Four days. £5.11 million in hotel voucher sales. Plenty for hoteliers to think about.
Across Journey’s voucher platform, Black Friday to Cyber Monday 2025 generated 21% more sales value than the same four days in 2024. More than 32,600 vouchers were sold, bringing everything from restorative spa days to overnight escapes into someone’s gifting plans.
Those four days accounted for 9.4% of the platform’s annual hotel voucher sales value. For hotels preparing for 2026, that makes Black Friday a moment worth planning for properly. Our latest analysis offers a useful view of when people buy, what they choose and where your campaign could work harder.
Give your campaign a head start
Black Friday demand is arriving earlier. In 2025, 32% of identified campaign sales took place before Black Friday itself.
Across all three years analysed, campaigns that launched at least 14 days early generated the most sales relative to their hotels’ usual daily sales levels. That gives hotels a reason to explore an earlier start, perhaps through a member offer or a pre-sale for past guests.
For 2026, that means considering a launch around 13 November, while keeping Black Friday on 27 November as the main event. Early launches were associated with stronger overall campaign sales; they weren’t a guarantee of success. Your audience, marketing activity and offer still matter.
Be ready before the morning rush
Black Friday itself generated £2.18 million, accounting for almost 43% of the four-day sales total. And buyers were up early: 43% of Friday’s orders were placed before midday, with the highest sales value recorded between 8am and 9am.
Have your offers ready to buy from midnight, with email and social activity lined up for the morning. Check the buying journey beforehand, from the campaign link to the voucher details and payment. When demand arrives, every unnecessary step gives someone another reason to pause.
Keep some momentum for the final stretch, too. Around a third of orders on both Sunday and Cyber Monday came after 7pm. An evening reminder could help your offer reach people when they’re ready to shop.
Put stays and spa in the spotlight
The experiences at the heart of your hotel deserve a prominent place in your campaign. Overnight stays and spa accounted for 58% of voucher value during the four-day period, compared with 38% across the rest of 2025.
That points to an opportunity to bring your most appealing experiences forward. Show buyers what a night away or a spa day actually feels like, with strong imagery and clear descriptions of what’s included. Make it easy to picture the gift, understand its value and choose it.
Build the offer around experiences your team can deliver well, with redemption terms that reflect your room and spa capacity.
Make a bigger purchase feel worthwhile
The average basket reached £214 during Black Friday to Cyber Monday, compared with £156 across the rest of the year. Some of that difference reflects the mix of hotels selling during the event. At the median hotel in the eligible comparison group, average basket value rose by around 10%.
For your campaign, consider whether there’s a compelling next step for buyers: a stay with dinner included, a spa experience for two, or a monetary voucher that gives the recipient more choice.
Minimum-spend offers are another option to test. Orders using minimum-spend promo codes averaged £436, compared with £354 for codes without a minimum spend. The threshold itself explains part of that difference, so measure total sales and margin alongside basket value. A larger order only helps if the offer works for your hotel.
Give buyers a clear reason to act
Across the three years analysed, campaigns with discounts below 15% had the lowest median uplift over usual daily sales. A headline offer of 20–30% is worth considering where your margins support it.
Choose the experiences and redemption dates carefully, then make the saving easy to understand. The analysis measures sales, rather than profitability, so the right discount needs to fit your costs and your brand.
Turn the insight into your next campaign
The opportunity for 2026 starts with how you present your hotel’s experiences, when you put them in front of buyers and how easily someone can complete a purchase.
Use last year’s results to shape your plan, then track what works for your own property. An earlier launch, well-timed reminders and a focused collection of gifts give you practical places to start.
Ready to get your Black Friday campaign moving? Talk to Journey about your voucher strategy and make more of the experiences your guests already love.
About the data: Journey voucher platform analysis for 28 November–1 December 2025, with comparisons to the equivalent periods in 2024 and 2023. Hotel sales value is the amount paid after discounts, including VAT and excluding delivery and related fees; refunded orders remain in the sales totals. Category shares are calculated before order-level promo-code discounts. Campaign timing and discounts are inferred from transaction data. The findings show associations, rather than proof that a particular tactic caused growth.
