Photo by Andrea Piacquadio , Courtesy Pexels
HYANNIS – A recent survey shows that more people are planning to stay in hotels this holiday season compared to last year.
American Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Chip Rogers said that 31% of people traveling for Thanksgiving are planning to stay in a hotel during their trip, up from 22% in 2021.
For winter holidays, 28% of those travelling plan to book a hotel, compared to 23% from the year before.
“COVID doesn’t really register as a concern this year, but gas prices and the overall economy do. So there are still some headwinds, but we’re looking at probably the best year since 2019 for holiday travel,” he said.
The survey also shows that hotels are the top lodging choice for leisure travel in the next three months.
“We’re excited about that. It’s certainly good for an industry that went through a very difficult time back in 2020 and 2021. People are back in hotels,” Rogers said.
In addition to the gains in holiday travel, Rogers also reported that this was a strong year for hotels with numbers matching pre-pandemic years.
“Now the travel mix is different, because it’s been a lot more leisure travel and a lot less business travel, but the overall revenue numbers for the hotel industry are almost identical to 2019,” he said.
Rogers said business trips, especially to inner cities, haven’t come back in the same way since more companies offer remote and hybrid work.
He added that remote work has helped the hospitality field in some ways.
“The number of people who intend to add leisure travel to their business trips is up to a record high of over 80%. We’ve never seen those numbers before,” he said.
Rogers advised people to book hotels early for holiday travel, although he said local establishments are ready for the season.
“Those people who are travelling to the Cape Cod area, hotels will be open and they are ready,” he said.
Rogers said that labor has remained a challenge in the industry since many people left the field during the pandemic, but wages in the sector have increased to attract more help.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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