We here at Road Trips For Families recently participated in a survey of people in the travel media industry. They asked all kinds of questions about where we would go, where we wanted to go, how comfortable we would be staying in a hotel, etc. We got the results not long ago, and I wanted to share them with you. While people in the travel industry are likely a little more eager to travel than people in the general public, our opinions can and will affect the travel industry as a whole.
If people in the media want more hand sanitizer or pools with less people in them, that’s likely what hotels will end up offering. This would partly be because they wouldn’t want negative publicity related to a travel journalists uncomfortable experiences. More than 400 travel journalists and/or social influences shared how soon they were willing to travel and what types of destinations they would like to visit.
So here goes, here’s the results of a travel survey about post-COVID travel plans. The survey was conducted in May.
When will people want to travel
- More than 25% are willing to travel as soon as they can
- 36% will be ready to visit hotels and resorts within 1-2 months of when restrictions are lifted.
- 28% will want to travel within 3-6 months
Where do people want to travel
- 73% look forward to taking a beach or lakeside getaway
- 55% would like to enjoy a scenic road trip
- 47% want a spa retreat
- 32% want to visit museums or other attractions
- 32% want an urban vacation
- 31% want to get back into the outdoors
Increased hotel cleanliness is a must
- 90% say hotel precautions such as hand sanitizer are a must
- 89% want rigorous hotel cleaning
- 75% want to enforce social distancing in common areas
- 64% want optional daily housecleaning
- 59% want masks and gloves
- 36% want plexiglass at checkin
Anything else you would add to that list? I want pools and hot tubs to open up again, partly because I love hot tub time and finding hotels with pools is what keeps my kids motivated to come along. I’m hoping that hotels will have answers about how they plan to handle that sort of thing.
Will continental breakfast buffets be a thing of the past? I stayed at The Hoxton in Portland, Oregon, and instead of a buffet breakfast they give you an option to have a breakfast bag delivered to your door. You just choose from a small selection on an ordering form, put it on the hook outside your room, and it will be waiting for you in the morning. They also deliver a tray with a small coffee pot, OJ, and a seasonal fruit. Each bag costs $4 per person, which you can pay upon check-out. I think more hotels will need to take that kind of approach. I definitely look for hotels with breakfast options.
Vanessa Salvia is a long-time freelance writer and editor. Read her journalistic work at vanessasalvia.com, and learn more about her editing and content creation services at sagemediaandmarketing.com.