Covid-19’s impact on traveller searches and bookings

Travellers are starting to dream of and plan their future holidays. Google search traffic for the term ‘Vrbo’ slowly increased in late April and May 2020 after hitting a low point.

Travellers are also curious about when they can travel again. Google data reports a strong uptick in the search phrase ‘When can I travel again?’ since late March 2020, compared with search volume over the previous year. 

In April 2020, the top destinations that US travellers searched for included traditionally strong holiday rental markets, such as beach and mountain destinations, within driving distance to major cities on the East Coast and in the Southeast.

Top destinations searched by travellers

In April 2020, travellers who searched on Vrbo  were located in major international cities. In the US, the largest cities that travellers searched on our platform were New York City and Houston.

Origin of travellers searching on our platform

In an analysis of bookings  on Vrbo, we have observed a few interesting trends that may provide useful insights into traveller behaviour and preferences.

• Travellers are staying close to home. There was a 40% increase in the share of trips booked at destinations within 100  miles of travellers in April 2020 compared with April 2019.1

• The majority of bookings on Vrbo in April 2020 were family and group travellers, consistent with the insight that 88% of travellers who book with Vrbo plan to travel with family.2

• The share of bookings for listings with a relaxed or moderate cancellation policy has steadily increased by 10% since the beginning of March.3

Access more insights from Vrbo surveys on traveller behaviour and preferences. 

Sources:

1 Vrbo internal data, April 2020

2 Vrbo internal data March–April 2019, compared with March–April 2020

and Vrbo Customer Satisfaction Survey, Q4 2019, for owners listing on HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com

3 Vrbo internal data, bookings weeks from 1/3/2020–27/4/2020

Despite the current coronavirus pandemic, a survey  conducted by the Overseas Leisure Group indicated that 72% of Americans were dreaming of and planning their next holiday and 35% of travellers considered going on holiday in summer 2020.

We conducted a survey of US travellers in spring 2020  and found that those with trips already booked for dates in June or later were planning to take the trip rather than cancel. (See Figure 1: Travellers with trips booked.)

• In the same survey, travellers who did not already have a trip booked responded that they were more comfortable booking dates in September 2020 or later, and that confidence levels rose throughout the autumn. (See Figure 2: Travellers planning to book trips.)
• Another indicator of future traveller demand comes from engagement in Trip Boards — a Vrbo tool that allows travellers to save properties and collaborate on upcoming trips with others. Data indicates that travellers are increasing their engagement with Vrbo trip boards since the start of April 2020. (See Figure 3: Travellers using Vrbo Trip Boards.)

Booking  trends on Vrbo indicated that traveller preference for beach and mountain destinations would continue into summer 2020.  The top five US destinations for trips booked in April 2020 with stay dates in July 2020 are below.

The top five US destinations for trips booked in April 2020 with stay dates in July 2020

In our webinar  ‘Prepare for Travellers Looking to Book’, we spoke with holiday rental managers Randy Hall and Miller Hawkins to ask them about traveller trends that they are seeing in their markets. Here are some highlights from that conversation.

‘We are seeing strong pent-up demand to get out of the house and down to the beach for short three-to-four-night trips. As for the longer-term outlook, we never lost our June and July bookings, so we are right on pace with last year’.

— Randy Hall, owner of Liquid Life Vacation Rentals, Orange Beach, Alabama, USA

‘We’re seeing a huge trend later in July and August, and autumn bookings are pouring in. All of these trips are shorter stays. Our bell curve is usually in the summer months, but due to the impact of Covid-19, we expect to see bookings extend until October and November’. 

— Miller Hawkins, owner of Booe Realty, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA

Watch the full recording of the ‘Get Prepared for Travellers Looking to Book’ on-demand  webinar  to hear more insights from Randy and Miller, as well as data and insights from Vrbo.