Koddi has been running industry-leading ad programs since 2013, when we launched with roots in travel. As such, our industry experts are closely monitoring travel demand going into the holiday season to see how demand compares to recent years.

 

Demand Overview for Thanksgiving Weekend

Since mid-October and through the first week of November, demand for Thanksgiving weekend check-in dates has grown by approximately 400%. Year-over-year, demand for check-in dates on and around Thanksgiving is in line with 2021’s trends. Using demand trends from last year, we can forecast that the remaining 10 days leading up to Thanksgiving will see roughly an 11% increase. That means it’s the right time for savvy travel marketers to adjust their spending strategies to target travelers shopping during this upcoming surge.

 

Thanksgiving Destination & Length of Stay Trends

Atlanta and New York are top destinations this Thanksgiving, as families and friends gather to celebrate the holiday, and the remaining eight locations are also large urban centers. As mentioned in previous holiday outlooks this year, urban locales have made a comeback in 2022, dethroning previous top destinations in more outdoor, natural settings – like parks and beaches. Miami and San Diego potentially cracked the top 10 list for the moderate temperatures they offer, even in November, but both cities also feature dense urban centers at their core.

 

As for length of stay, travelers don’t plan on staying too long this Thanksgiving. 49.5% of all searches are targeting single-night stays, 25.7% are two-night stay lengths, and all remaining percentage points shared across length of stays 3 or greater. Stays of eight nights or more account for a mere 1% of all Thanksgiving searches.

 

Looking Ahead: Christmas and New Year’s Day

Demand for the end-of-the-year holiday season has been on a gentle incline since this summer. Exactly halfway through September, shoppers displayed a significantly increased interest in Christmas and New Year’s Day check-in dates.

Over the course of the next two weeks, hotel demand for the two holidays surged by an incredible 950%. Currently, we are riding another uptick in holiday demand: Since the start of November, we have observed a 26% increase, and demand is still trending strongly upward.

 

General Hotel Demand for the Remainder of 2022

It’s important to note that while demand typically drops after the standard peak summer season, we do see strong demand surges again around holiday dates. Therefore, US properties should focus their marketing efforts on the remaining large holidays. For all other check-in dates, expect demand to level out toward the end of November after a mid-month swell. The beginning of December is likely to see another significant boost leading up to Christmas.

 

In conclusion, as the end-of-the-year holiday travel season approaches we expect to see demand peak around mid-November, then grow slowly in December leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Eve. So now, mid-November, is the time to boost budgets and amplify marketing efforts. We will continue to share our insights on the upcoming holiday season and into the new year –and any travel demand trends that come with that– here on our blog and social media channels.

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