Global Travel Trends

GLOBAL TRAVEL TRENDS What do you get when you put together the survey results of over 2,600 travelers in 80+ countries with the analytics from more than 250,000 U.S. and global travel transactions on Last Minute Travel Club's (a Travel Holdings, Inc. subsidiary) Last Minute Travel website? You get a unique view into the travel trends and preferences of leisure and business travelers around the world. The Last Minute Travel 2013 Travel Trends Report was designed to provide insights into the travel and tourism industry, including why people travel, their booking preferences, and more. Let's take off! KEY TRAVELER FINDINGS 90%* of travelers 99% of travelers said they take trips online, compared to a at least one personal trip per year, while said they prefer to book travel agent, mobile app or Just 2% mobile web browser. of travelers never 75% of travelers book a hotel when 52% said they take at least one business trip per year. said they have a hotel budget of $150 or less per night. they travel. Over half (53%) book hotels for more than 90% of their trips. Price (39%), promotions (18%) and location (18%) 72% of travelers indicated they plan to travel for at least one "Yes, we were also Surprised that only 90% of the people we asked on our travel website holiday this year. said they preferred to book heir travel online. are the three decision factors that matter most PASSPORT when booking a hotel. WHY PEOPLE TRAVEL BUSINESS vs. PERSONAL TRIPS People travel more often for fun, than for work. 47% BUSINESS PERSONAL And the remaining And the remaining 48% don't take business trips 37% 1% don't take personal trips 30% 12% 9% 7% 7% 3% 1-3 Trips 4-7 Trips 8-10 Trips 10+ Trips THE IMPACT OF AGE ON TRAVEL When are people's peak traveling years? And at what ages do people travel the most? Personal Travel As a person ages, they tend to take more frequent personal trips. 64% of those aged 65 or older take more than four personal trips per year. This is a minimum of 7% more than any other age group. The correlation between age and number of personal trips likely results from more expendable income and downtime as individuals get older. Business Travel People between the ages of 25-34 are most likely to travel for work, with 62% going on at least one work-related trip annually. Business travel peaks for people between the ages of 25-34, with only 23% of respondents over the age of 65-the standard retirement age-traveling for business every year. NUMBER OF PERSONAL VS. BUSINESS TRIPS BY AGE None 1-3 4-7 8-10 |10+ BUSINESS TRIPS PER YEAR AGE 18-24 61% 30% 5% 25-34 38% 35.1% 10% 12% 35-44 40% 34% 6% 15% 45-54 45% 30% 6% 12% 55-64 56% 27% 8% 65+ 77% 11% 5% Less than 5% Less than 5% PERSONAL TRIPS PER YEAR 18-24 53% 34% 7% 25-34 49% 32% 7% 9% 35-44 49% 35% 9% 5% 5-54 45% 38% 9% 6% 55-64 43% 40% 9% 6% 65+ 34% 46% 10% 7% Less than 2% PREFERRED VACATION TYPES 1. Rest and relaxation beaches, pools, lounging 2. Sightseeing museums, monuments, historical sites 3. Visit family/friends trips to visit family and friends 4. Play theme parks and water parks 5. Sports/extreme any trip relating to a sporting event or extreme sporting hobby 6. Time with nature hiking, camping, canoeing 7. Planned experience volunteer work or religious/mission-based trips 8. Staycation any close-to-home trips MOST POPULAR VACATIONS 1% Rest & Relaxation 4% The two most popular types of vacations based on survey responses Sightseeing 10% Visit Family/Friends were rest and relaxation (39%) O Play 39% and sightseeing trips (29%). 12% Time with Nature Sports/Extreme 29% Planned Experience Staycation GENDER & VACATIONS We've all heard the phrase: “Men are from Mars; women are from Venus." But do men and women prefer the same type of vacation? TRAVEL TYPE BY GENDER 1% 4% 3% 1% 5% Rest & Relaxation 12% 39% Sightseeing 39% 10% 13% Visit Family/Friends Play 31% 28% Time with Nature O Sports/Extreme Planned Experience MEN WOMEN Staycation According to our respondents, men and women are on the same page when it comes to their preferred vacation. Both genders picked rest and relaxation trips over all other types. There are only slight differences between the sexes when it comes to vacation types. MOST POPULAR DESTINĀTIONS TOP 10 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS: 1. Las Vegas, Nevada 2. London, England 3. New York, New York 4. Paris, France 5. Miami, Florida 6. Orlando, Florida 7. Honolulu, Hawaii 8. Madrid, Spain 9. Berlin, Germany 10. Chicago, Illinois 000 HOLIDAY TRAVEL 'MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! HAPPY NEW YEAR! MOST FREQUENTLY TRAVELED HOLIDAYS Travel has become a natural staple of the holidays we love to celebrate. It's no secret that holidays tend to be among the busiest travel periods each year. Thanksgiving 9% Easter The hype is justified. 72% of people indicated that they plan to travel for at least one holiday in the next 12 months. 23% 11% Labor Day Christmas 11% The top three holidays for travel includes: Fourth of July 16% New Year's Christmas (23%) 11% 16% Memorial Day Thanksgiving (19%) New Year's (16%) THE HOTEL IS THE HEART OF TRAVEL Hotels and motels are travelers' number one choice for lodging. PEOPLE WHO WILL BOOK A HOTEL THIS YEAR BY AGE HOTEL 35-44 None Less than 25% 45-54 55-64 65+ O 26-60% 61-89% More than 90% Age plays a small role in whether a traveler will book a hotel. Those under the age of 25 and those over the age of 65 are the least likely to book a hotel when they travel. For both age ranges, 18% book a hotel less than 25% of the time, or never at all. Anecdotally, we see both groups stay more often with relatives, the under 25s with adults, and the over 65s with children and grandchildren. HOTEL BRANDS DON'T MATTER Despite the millions of dollars hotels spend each year on brand marketing, just 4% of travelers choose their hotel based on its brand. This, in combination with how important price is to choosing a hotel, explains why the popularity of opaque hotel booking sites like LASTMINUTETRAVEL.COM are soaring. What's an opaque hotel? An opaque hotel is one which does not reveal its name, but instead uses a description like "three-star motel in Union Square" until it is booked. TOP REASONSS HOTELS ARE BOOKED Amenities Hotel Chain/Brand Price (39%), promotions (18%) and location (18%) 4% 4% Location Price are the three decision factors Promotions/Deals that matter most to customers 17% 39% Reviews/Referrals when booking a hotel. This means that more than half of the respondents 18% (57%) book based on a price-related factor-either price itself or a promotion. 18% Price is a consistent factor among all age groups too- making it the most powerful deciding factor when booking a hotel. HOTEL BUDGETS VS. ACTUAL MONEY SPENT BUDGETED 79% of people said they have a hotel budget of $150 or less. 96% of people said they have a hotel budget of $250 or less. O NOT DOURB $150 $250 SPENT AVERAGE SPENT PER NIGHT WHEN BOOKING ACCOMMODATIONS: 1% Survey reponses match actual bookings. LastMinuteTravel.com booking data shows that the average daily rate of a hotel is $134, and the average total price for the entire trip is $310. In looking at LastMinuteTravel.com hotel bookings, 91% had a daily rate of $250 4% 15% Less than $75 $76-$150 $151-$250 21% $251-$400 $400+ 60% or less in the last 12 months. BOOKING PREFERENCES There is a HUGE difference between what people think they are doing, and what they are actually doing. People book more last minute travel than they realize. Here's what's really happening. HOW FAR IN ADVANCE ARE TRIPS BOOKED? WHAT PEOPLE THINK: WHAT PEOPLE DO: No one likes feeling unprepared, especially when it comes to planning and booking trips. Yet, booking data suggests otherwise: 50% of travelers book their flight 69% SAY they book 1month in advance 7 days or less before their trip 50% of travelers book their hotel 15 days or less before their trip 23% SAY they book 3 months in advance PREFERED WAY TO BOOK BY AGE We live in a digital age. We connect to friends and family online. We bank online. We even buy and trade stocks online. The same digital trend applies to travel bookings. PREFERED METHOD OF BOOKING AGES: | 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 8% 10% 10% 8- 4% 5% 4% 4% 3 2% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% OFFLINE MOBILE APP 6% 100% 5% 95 4% 91% 92% 92% 90 89% 90% 3% 85 85% 2% 80 1% 75 MOBILE WEB ONLINE The overwhelming majority (90%) of people said they prefer to book trips online. But the older someone is, the more likely they are to book ofline. The younger someone is, the more likely they are to book using a mobile app or mobile web browser. STRATEGIES_TO SNAG THE BEST HÖTEL PRICE We know that price is the number one factor when making a decision on which hotel to book. Knowing where and how to search online can greatly improve the odds of finding the best hotel rates available. Here are a few useful tips to find the best bargains. Hotel rates can vary based on time of year, day of the week and vacancy. If your calendar permits a bit of flexibility, try looking for hotels during slower, less popular seasons. Be Flexible with Travel Dates Consider shopping for an opaque hotel deal. While you won't know 3*3$ and can compare locations and star-ratings. which hotel you are booking until it's booked, you will get a lower price, Book by Price, Not Brand JOIN Travel club memberships, such as Last Minute Travel's LMTCLUB.COM, can save you a considerable amount of money. Most club memberships offer exclusive hotel rates. Sign Up for Club Memberships Even if you originally did not consider pairing a hotel with a flight or a rental car, some package deals offer better discounts than what you would get by booking them separately. Consider Package Deals lastminutetravel @lmtCLUB Source: LMTCLUB.COM, 2013 Global Travel Trends Report, November 2013. Download your free copy HERE. Want the world's lowest travel rates? Want to save up to 55% when you book hotels? Get a FREE year's membership to the Last Minuto Travel Club (a $49 value!) by rogistoring on LMTCLUB.COM with promo codo TRAVELTRENDS (all capsl). FREE BONUS: A free year's membership to LMT Club! Click HERE for a freo membership, or 1. Cick on the "Become a Member" button in the upper right-hand corner of LMTCLUB.com. 2. Enter your email and the password you want lo use. 3. Entor your information, the TRAVELTRENDS promo codo, and dick "APPLY."