Travel Outlook: July 4th, 2022

July 4th is more than the United States’ Independence Day; it’s one of the most popular American holidays to travel to spend time with friends and family. With so many people hitting the road, hoteliers and travel marketers need to know the latest industry trends to help optimize July 4th marketing strategies and boost advertisers’ revenue. 

 

Demand & Destinations Overview

Hotel demand for July 4th weekend check-ins is on par with record 2021 demand. What’s more, thanks to pent-up would-be travelers, demand is expected to increase even more approaching the holiday. In 2022 demand is up 1% YoY, and on a similar trendline compared to 2021.

 

Major cities and beach destinations see the most overall demand with Virginia Beach and Myrtle Beach enjoying the highest YoY growth for top markets. However, demand is shifting away from more resort-focused beach destinations like Miami, Miami Beach, and Honolulu in 2022, in favor of major urban destinations such as New York City, Washington D.C, Chicago, etc. that have seen the fastest growth recently.

 

 

Check-in Date Trends

Stays starting on July 1st or 2nd are expected to see the most demand and bookings for the holiday weekend. Demand (measured by searches for hotels) for July 1st check-ins has accounted for 40% of holiday hotel demand and July 2nd check-ins account for 30% of demand with bookings following the same trend. There is a similar distribution of check-in date demand across hotel brand types with no major variation between limited-service and luxury brands. As of June 4, 2022, the most demand growth for July 1st check-ins, and as of June 10, demand is beginning to shift towards July 3rd check-ins. Despite the increases in other check-in dates, travelers remain focused on July 1st and 2nd with ~70% of demand still concentrated there.

 

 

How to Leverage These Trends for Your Campaigns

So what do all these data points and graphs mean? Here are some considerations and strategies to help travel marketers and hoteliers optimize their strategies to capitalize on Fourth of July demand:

 

Be aggressive, be seen: An aggressive bidding strategy will help maximize the visibility of your campaigns to drive bookings for your hotels.

 

Target July 1st and July 2nd check-ins: 70% of traveler demand for the holiday is focused on these check-in dates so it’s important to ensure visibility here.

 

Adopt a market approach: 

  • Large urban cities and beach areas see the most demand in 2022, so it’s important to have coverage in these markets
  • Destinations with strong demand in 2021 aren’t necessarily seeing the same volume in 2022, so agile bidding and investment by market is key

 

Capture the surge leading up to the holiday:

  • For limited-service hotels, it is especially important to maximize the visibility of your campaigns in the last few days leading up to the weekend of July 4th
  • For full-service hotels, make sure to ensure high visibility throughout the week leading up to the weekend of July 4th
  • Extended stay hotels have seen significant demand growth leading up to the 4th of July weekend; ensure investment and coverage here to capitalize on this shift
  • If a property is sold out, there’s no added risk incurred because metasearch ads won’t display, and no charges will generate

 

Utilize sponsored channels:

  • If you have maximized your metasearch traffic leading into the weekend, consider:
    • Deploying additional dollars towards direct sponsored tactics (Google Property Promotion Ads, TripAdvisor Sponsored Placements, Kayak Sponsored Listings, or Trivago Sponsored Listings)
    • Create Booking Network Sponsored Ad campaign that specifically targets 4th of July travelers
    • Maximize exposure on Expedia Travel Ads for weekend travelers in the next week
  • Sponsored Channels will help drive net new traffic to your listing, of users who are largely market determined but still searching for their specific lodging in that destination

 

July 4th demand is exceeding 2021. Now is the best time for hoteliers and travel marketers to adjust their goals to capitalize on strong demand and drive maximum booking volume to their hotels.

 

Reach out to Koddi today to optimize your campaign spending with expert insights and automation.