Spring travel is off to a great start with hotels experiencing pandemic-high occupancy levels.
STR — CoStar's hospitality analytics division — reported March 2021 occupancy at its highest level since February 2020. Up to this point in the recovery, travelers have been driving to close-to-home leisure destinations, so it is welcome news for the travel industry to know that in the next six months — by the end of August — over one quarter of all travelers will be comfortable getting on a plane to resume long-haul travel. By the end of 2021, half of all travelers will be ready to fly for five or more hours.
These travelers tend to be younger, typically between 16 and 54 years old. However, there is a notable group of travelers ages 55 or older who are comfortable taking a long-haul flight in the next six months. These travelers are likely to be retired with more time and money to spend on travel.
In terms of the origin, U.S. consumers are even more predisposed to long-haul travel than Europeans and, more so, Brits specifically. Perhaps officials in the European Union were aware of this eagerness among U.S. travelers as noted by the recent announcement by the head of the European Commission to let vaccinated U.S tourists visit this summer.
Barring any new outbreaks, 2021 continues to shape up to be a pretty good year for all travel.
Chris Klauda is Senior Director of Market Insights at STR, CoStar Group's hospitality analytics division.
This article represents an interpretation of data collected by CoStar's hospitality analytics firm STR.