{"id":43763,"date":"2026-07-14T11:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/?p=43763"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:53:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:53:02","slug":"holidays-with-friends-or-family-the-almost-foolproof-survival-guide-to-coming-home-tanned-and-still-on-good-terms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/holidays-with-friends-or-family-the-almost-foolproof-survival-guide-to-coming-home-tanned-and-still-on-good-terms\/","title":{"rendered":"Holidays with friends or family: the (almost) foolproof survival guide to coming home tanned\u2026 and still on good terms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Group holidays promise unforgettable memories. They also bring with them a few heated debates about washing up, the budget or what time to get up. According to the Holiday Clashometer unveiled by Skyscanner, two in three French people have already experienced frustration or conflict during a group holiday. A study analysed by psychologist Alicia Sandon and humorously illustrated by author Margaux Motin, who points out that behind minor arguments often lie major misunderstandings.<\/p>\n

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For Marie-Faure Ambroise<\/b>, CEO of Beau Voyage<\/i><\/b> and an author specializing in family vacations, these minor friction points are a natural part of any group vacation. \u201cWe\u2019ve all experienced that moment on a group vacation when we eat breakfast in silence so as not to wake up our friends who don\u2019t get up until noon.<\/b> \u201d A familiar scene that illustrates these small daily misalignments, which are often more revealing than major conflicts.<\/p>\n

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Even before setting off, everyone is already speaking a different language<\/h3>\n

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At Skyscanner<\/b>, we\u2019ve had a bit of fun decoding the real language of holidays thanks to the Holiday Clashometer<\/b>, a survey conducted with OnePoll among 1,000 French people.<\/p>\n

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The results are a real treat. When someone says: \u201cI\u2019m flexible!\u201d<\/i>, they often mean: \u201cI just hope we don\u2019t go over my budget.\u201d<\/i> The person who offers a very diplomatic \u201cWe\u2019ll do whatever you want\u201d<\/i> is actually hoping that someone will finally ask for their opinion. As for the hero who announces: \u201cI can sort out the bookings\u201d<\/i>, what they\u2019re really thinking is: \u201cNot again… \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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These little discrepancies, brought to life with the mischievous touch of Margaux Motin<\/b>, set the tone: holidays often begin with a series of unspoken assumptions.<\/p>\n

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The real invisible baggage? Everyone\u2019s expectations<\/h3>\n

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The Skyscanner<\/b> study reveals that more than one in four French people believe a group trip has already strained an important relationship. Ten per cent even admit to having damaged a friendship.<\/p>\n

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For Alicia Sandon<\/b>, the problem arises long before the suitcases are packed : \u201cHolidays often begin with a collective misunderstanding. We\u2019ve all said yes to the same thing, but everyone sets off on the trip they\u2019ve imagined in their own head. Not necessarily the same one. \u201d<\/p>\n

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The psychologist adds that arguments are almost never about the real issue.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn holiday arguments, the apparent issue almost always masks an underlying need: recognition, fairness, or the need to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Her first piece of advice is therefore simple: before booking, everyone should say what would make this holiday\u2026 their ideal holiday.<\/p>\n

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The organiser deserves a holiday too<\/h3>\n

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Every group has its \u2018nice organiser\u2019. The one who compares flights, books the holiday home, chases everyone up on WhatsApp and ends up paying the deposits.<\/p>\n

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According to Skyscanner<\/b>, 41 per cent of French people feel they do more than their fair share of the organising. Even more telling, more than one in two organisers feel their efforts receive little or no recognition. In total, they spend an average of more than 14 hours preparing for the trip.<\/p>\n

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According to Alicia Sandon<\/b>:<\/p>\n

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\u201cMental load doesn\u2019t take a holiday. It just changes scenery.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In other words, thanking the person who organised everything costs less than a bouquet of flowers\u2026 and can sometimes prevent an existential crisis when it comes to allocating bedrooms.<\/p>\n

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The \u2018dishwashing war\u2019 doesn\u2019t exist<\/h3>\n

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Marie-Faure Ambroise, CEO of Beau Voyage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Well\u2026 almost.<\/p>\n

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Marie-Faure Ambroise<\/b> observes that these disagreements rarely stem from genuine fundamental differences. \u201cOr we argue because no one wants to have lunch at the same time. It\u2019s silly, but that\u2019s often what wears a group down, not the big fights.<\/b> \u201d This analysis echoes that of Alicia Sandon: behind disagreements over schedules or household chores often lie implicit expectations and a need for recognition.<\/p>\n

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Once there, the main sources of tension identified relate to household chores (18 per cent), morning routines (17 per cent), choosing activities (17 per cent) and spending whilst on holiday (16 per cent).<\/p>\n

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For Alicia Sandon<\/b>, these squabbles are often misleading : \u201cOnce there, it\u2019s never really the washing-up or having a lie-in that\u2019s the problem. These are just pretexts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Her solution? Make sure everyone gets a few hours to themselves on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not selfishness. It\u2019s prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A recommendation that should reassure anyone who secretly dreams of reading a novel on their own whilst the others are out paddleboarding.<\/p>\n

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Family holidays: expert level<\/h3>\n

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When several families go away together, the difficulty level rises even further. Finding suitable accommodation, managing the children\u2019s routines, and dealing with different budgets or sometimes conflicting parenting styles requires a good deal of flexibility.<\/p>\n

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Alicia Sandon<\/b> encourages people to talk frankly about financial matters and everyone\u2019s habits before setting off, so that no one feels judged or left out.<\/p>\n

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The best memory isn\u2019t necessarily the most perfect one<\/h3>\n

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Iconic movie on friendship : Les petits mouchoirs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Faced with tensions, more than one in three French people admit to having already given up on a group holiday in order to preserve a relationship.<\/p>\n

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However, Alicia Sandon<\/b> prefers a different approach.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGiving up out of caution also means giving up the experience of seeing that the conflict can be worked through and that the bond can emerge stronger as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This is undoubtedly the finest conclusion of the Holiday Clashometer<\/b> : a successful holiday isn\u2019t one where nobody argues, but one where everyone finds their place, where expectations are voiced… and where you come home with more fits of laughter than screenshots of WhatsApp conversations.<\/p>\n

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If these scenes seem so universal, it\u2019s also because they\u2019ve long fueled our collective imagination. \u201cFrance loves to see families tear each other apart in the movies, in Les Petits Mouchoirs<\/i> or Barbecue<\/i>. It\u2019s a reflection of our lives: we\u2019ve all, at one time or another, experienced that simmering tension on vacation with friends<\/b>,\u201d points out Marie-Faure Ambroise<\/b>. It\u2019s a reminder that group vacations are never perfect, but they often remain the ones that leave us with the richest memories.<\/p>\n

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Because, ultimately, the perfect holiday doesn\u2019t exist. On the other hand, the anecdotes that will have everyone in stitches at Christmas often stem\u2026 from an epic battle over who was supposed to empty the dishwasher.<\/p>\n

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Read also > Sunglasses: The 6 Top Trends for Summer 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

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Featured photo : \u00a9 Margaux Mottin for Skyscanner<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Group holidays promise unforgettable memories. They also bring with them a few heated debates about washing up, the budget or what time to get up. According to the Holiday Clashometer unveiled by Skyscanner, two in three French people have already experienced frustration or conflict during a group holiday. A study analysed by psychologist Alicia Sandon and humorously illustrated by author Margaux Motin, who points out that behind minor arguments often lie major misunderstandings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":555,"featured_media":43761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Group holidays promise unforgettable memories. They also bring with them a few heated debates about washing up, the budget or what time to get up.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[646,20],"tags":[806,6282,6251,228,6280,809],"class_list":["post-43763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society","category-trends","tag-family","tag-friends","tag-holidays","tag-lifestyle-en","tag-summer","tag-travel-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43763"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43963,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43763\/revisions\/43963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}