifically to protect the budget. 37% have already cut back on alcohol too. Planned summer spending is down about 8% for travel, restaurants, and personal care alike. No one category is taking the hit.

Four stats from KPMG on everyday spending trades: 67% are eating at home more instead of dining out, 76% of them say it is specifically to protect the budget, 37% have already cut back on alcohol, and planned summer spending is down about 8% for travel, restaurants, and personal care alike.

What this means beyond travel

A smaller order or a paused subscription doesn’t automatically mean a customer’s losing interest. Sometimes they’re protecting something else the same way people are protecting their vacation budget, and you happened to be what got cut this time around. You can’t tell the difference just by watching a number drop. A dip in spending looks the same whether someone’s drifting away for good or just getting through a tight couple of months, and figuring out which one it is takes more than a single “why did you cancel” dropdown. People will tell you more than that, if you ask.

Curious what’s actually behind a shift you’re seeing in your own customers? Reach out, we’d love to help you dig into it.

Sources – PDFs of all sources are available

• American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Travel Study 2026
• Priceline, 2026 State of Summer Travel Report
• KPMG, Consumer Pulse Summer 2026 Survey (in collaboration with CivicScience)