Fall travel surveys show a marked disconnect between the Labor Day holiday weekend and the rest of the fall travel season’s numbers. Compared to last year, anticipated Labor Day figures are down while expected fall travel is much more upbeat.

Klamath Lake - Fall travel

According to the AAA, 31.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Labor Day holiday weekend. This is a 2.4 percent decrease from 2010, and that’s without factoring in the impact of Hurricane Irene.

Travel providers in the Northeast are reporting significant cancellations for Labor Day from those affected and still dealing with flooding and cleanups in Irene’s wake.

According to a TripAdvisor survey published before Irene hit the East Coast, 28 percent of travelers intend to travel for Labor Day weekend this year, same as last year.

Sixty percent of those traveling expect to drive, and 34 percent plan to fly. Twenty-six percent will take outdoor trips, 24 percent will take city escapes and another 24 percent will take beach trips.

“AAA is projecting a decrease in the number of Labor Day travelers as some Americans react to recent economic uncertainty and increasing air fares,” said Glen MacDonell, director, AAA Travel Services. “While automobile travel is expected to increase slightly, if recent declines in gasoline prices continue through Labor Day, we could see an increase in last-minute holiday weekend travel.”

The fall travel numbers are a lot more optimistic. According to the annual Travel Leaders fall travel trends survey, 55.3 percent of its 443 agents responded that fall bookings are higher compared to last year’s.

When asked for a personal outlook on business for the remainder of 2011, an overwhelming 71.1 percent of respondents say that they were optimistic, while 20.5 percent are neutral about it.

Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, said, “We are encouraged that Americans—whether for business or leisure—are continuing to travel, and more frequently than a year ago despite the uncertainty we’ve seen recently in our country’s economic indicators.”

The TripAdvisor survey similarly shows a lot of pent-up optimism for fall travel, with 86 percent of travelers planning leisure trips this fall, compared to 74 percent that say they traveled for fun last autumn.

Thirty-seven percent of travelers in the TripAdvisor survey say they intend to spend more than they did last fall on leisure trips, while 46 percent plan to spend about the same amount. Nearly half (48 percent) feel the fall is the most economical season to travel.

The top fall destinations in the TripAdvisor survey are New York City, Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago and San Francisco. Travel Leaders agents indicate their most booked fall destinations are Las Vegas, Orlando, Honolulu, New York City and Kahului (Maui), Hawaii.

Photo – Walter Siegmund

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PFK Hospitality finds, in its recently released annual Trends in the Hotel Industry report, that 70 percent of U.S. hotels had an increase in profits for 2010, leading to an overall 9.8 percent lift per property on average for this segment of the travel industry. That gain, however, does not yet wipe out the cumulative loss experienced by U.S. hotels in 2008 and 2009.

While most hotels experienced revenue increases, hotels with higher average daily rates (ADR) gained much more than hotels with the lowest rates (less than $100 per night). Hotels with the lowest price points had an average gain of just .03 percent, while high-end hotels, with an ADR of $200 and up, enjoyed as much as a 33 percent profit.

Of the 80 percent of properties that saw an increase in occupancy rates (up 6.2 percent on average), only 67 percent were successfully able to convert that money into profits, as the ADR itself dropped 0.9 percent.

On average, results show a 5.3 percent increase in room revenue and a 5.6 percent bump in food and beverage sales. Rentals and other incomes declined 10 percent, however, most likely reflecting a retraction in meetings and social events spending and bringing the overall average revenue increase to 4.8 percent.

Overall operating expenses also increased by 3.4 percent. This figure would have been higher, given average cost increases for room expenses (6.2 percent) and F&B prices (9.3 percent), but they were offset by cost cuts made in 2009 across all departments, with the exception of fixed expenses (such as property taxes and insurance).

These trends are based on financial statements from several thousand hotel properties across the United States.

Though 2010 growth was modest the report predicts that, if hotel managers can continue to keep costs down, properties should see a revenue increase of 6.8 percent for 2011.

Photo: PFK Hospitality Research

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Memorial Day is almost here, and it’s been raining surveys and travel trends. Everyone from AAA to Gallup, Deloitte, and numerous travel and hospitality companies have polled their customer base and come up with all kinds of trends and numbers for summer and Memorial Day weekend travel.

SummerzCool

The one thing everyone agrees on, though, is that Americans are planning to travel despite high gas prices. What’s more, this could be a pivotal year as travelers become “inured to high gas prices.”

AAA: According to AAA, 34.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

That’s a slender 0.2 percent (100,000 travelers) improvement over the 34.8 million travelers for 2010, which itself was a major 14 percent improvement over 2009.

About 30.9 million people plan to drive to their destination this year, as compared to 31 million last year. The number of air travelers is expected to increase 11.5 percent. The average price for regular gasoline is $3.91, compared to $2.85 this time last year.

TripAdvisor: Thirty-three percent of those surveyed said they’re planning to travel for the Memorial Day weekend, up from 29 percent last year. Among those planning to travel, 66 percent will be driving and 35 percent will be flying, as opposed to  70 and 29, respectively, last year.

This basically mirrors the AAA trend, which says that slightly more people will travel this year, but there’s a noticeable shift from driving to flying.

Gallup: Seventy-one percent of Americans traveling this summer predict they will spend more on transportation, as compared with 39 percent who said they would spend more on transportation last May. But it’s not stopping anyone, and Gallup rounds up the survey with the implication that Americans are becoming inured to high gas prices.

Deloitte: Twenty-two percent of respondents plan on taking a Memorial Day weekend leisure trip, compared with 19 percent last year.

What’s the most popular destination for Memorial Day 2011? Priceline says it’s Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue, while Orbitz says it is Las Vegas. For HomeAway.com users, it is Provincetown, Massachusetts.

A Springhill Suites survey finds out how travelers are planning to deal with vacation stress: Women worry more about money; men get haircuts. Midwesterners are more likely to yell at their kids. Northeasterners are more apt to ignore them. And Southerners turn most often to deep breathing.

A Wyndham survey asked respondents what they’d be willing to do for an all-expenses paid vacation. Thirty-nine percent said they’d be willing to watch C-SPAN for eight straight hours, 27 percent would shave their heads, and 31 percent would give up air conditioning all summer.

Photo – Sam Howzit

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There’s been significant survey support of late for the return of travel, with consumers decidedly hitting the road again for summer vacation. Two new reports from American Express and HomeAway further contribute to this trend, giving a boost to National Travel and Tourism Week, running through May 15.

According to the HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Report (conducted April 7 to 10, 2011), 81 percent of respondents say they plan to take a summer vacation in 2011. Nearly half (48 percent) want to experience a new destination each year, while just 14 percent like to return to the same place year after year.

Rising travel costs don’t seem to be a deterrent. Even though gas prices have begun to drop, they’re still relatively high, and airfares are increasing as well, but 38 percent of travelers say they won’t change summer vacation plans due to higher costs.

Others will continue to travel but will try to find savings in a variety of ways:
- 27 percent will stay closer to home
- 20 percent will cut back on other costs, such as lodging, entertainment and dining out
- 13 percent will vacation for fewer days

Only 15 percent of HomeAway respondents say they will not take a summer vacation this year due to increased costs.

The latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker (conducted April 18 to 21, 2011) also finds that more Americans are planning to travel this summer despite rising gas prices—59 percent in 2011 compared to 51 percent in 2010—with family travel making a dramatic comeback. This year 70 percent of respondents indicate they plan to take a summer family vacation, compared to just 45 percent last year.

In addition, vacationing consumers plan to take an average of two weeklong vacations, spending about $1,200 per person, and three weekend getaways, with an average spend of $300 per weekend. For families, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) will take one or more weeklong trip.

Similar to HomeAway survey participants, American Express respondents (88 percent) also have strategies for ways to save yet still travel this summer, with 38 percent driving instead of flying, and 24 percent choosing less-expensive destinations.

Weekend Getaway Statistics

More than 40 percent of consumers say that getting a good deal on hotels, rental cars and flights is the most important factor in planning where they go for weekend getaways, according to the American Express survey. Many also cited that they choose destinations based on where friends, family or significant others have decided to travel (32 percent), diversity of activities (31 percent) and accessibility to a beach (29 percent).

Visiting a beach or a lake is the top desired activity (42 percent) for U.S. travelers. Other activities include shopping (33 percent), attending family or school reunions (23 percent), participating in learning activities (22 percent), going to water parks (22 percent) and camping (22 percent).

Photo: D.M. Airoldi

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