“Trading down.” “Staycations.” The recession wrought a number of dirty little euphemisms that by and large equated to the same thing for hoteliers: less business.
But the tide has turned during recent months (and the past year-plus in many markets), and hotel performance is back on the up and up.
To complement the numbers and lend some clarity to the underlying shifts in traveler behaviors, MMGY Global (formerly Ypartnership) and the Harrison Group (formerly the Harrison Group) just released fresh data from their “2012 Portrait of American Traveler.”
Among the key findings: Cost-conscious travel behaviors that emerged during the Great Recession have waned, and the new findings augur well for a boost in 2013 travel spending, thanks to a renewed interest in quality experiences Americans deem “worth it.”
For example, more travelers are likely to trade up this year. Of the 2,527 U.S. households surveyed, 26% said they’re preferring luxury accommodations versus just 15% who said the same a year ago.
Unique Gift
And travelers increasingly place a premium on the convenience associated with access to full-service hotels: Eight in 10 now prefer a full-service hotel or resort (with a restaurant), compared to 75% just two years ago.
Portrait Oil Painting
Here’s another finding that’s sure to conjure up visions of dollar signs dancing in hoteliers heads: Travelers in all annual household income groups now value “quality” over “savings.”
They are more willing to pay full price “as long as I am guaranteed the quality and service I deserve." In a surprising departure from the travel planning scenarios that prevailed during the recent recession, today’s travelers choose the destination (34%) and type of trip (33%) first, before setting a budget (18%) and searching for deals (8%).
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