If you look at the number of vacation packages being offered on sites like Expedia and Travelocity, you would think that this is what the consumer wants, this is what they are buying. Especially for destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

Most of my clients are in the travel industry and from what I’ve seen this simply hasn’t been the case. I think we’ve all thought about the simplicity of buying a perfectly packaged vacation and flying away, stress-free, with ease. Unfortunately finding that perfect package with the right dates, hotels, and most of all, the right PRICE doesn’t seem to go as smoothly as we would like. So, we put together our own vacation package - buying separate air, hotel, excursions, etc.

I think a lot of it stems from the fact that the advertised “from” price is usually impossible to find, or it’s for restrictive dates, in a less-than-desirable hotel, doesn’t include some major component or amenity, etc. One of these experiences, of not being able to actually find the lead-in price, usually frustrates us enough to look past those offers and dig in ourselves.

Of course the agencies would rather sell you a package because they make more margin on their packages, which is why they slap them all over their home pages.

Well, all of this may be finally starting to change. The JupiterResearch report, “US Travel Consumer Survey, 2006” finds that consumers are beginning to book packages. In fact, they show that it’s climbed to 41% (from 29% in 2005) this year for travelers requiring multiple components. This could indicate a pretty major shift in online travel and the way we market and sell online.

My initial thought is, though, is it just temporary? Is it this year’s higher air rates that are making package prices more appealing? Or some other shift that may change again in six months or a year?

Here is a piece with more numbers from the report, including data on search engine behavior among consumers looking for travel and data on travel meta search engines.

Online travelers shift to package deals - Hotelmarketing.com


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