- A representative survey by MEININGER Hotels shows: 63 percent of parents find vacation planning stressful, compared to only 46 percent of people without children
- The gender difference is particularly evident among parents: 69 percent of mothers experience a high mental load, while 58 percent of fathers do
- Clear perception gap in the “equal division” of responsibilities: 40 percent of fathers believe the planning is fairly shared, whereas only 29 percent of mothers agree
- Biggest stress factors: booking accommodations, budgeting, organizing travel, and packing
- Despite the stress: for half of the respondents, a shared vacation strengthens family cohesion
Traveling is fun, or at least that’s what you’d think. But reality often looks different. Who plans the route? Who packs the suitcases? Who remembers the first-aid kit, sunscreen, and the favorite cuddly toy? This invisible organizational burden that constantly runs in the back of your mind is called mental load: the mental strain caused by planning, coordinating, and taking responsibility for all the big and small tasks.
A recent, representative survey by MEININGER Hotels shows that more than half of Germans (57 percent) perceive the mental load of vacation planning as high or very high. For parents in particular, planning a trip can become a major source of stress: 63 percent of respondents with children said they experience a high mental load related to travel, with 20 percent even rating it as very high. Among people without children, the number is significantly lower, with 46 percent saying they feel heavily burdened, and 10 percent feeling extremely so.
Gender differences become more pronounced with children
The survey shows that mental load during vacation planning affects everyone, but women feel the strain more strongly, especially when children are involved. While 43 percent of men without children rate their mental load as high or very high, the figure rises to 49 percent among women. With children, this gap widens: 58 percent of men report a high or very high level of mental load, compared to 69 percent of women – almost seven out of ten mothers. What stands out in particular is that one in four women with children (24 percent) even describe their mental load as very high, compared to 15 percent of fathers. The reasons for this become clear when looking at how tasks are divided: 41 percent of women with children cite packing and organizing luggage as their biggest burden, compared to 33 percent of fathers. At the same time, 25 percent of men with children find coordinating with their partner especially time-consuming, while only 14 percent of mothers say the same.
Who plans the vacation? The perception gap between the genders
The survey shows that vacation planning is often a woman’s responsibility. Thirty-seven percent of women with children report taking full responsibility for planning the trip, compared to 29 percent of men with children. Including the category “mostly me,” a total of two-thirds of women with children (67 percent) carry the main or sole responsibility, while the figure for men is 55 percent. Particularly interesting is the perception gap regarding an “even split”: while 40 percent of men with children say the planning is shared fairly, only 29 percent of mothers agree. This suggests that many couples have different views on who does how much of the planning work, a classic sign of the often invisible mental load. Dr. Daniela Blickhan, a psychologist and chairperson of the German-speaking Association for Positive Psychology, illustrates this with a typical example: “A mother takes care of booking the accommodation before the trip, packs for the children, remembers travel documents, medications, or snacks for the journey, and also manages the daily schedule on-site. Meanwhile, other family members simply enjoy the time together. For the organizing person, the vacation then feels more like a job than a break.”
The hotel as both a stress factor and a source of relaxation
What causes the most stress? The answers are clear: for 41 percent of all respondents, booking accommodation is the top stressor, followed by budgeting (38 percent) and organizing travel and packing (both 35 percent). For 40 percent of travelers, a well-organized, stress-free journey is the most important factor for a relaxed start to the vacation. Also important are a central hotel location (33 percent) and spacious rooms (32 percent). “The results clearly show how mentally taxing vacation planning can be for parents, especially mothers,” says Malin Widmarc-Nilsson, VP Commerce at MEININGER Hotels. “Those who travel with children often have to juggle many tasks at once. That is why it is so important that travel is associated with anticipation and joy again, through simple planning, transparent offers, and places where families can truly unwind.”
Family vacations foster bonding and create lasting memories
Despite all the stress, family vacations are highly valued. Whether with or without children, nearly half (48 percent) of respondents say that traveling together strengthens family bonds. Additionally, 55 percent consider family vacations important because they create memories that children will cherish for a long time. To ensure this happens, expert Dr. Blickhan recommends openness: “Everyone deals differently with the emotional ambivalence of traveling—anticipation, uncertainty, excitement. What is relieving for one person can be stressful for another. These differences in coping strategies are normal but can lead to tensions within a family. That’s why it’s especially important to talk openly and take everyone’s needs seriously, so the vacation can truly be a time of relaxation for all.”
About the study
The study commissioned by MEININGER Hotels was conducted from September 24 to 26, 2025, via the Appinio panel. A total of 1,000 people aged 25 to 50 were surveyed, representative of the overall German population. The research examined how strongly mental load is perceived during travel, both among people with and without children, and depending on their family situation.
