Hotel & Motel Management - January 19, 2009 - (Page 14)

H&MM January 19, 2009 | HotelMotel.com 14 Travel Trends BY PETER C. YESAWICH “There has been no further degradation in the overall intentions to travel among Americans.” With the madness in the market, will they still travel? T he recent gyrations of the stock market are beginning to affect the travel plans of Americans, as revealed in the results of our October 2008 travelhorizons survey, co-authored with the Travel Industry Assn. This nationally projectable survey of about 2,300 U.S. adults was conducted during the week of Oct. 13, 2008. As revealed in the survey, a robust seven out of 10 leisure travelers intend to take an overnight trip of 50 miles or more from home during the next six months. This is the same percentage recorded in the October 2007 travelhorizons survey, thereby revealing there has been no further degradation in the overall incidence of intentions to travel among Americans, despite the tumultuous developments in the ﬁnancial markets. Even more encouraging, almost half (48 percent) of all respondents said they were not planning to change their future travel plans as a result of the ﬁnancial crisis. That’s the good news. The challenging news is those travelers are likely to travel differently, and their pursuit of what they consider to be “good value” is the primary reason why. Their expectations in this regard can be summarized as: Now, it’s all about the value. On a more positive note, fully one out of ﬁve leisure travelers expects to stay more nights, and one out of six expects to spend more overall. These results TAKEAWAY corroborate what we have American travelers still been preaching want to vacation for several in 2009, but months now: they’ll go about it differently than American before. travelers will be trading down, not out. The Traveler Sentiment Index (a derivative of six separate measurements taken in travelhorizons) remained at 78 in October, the same value calculated in July 2008 prior to the precipitous decline in the ﬁnancial markets. Three of the index’s component measures actually displayed positive trends: the affordability of travel (+14 percent), the quality of service (+3 percent) and the safety of travel (+1 percent). Three component indices declined, however: time available for travel (-5 percent), money available for travel (-3 percent) and interest in travel (-2 percent). The conclusion? There’s still plenty of demand left in the marketplace. You just have to be more aggressive in the pursuit of your fair share. hmm@questex.com Peter Yesawich is chairman and CEO of Ypartnership. He can be reached at Peter.Yesawich@ypartnership.com. For a FREE quote call 5 0 9 - 7 4 7 - 8 7 1 3 or visit w w w. m a g n u s o n h o t e l s . c o m CIRCLE NO. 132 http://www.HotelMotel.com http://www.magnusonhotels.com http://www.magnusonhotels.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - January 19, 2009

Hotel & Motel Management - January 19, 2009 Contents Select Inn First in Vista's Buying Plans Danzinger Chosen for Round 2 at Wyndham Perspective Energy Star Update Legally Speaking Consultant's Corner Sales Clinic Travel Trends Franchise Law Family Business Cornell Insights HotelWorld Update Transactions Careful Marketing is Key for Timeshare Debt Market Slow for Most Transactions Trends & Stats Proper Mix of Uses Leads to Profitable Partnerships Card Check, Employee Retention Big Issues for CEOs Locking Systems Televisions Fitness Centers/Spas Mattresses Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - January 19, 2009

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