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YouGov Poll: Over Half of UK Adults Find Airport Lounges Boring

By Spafax / April 30 2019

Though some of the world’s top-rated airport lounges boast premium features such as double-bed suites and spa treatments, a new online poll commissioned through YouGov revealed that 57 percent of UK adults who have been in an airport lounge find them boring, with 49% agreeing that lounges need to change to become more interesting.

YouGov surveyed 2,131 respondents* asking those who had visited an airport lounge how they spend their time in them, what experiences they would be interested in while in the lounge and what they would consider purchasing in them.

What People Want from Airport Lounges

When asked what they would like to be offered while in the lounge – 39 percent of respondents selected free samples of exclusive products such as mini pots of luxury jam or a centenary ale from a craft brewery.

Additional interest was noted for pop-up stores and innovative brand experiences involving product testing. Seventeen percent would like a pop-up store experience created exclusively for the lounge and 16 percent would like an innovative brand experience like test driving a car or product testing.

Charles Vine, Head of Brand Alliances at Spafax, said:

"The data in this poll makes a strong argument for revamping and zipping up airport lounges with a whopping 57 percent of adults that have been in an airport lounge agreeing that they're boring.

"The issue is dead simple – we need to make airport lounges worthwhile places to be in, places where you discover things. This presents a strong opportunity for brands to develop new experiences.

"You have the most sought-after consumers in the world, effectively captive in airport lounges. With sophisticated tastes and busy lives, these passengers are usually inundated with information overload, but in airport lounges, they are reporting down time, where they are receptive.

"The sky is one of the most effective marketing environments and Spafax is on a mission to make airport lounges worthwhile places to be - places where travellers experience new things."

"The issue is dead simple – we need to make airport lounges worthwhile places to be in, places where you discover things. This presents a strong opportunity for brands to develop new experiences."
–Charles Vine, Spafax

When asked what they would consider purchasing while in the lounge, with options ranging from alcohol to health and beauty products to clothing, shoes and watches to transports and entertainment tickets, respondents showed enthusiasm for:

• Alcohol: 28%
• Health and beauty products (makeup, perfume, skincare): 27 %
• Transport tickets for their destination (trains, buses, taxis, etc.): 21%

Vine, who has built a host of alliances between airlines and brands, said:

"There is a huge opportunity with high dwell time to take advantage of the moment of repose that passengers have in lounges.

"The survey showed strong showings for pop up stores and innovative brand experiences. The space is ripe for clever, relevant and creative thinking. A lounge can be the first time you tried a gin, worked out on a Peloton cycle, bought some West End tickets or bought yourself a centenary whisky cask. Both the airline and the brand get to benefit and gain wow factor."

"The survey showed strong showings for pop up stores and innovative brand experiences. The space is ripe for clever, relevant and creative thinking."
–Charles Vine, Spafax

Difference Between Men and Women

The survey showed that the most significant differences between male and female respondents arose when asked what they would like to be offered in the lounge and what they would consider purchasing.

While men are interested in free exclusive product sampling with 34 percent selecting the option, this figure was ever higher for women, 43 percent choosing the option.

Women and men were similarly interested in purchasing alcohol, transport tickets, electronics and watches.

However, women were significantly more interested in purchasing health and beauty products, jewellery, clothes, shoes and entertainment tickets compared to men. Forty per cent of women would purchase health and beauty products in the lounge, with only 14 percent of men showing interest. Twenty-five per cent of women would purchase clothes and accessories, while 13 percent of men would. 


*Total sample size was 2131 GB adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18th – 19th March 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).