Skift Take
Hotel rooms and short-term rentals will sell themselves this summer as U.S. travelers rush to take long-delayed vacations. Bookings look strong enough through the fall for industry leaders to think the recovery is real and lasting.
Hotels almost don't have to market themselves this summer. After more than 15 months of uncertainty, hotels expect this summer to be perhaps the best summer travel season within living memory, at least in the U.S. and other countries where vaccines have loosened the pandemic's hold.
Hotels expect occupancy rates this summer to be 50 percent above 2019 in the U.S. "This will be a summer [equivalent to] two summers," Wyndham Hotels Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Checchio said at the virtual Skift Hospitality and Marketing Summit today. "This summer will see unparalleled demand," added Best Western Hotel Group Chief Marketing Officer Dorothy Dowling.
As the pandemic recedes in the U.S., the types accommodations travelers prefer also is changing. E
