Romance is bed: study shows men and women's Valentine's goals

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, we've done a little digging around to find out how men and women differ in their idea of a good time - and how much you're prepared to spend on February 14th.

Jayne Robinson

Date published: 12th Feb 2013

Everyone knows that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. So it's hardly surprising that after analysing the figures from Skiddle's live booking system - which includes tens of thousands of hotels and restaurants - we found that there are some clear distinctions between men and women’s take on a ‘romantic' Valentine’s Day.

According to our findings, women seem to think that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, while men's attention is more focused on, ahem, 'dessert'.

Women

Highest on the list of activities booked by women is a romantic meal for two. The types of cuisine booked around Valentine’s Day follow similar trends to the rest of the year, with Italian restaurants being the most popular. However, there is a significant increase in the number of steak houses and grills booked, perhaps a romantic nod by the nation’s women to suit a more masculine pallet.

Following overall economic trends, there's been a drop in the average price people are prepared to pay for a meal during the Valentine’s period, with the 2010 average costing around £26, dropping to £24 last year.

Men

As for the men, the Valentine's period sees an increase in the number of hotel rooms booked by the hairier sex, with over 50% of bookings being for 4* hotels.

Skiddle Director, Ben Sebborn commented: “ We've been analysing Valentine’s trends for years and every year we see the same thing, men are more likely to book a stay in a hotel whereas women are more likely to book a trip to a restaurant. Draw your own conclusions on that!”

Our data also demonstrates that men and women start thinking about Valentine’s Day at different times. Sebborn went on to say: “This is probably the only time of year that men are more organised than women. Men start preparing for Valentine’s Day around the 7th February, whereas women are more likely to start booking their Valentine’s Day 13th February.”

For more Valentine's news, events, ideas and inspiration visit our Valentine's Day guide.