With more and more people finding it difficult to buy Christmas gifts for loved ones, hotel stay is fast becoming one of the most popular option in the country, a recent study has found. About 70 per cent of Indians think a hotel stay would make a great gift, with most indicating that it would be a wonderful surprise and a unique present for their nearest and dearest, according to Hotels.com survey.

Four out of five respondents across the Asia Pacific region echoed this sentiment, especially those from 96 percent in China, 92 percent in Japan and 88 percent in Hong Kong. This is mainly because majority of respondents across the region said they found buying gifts for friends and family a challenge as they never know what to buy, it further said.

However, while most thought that a hotel stay would make an excellent gift, the majority of respondents (66 percent) had never given or received a gift like this before. Two-thirds also mentioned that they would not be gifting hotel stays this Christmas, with the exception of Korea where 62 percent indicated that this would be their gift of choice.

This survey was conducted with 250 respondents in nine different countries, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. "Its interesting to note that while many people think that a hotel stay is a great gift, many have not actually given or received one. Nonetheless, its clear that consumers are open to the idea of it," Hotels.com Senior PR Manager, Asia Pacific, Zoe Chan said.