State of the U.S Travel & Hospitality Recovery

Over the past months in Europe, Asia and now in the Americas is the trend to book tickets last minute

State of the U.S Travel & Hospitality Recovery

December 4 - The state of U.S affairs has been making headlines all year. From their stance on Covid-19, to travel bans, trade wars and national elections, all eyes have been on this North American giant. Seizing the momentum, Kalibri Labs, a U.S hospitality analytics company and ForwardKeys have decided to share their learnings.

Last Minute Bookings the “New Normal” in the U.S

A trend the data experts at ForwardKeys have observed over the past months in Europe, Asia and now in the Americas is the trend to book tickets last minute. Gone are the days of advance planning as travel restrictions and bans see countries opening and closing their borders at short notice; flights get cancelled more often and safety protocols vary from place to place.

As such what is captured through data from both Kalibri Labs and ForwardKeys is that there has been a spike in last-minute bookings. According to Mark Lomanno, Partner, Sr. Advisor at Kalibri Labs: “Average booking lead times for U.S hotels have historically averaged anywhere between 2-3 ½ weeks but since the beginning of March, lead times have greatly reduced.”

Last Minute Bookings the “New Normal” in the U.S

Antoine Vialle, Insights Expert at ForwardKeys adds: “We also noticed this trend with issued tickets over the Thanksgiving holiday period, where a noticeable surge took place days prior to the national holiday.”

One thing to note if you are a hotelier or expecting international guests is “not to hold your breath for long-haul travellers”. “A positive trend we are seeing is that people are on the go and are travelling, it’s just that it is in the domestic travel space that we are seeing the quickest reactivation. Domestic travel in the U.S and close to home, such as Mexico and the Caribbean have largely benefited,” says Vialle.

The Role of Promotions & Discounts

One way players in the travel and hospitality game are staying financially afloat and/or at a satisfactory occupancy rate at the moment is by enticing potential travellers with tempting discounts and value-added loyalty program benefits. This is taking place with airlines as well as hotels. Traditional group and corporate demand are almost non-existent so the main market to tap into is the transient/leisure segment.

This graph from Kalibri Labs is the perfect snapshot of the weekly demand share percentage by rate category playing out in the Top 50 US Markets (based on supply) over the last 12 months. Both OTA and Promotion/Loyalty Member Rate categories have increased their demand share, while group and corporate have shrunken dramatically.

The same can be shown for airlines fighting this competitive landscape, both in and out of the USA the ForwardKeys data shows a drastic cut in the cost of airfares.