Survey Finds Lifestyle Pressure is #1 Reason for Last Minute Travel
APRIL 12, 2007. A new priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) survey of consumer trends in booking travel 7 days or less before departure finds that many short-notice travelers are just too busy to book their vacations any further in advance.
Of the 1,000 consumers who responded to a new priceline.com survey, 30% said they were overscheduled as it is and can't plan more than 7 days in advance. Only 13% said that concern about personal finances was behind their procrastination. Twenty-seven percent believed they could find better travel deals by waiting to make their purchases.
"It seems that many couples and families stand a better chance of hitting the lottery than planning a vacation weeks or months in advance and making it stick," said priceline.com's Chief Marketing Officer Brett Keller. "The grab-it-when-you-can vacation appears to be the preferred way to unwind for Americans stressed out with commitments at home, at the office and with other activities."
Seventy percent of survey respondents said that they stay 3 nights or fewer when they take a short-notice vacation. Thirty percent said they will vacation 4-7 nights on a spur-of-the-moment whim. Only 4% would book a trip of 8 nights or longer on short notice.
Most consumers (59%) responding to the survey were inclined to buy hotel rooms on short notice, followed by airline tickets (36%) and rental cars (35%). Only 10% of respondents would buy a vacation package on short notice, and 7% would buy a cruise on short notice.
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