With pandemic restrictions being lifted across the U.S., consumers are ready for traveling and celebrations again, and hotels are the popular destination for both.
Tripleseat, a cloud-based sales and catering management platform for hotels, surveyed 500 consumers about their travel plans for the second half of 2021, and the outlook is positive for the hotel industry.
The survey respondents are planning to get back to leisure and business travel this year, with 58% saying they have already taken a trip this year and 62% will be traveling this summer. Of those traveling in 2021, 43% said they are planning a leisure trip and 40% are traveling for both business and leisure.
Hotels are the top choice for lodging among the travelers surveyed. Eighty-four percent of people who have traveled this year said they did stay at a hotel for their trip. When asked what would make travelers feel comfortable staying at a hotel, the top three choices were getting vaccinated (57%), following mandatory COVID-19 safety guidelines (48%) and mandatory mask-wearing by staff (41%).
Consumers are also booking events at hotels again, as 46% said they are planning an event at a hotel. The top five most popular event types include corporate meetings (63%), corporate conferences (42%), holiday celebrations (39%), trade shows (37%) and birthday parties (34%).
“We have seen an increase in event bookings for our hotel customers in the first half of 2021 and are excited to see that travel and events aren’t slowing down,” said Jonathan Morse, CEO, Tripleseat. “This survey shows that hotels that have the right amenities and marketing in place will successfully drive revenue for the rest of the year.”