An online bus ticket to Pondicherry brought an unexpected sense of relief to Sanskriti Singh* (name changed). A 24-year-old public relations professional, Singh had been juggling relentless client calls, deadlines, and long workdays. She had even cancelled a friend’s birthday trip weeks earlier, convinced work wouldn’t allow the break. But mounting stress pushed her to reverse that decision.
Waking up to a quiet beach the next morning, she knew she didn’t regret it. Singh had rage-booked her way out of burnout.
Rage booking—a term first popularised by US-based travel insurance platform Faye Travel—refers to booking a trip in moments of emotional overload, triggered by stress, anger, grief or heartbreak. According to the platform, one in three people are now booking vacations specifically to cope with workplace burnout.
Singh isn’t alone. Kshitij Gupta, a 31-year-old sales professional, recalls impulsively planning a reunion after a draining work call. With leave days about to lapse and exhaustion at its peak, a late-night decision turned into flights booked within hours. The motivation wasn’t wanderlust—it was the need to disconnect.
Indian travel platforms are seeing similar patterns. Cox & Kings reports a sharp rise in last-minute bookings among corporate professionals aged 25–45, with nearly 65 per cent of trips lasting under five days. Cleartrip data shows nearly 38 lakh flight bookings made within 48 hours of departure, many during late-night hours.
Travel experts say this marks a behavioural shift. “Travel decisions are now driven less by calendars and more by emotional exhaustion,” says Karan Aggarwal, director, Cox & Kings. Rage booking, unlike traditional impulse travel driven by discounts or long weekends, is escape-led and rooted in self-preservation.
Mental health professionals agree. Travel offers an immediate sense of control—choosing where to go, what to eat, when to wake up—something burnout often strips away. But experts warn that when travel becomes a default escape rather than a reset, it risks turning into emotional avoidance.
While a short break can ease stress and restore energy, it cannot fix toxic work environments or unresolved burnout. Rage booking, experts say, is less a solution and more a signal—of how exhausted, overwhelmed and stuck young professionals feel today.
