Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
With new online hotel searching and booking tools constantly emerging, today's travelers are faced with more choices than ever before when reserving a room.
According to Sojern's latest Hotel Insights Report, the path to purchase is getting longer for travelers as a result.
"We found that two major behavior changes are rising in the consumer hotel world," Sojern's Senior Vice President Of Property Solutions Kurt Weinsheimer said in a statement. "Firstly, travelers are spending more time on the hotel path to purchase than they do when looking to buy an airline ticket - U.S. travelers, for instance, spent nearly 25 percent more time on their hotel path to purchase than when booking flights. Secondly, even as the path to purchase lengthens, last-minute bookers are multiplying."
Sojern, a leading performance marketing platform aimed at travel brands, found that while only two percent of Americans and Europeans' hotel searches begin three or less days in advance of their stay date, five percent of bookings are made at the last minute.
What's more, despite the fact that only five percent of all hotel searches by Americans and Europeans begin seven or fewer days in advance of their stay date, they represent more than one in 10 of all hotel bookings in each region.
In addition to discovering that more than half of hotel searches are conducted in the two weeks prior to booking, Sojern reports that the number of hotel searches conducted ahead of booking is directly proportional with the booked room's price. This means that travelers eyeing luxury accommodations conduct more searches than those pursuing mid-range hotels.
Data obtained by Sojern also revealed the U.S. to be the top searched hotel destination for both business and leisure travelers. France, Italy, Mexico, Spain and the U.K. also cracked the top 10 for both types of travelers.
Looking ahead, Sojern reports Austin, Texas, is the top rising hotel destination, edging out Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Phoenix; San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Dubai. Meanwhile, the hotel destinations set to experience the biggest decline in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the previous quarter are Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; San Antonio; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, according to Sojern's report.
The following infographic courtesy of Sojern highlights additional key findings:
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
