‘We Will Literally Go Anywhere’

Pre-pandemic, the average booking window for domestic travel in the United States was between 45 and 60 days before departure. In 2020, however, that window shrunk down to just six or seven days, according to data from Priceline. Hesitancy over quarantine rules, concerns about sickness and economic uncertainty were all factors for those few who were vacationing.

Halee Whiting, the owner of the hotel sales consultancy Hospitality With a Flair, creates pricing strategies and tailored packages for hotel brands. Nearly 70 percent of the web traffic for her clients, she said, is now for travel between July and mid-September.

“People are itching to get out, but they’re still hesitant,” she said. “With the vaccine being more prevalent and states starting to loosen their guidelines, this summer will be when they are ready to tiptoe out of their bubble.”

For hotels and rental cottages, ‘demand is real’

Indeed, many travel agencies and lodging operators are already seeing numbers that outpace 2019, which was a banner year for the travel industry.

Vacasa, the rental home-management site, reports its reservations at large family-style properties are up more than 300 percent over last year. Stand-alone rental cottages were a big draw for vacationers in 2020 — thanks to their promise of privacy — and this summer travelers are again snapping them up.

Take a look at just one of Vacasa’s properties, the Whispering Pines Lodge in Eagle River, Wis. Bookings at the 11-bedroom lodge are 97.5 percent higher than they were at this point two years ago, with occupancy for the summer already at nearly 100 percent.

Hotels, which are still experiencing a year-over-year decrease in occupancy of more than 20 percent, are also welcoming this summer rush.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/travel/vacations-summer-travel.html