Hotel stays increasing as Americans less concerned about COVID-19 pandemic

Hotels are the top lodging choice for Americans certain about traveling for leisure in the next three months.

According to the new national Hotel Booking Index Survey (HBI) by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), more Americans plan to stay hotels. The HBI is a new composite score that gauges the short-term outlook for the hotel industry. The survey’s 1 through 10 score is based on a weighted average of survey respondents’ travel likelihood in the next three months, which is 50 percent. It also measures household financial security, which is at 30 percent and a preference for hotel stays, which is at 20 percent.

HBI’s results for the next three months is 7.1 or very good.

“This survey bolsters our optimism for hotels’ near-term outlook for a number of reasons,” AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers said in a press release. “The share of holiday travelers planning hotel stays is rising, plans for business travel are on the upswing, and hotels are the number one lodging choice for those certain to travel for leisure in the near future. This is great news for our industry as well as current and prospective hotel employees, who are enjoying more and better career opportunities than ever before.”

In January, according to the press release, AHLA will release the next HBI results, as well as ahead of the summer travel season and the holiday travel season next year.

Thirty-one percent of travelers during the Thanksgiving holiday plan to stay in a hotel during their trip, compared to 22 percent who planned to last year, according to the survey.

Twenty-eight percent of Christmas holiday travelers plan to stay in a hotel this year compared to 23 percent last year.

Fifty-four percent of Americans who plan to travel for leisure in the next three months plan to stay in a hotel.

COVID-19 concerns are fading among travelers, the survey found, but are being replaced by concerns over inflation and high gas prices. Eighty-five percent of survey respondents are concerned about inflation and gas prices, compared to 70 percent who are concerned about the pandemic.

Therefore, the survey found that holiday travel will probably remain flat: 28 percent of Americans will travel for Thanksgiving and 31 percent for Christmas this year, compared to 29 percent and 33 percent, respectively, last year.

Of 4,000 adults surveyed, 64 percent are concerned about delays and cancellations when traveling by plane. Sixty-six percent reported a lower chance of flying this holiday season.

In 2023, 61 percent are more likely travel for leisure than they did in 2022.