Friends, readers, hoteliers: I've done it. I took an actual vacation. It was my first "stand-alone vacation," as I call it, since 2019. Not bleisure, not a few extra days tacked on to a business trip — it was a real vacation.
Sure, I got COVID from it of course, but there were beach days! Pool days! Friends and family! Multiple trips to the ice cream shop! It counted.
For the record, I do not consider this vacation delay a point of pride. I don't want anyone ever to say, "Oh Steph, you are such a great worker! You never take vacations!" I was honestly ashamed that I hadn't done my professional and personal duty of leisure travel. Pre-pandemic, I was definitely one who bought into the culture of busyness. But during and after that period, I really enjoyed seeing people realize that vacation is important in so many ways; I just didn't take that lesson to heart and apply it to myself.
And while I won't make that mistake again of denying myself a vacation, I think a fair number of us have been harboring this no-vacation-since-2019 secret.
Of course, the overall numbers show leisure travel demand slowing down from the frenetic pace it was gaining since 2021. All the major hotel companies noted this in their second-quarter earnings calls. Last week at the Hotel Data Conference, CoStar's Emmy Hise and Tourism Economics' Aran Ryan both shared trends of leisure slowdowns while business-transient and group travel notch gains.
And travel demand of course falls prey to bifurcation: Consumers at lower income levels have a much tougher time affording fun trips compared to their higher-income counterparts.
But on my own vacation, and in every leisure destination and in every airport I've visited in the last three months — ahem, Nashville, I'm looking at you! — I still see plenty of leisure travelers.
And while everyone in every travel industry took advantage of make-hay-while-the-sun-shines pricing strategies over the last few years, the consumer pushback against super-high prices is making a difference. From McDonald's to major airlines, companies are seeing the value in value.
Will this happen in hotels? Is it already? A lot of conversation at last week's Hotel Data Conference centered on how important pricing transparency is. Yes, pricing transparency is legally paramount. But hoteliers also are recognizing how important it is to be able to deliver on service and pricing promises.
So if there's one silver lining to my self-imposed bad decision to not take a vacation before now, it's this: At least maybe the places I want to go next won't be as busy as they were in 2022 and 2023?
Judging by airport traffic, I doubt it.
Thoughts? Email me, or find me on Twitter or LinkedIn.
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