Nearly 90 percent of Americans bid farewell to Arctic winter, plan to travel this summer

CHICAGO, IL – An overwhelming 88 percent of Americans plan to take a summer vacation this year, up 11 percent year-over-year, with more than half of travelers using reward points to book hotel and airfare, according to new survey data released. The overhang from the brutal winter will see travelers seeking solace in warm temperatures regardless of increased travel costs – travelers can expect to pay more for air travel and hotel prices alike this summer. To help offset costs, Americans are keeping summer travel almost exclusively domestic this year. Cancun, Mexico is the only international destination and leads the top ten air travel list, followed by Las Vegas, Orlando, Seattle and Los Angeles.

On average, airfares are up 6 percent and hotels prices are up 12
percent in top destinations. While costs and the number of travelers
are up over the previous summer, consumers are also willing to spend
more on their trip this summer. Over half of travelers (51 percent)
surveyed said they would spend $2,000 or more for their summer vacation versus 44 percent in 2013. Travelers on a budget said they would cash-in rewards points or buy food and eat some meals in their room instead of dining out to save money this summer.

“Staycations are a thing of the past. This year we’re seeing more
Americans traveling and, in fact, taking advantage of smart tactics to
save costs and upgrade vacations,” said Jeanenne Tornatore, senior
editor of Orbitz.com. “The majority of consumers said that they would
redeem credit card points on their summer vacations so if they have
been using a card with good travel rewards, it could be a big help in
offsetting summer vacation costs. For example, the average consumer
spends $2,780 on travel and $10,000 on non-travel credit card purchases each year. That consumer could earn $423 in rewards towards a hotel stay on Orbitz.com if they used the Orbitz Rewards Visa Card, and that could translate into 2 or 3 free hotel room nights.”

Additional highlights from the Orbitz Summer Travel Insider Index
include:

— Orlando is bumped from the top spot by Cancun, perhaps due to rising prices in one of America’s favorite family destinations – airfares are up 12 percent while hotels rose 8 percent.

— Americans are seeking urban getaways this summer, with cities accounting for half of the destinations in this year’s list.

— While hotel prices are up, travelers can still find hotel rooms under $200 in half of the top 10 destinations.

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Orbitz Insider Index: 2014 Top 10 Summer Destinations2
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Avg. Airfare Avg. Airfare YOY Hotel Avg. Daily Rate Hotel Avg. Daily Rate YOY
Rank Destination 2014 2013 Change 2014 2013 Change
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1 Cancun $530 $535 -1% $242 $235 +3%
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2 Las Vegas $362 $335 +8% $117 $106 +10%
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3 Orlando $330 $294 +12% $119 $111 +7%
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4 Seattle $381 $399 -5% $190 $180 +6%
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5 Los Angeles $371 $355 +5% $175 $139 +26%
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San
6 Francisco $387 $372 +4% $225 $205 +10%
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7 Denver $302 $292 +3% $156 $127 +23%
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8 New York $345 $292 +18% $303 $275 +10%
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9 Boston $328 $318 +3% $263 $247 +6%
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10 Honolulu $818 $729 +12% $248 $215 +15%
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Knowing when to travel can also be a key differentiator when it comes
to savings and the overall enjoyment of a vacation. According to the
Orbitz.com summer survey, the majority of travelers prefer to take
summer vacations in June and July (71 percent). For those that can hold out just a bit longer, Orbitz editors suggest traveling in August when there may be additional savings and far less crowds compared to the earlier summer months.

Check out Orbitz.com’s list of the busiest summer travel days to find
out when airports and hotels will experience the most crowds. A couple
of insights to keep in mind when booking summer vacations:

— Travelers can expect the biggest crowds of the summer on the Friday before Memorial Day (May 23).

— The July Fourth holiday falls on a Friday this year. Nearly 60 percent of travelers are taking an additional vacation day to take advantage of the long weekend and will be leaving on Thursday, July 3 – also one of the top 10 busiest travel days this summer.

— The busiest travel days for summer are Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Travelers should consider vacations on Sunday through Wednesday for lower volume days which could also result in less cost.

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Orbitz.com Top 10 Busiest Days for Summer Travel3
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1 Friday, May 23 (Memorial Day weekend)
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2 Saturday, May 24 (Memorial Day weekend)
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3 Thursday, May 29
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4 Friday, May 30
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5 Thursday, June 5
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6 Friday, June 6
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7 Saturday, May 28
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8 Thursday, June 19
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9 Thursday, June 12
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10 Thursday, July 3 (July Fourth weekend)
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