NEW YORK—With Memorial Day as the kickoff to the summer season, more Americans are taking some time to relax and refresh with the economy only slightly impacting their summer travel plans, according to a new study released today by Deloitte. Nearly one-third (29 percent) of respondents are taking vacations this Memorial Day weekend. This is up slightly from the 24 percent who said they took a Memorial Day vacation last year.
In addition, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) said they are taking a summer vacation this year, although half of them said they will likely change some aspect of the trip due to economic/financial concerns. The most likely changes those consumers expect to make include: staying at less expensive hotels (50 percent), spending less on eating (50 percent), spending less on entertainment (46 percent), taking fewer trips (46 percent) and spending fewer nights away from home (45 percent).
“We are seeing less of the ‘staycations’ of 2008, when record gas prices forced many Americans to take vacations close to home, or not to take them at all,” said Adam Weissenberg, Deloitte, U.S. Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure leader. “Whether traveling on Memorial Day or during the summer, we are finding that Americans are planning to travel and take advantage of incentives and good deals on room rates. Economic concerns, however, have many travelers spending cautiously on accommodations and other expenses. While travel spending will likely not be as strong as several years ago, these survey results are a positive sign for the industry.
Gauging Environmental Concern
Consumers are showing that environmental issues remain important to them, despite today’s economic challenges. Thirty-two percent of those surveyed agreed that they expect the hotels they stay at to be environmentally friendly, and 29 percent said they would like to know more from hotels about their green efforts. Thirty-seven percent of consumers said they are more aware of the environment than they were a year ago.
“As part of their efforts to build customer loyalty, hotel companies should consider better communicating their sustainability initiatives to consumers,” added Weissenberg. “While guests may never see some of these efforts, they do want to know about property retrofits and other efforts to conserve water and energy—investments that are the backbone of many sustainability programs. In addition to reducing operating costs for hotels in the long run, these efforts can help win the approval of customers, drive revenues and satisfy increasing investor demands for sustainability reporting and disclosure.”
The survey also showed that 69 percent of all respondents do not belong to any hotel loyalty programs. Even among this year’s summer vacationers, 61 percent have yet to sign up for a hotel loyalty program.
An Important Opportunity
“Hospitality companies have a big opportunity this summer to develop better customer relationships and build long-term loyalty,” said Weissenberg. “Hotel brands that can seize this opportunity will likely be better positioned to retain and attract new guests as the market rebounds. Successful programs are often based on a deep understanding of guests prior to, during, and following their stays, and new approaches to building long-term loyalty.”
The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent research company April 24 to 28, 2009. The survey polled a nationally representative sample of 1,047 adult consumers. The survey has a margin of error for the entire sample of +/- three percentage points.
Go to Deloitte.
