Summer travel trends and their impact on hospitality

Below we review some of the highlights from the full report, which explores flight search data and occupancy and pricing trends for both hotels and short-term rentals, as well as a look ahead at key events this summer.

Where is travel now?

In this section of the Global Hospitality Summer Outlook 2023 report we cover the evolution of flight searches since 2020, flight search growth in key global destinations, and occupancy and pricing growth year on year across accommodations. Global flight searches in Q1 have increased 23% over Q1 2020, and the following infographic shows growth in key markets since Q1 of last year. 

All key destinations analyzed are enjoying more flight searches than last year, with Bangkok and Sydney most positive. Whilst other markets show less growth, the vast majority have displayed a doubling in demand. Miami (74%) comes in with the lowest, but not insignificant growth.

Hospitality summer outlook: demand

Our next section considers the level of interest currently registered across key destinations for the summer months (June-September) for the 2 accommodations sectors.

Relative to 2019, hotels are seeing comparatively less occupancy on the books, however, these reductions are very slight across most markets. The majority of these markets are seeing more advanced demand in the short-term rental space, but this is pretty characteristic short-term rental demand, which tends to exhibit longer lead times. Furthermore, that year on year growth is far more significant for STRs (89% growth compared with a -8% average across hotels).

Hospitality summer outlook: prices heating up

Still focussing on summer, we turn our attention to pricing. Continuing historical trends, hotels are consistently selling at higher rates ($239 vs $181 across key markets). Miami Beach and Sydney are the exceptional markets where this is concerned, across those analyzed.

Another trend continuing is the most expensive markets being London and New York City, and Bangkok posting the lowest average advertised prices.

An eventful summer

In our final section, we analyze the current impact of 4 summer events on their markets. The Tour de France, Wimbledon, Golf US Open and the Champions League all have a marked impact on accommodation performance in their respective destinations. Below you can see the current picture for Wimbledon.

The annual tennis tournament in London is showing an uptick even over last year’s dates. Short-term rental occupancy on the books over the competition’s 2 week span are 50% booked already, and hotels 41%. This represents a 14% increase over this time last year. Rates are up 8%, with STR actually up 18%. It is worth noting that, with London being such a large market, there could be other factors at play here. However, across the board, visibility over forward-looking performance builds an invaluable strategic foundation for many businesses. 

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