Compare the Savvy Traveler from this Year to Last Year

Although the year is still young it never ceases to amaze me what you can notice as trends early on.  Take the early portion of 2012 as an example:  the normal corporate/ leisure traveler is still utilizing last year’s strategy of booking last minute since rates were remaining firm or going down.  But group are booking farther and farther out in anticipation of not having rooms if they don’t.  The two styles are very different and they will find themselves at odds with each other soon enough.

In 2011 we found many savvy group/event managers that would wait until closer to their events to book their rooms and meetings, because they could.  But now due to demand picking up they are forced to book those same events/rooms further out to ensure they get the rooms without splitting up their groups.  This gives the hotels a greater chance to predict and KNOW exactly how bad or well a given week and/or day will book.  Even now groups are booking 6-9 months out with just our small hotel so you can imagine what this trend is looking like with the much larger hotels.

Now I’m not saying that the individual traveler in 2012 won’t be able to book last minute rooms similarly to what they were able to book over the last two or three years but I would say that the lower prices they were getting at some of these 3 star and above hotels will not be there as often in 2012.  And that is due to those groups booking so far in advance so they get the aggressively lower prices which takes that stockpile of lower priced rooms from the last minute traveler.

I find it interesting that so early in the year I am already able to see this trend but I guess I’m happy that I can see it and pass this on to our San Diego Readers so they can stay “ahead” of the game!!  See you in SUNNY CALIFORNIA!!

Comments

[Miguel]

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