Southern California Traveler’s Stats Revealed by Online Lodging and Vacation Rentals Directory Rentalo.com

Interests, behaviors and preferences for Travelers and Vacationers Searching for Vacation Rentals, Hotels and Bed and Breakfasts in the Southern California.

Miami, FL (PRESS RELEASE - January 30, 2010) – In an effort to better understand the demand and consumer habits of travelers, Rentalo.com, the leading online vacation rental directory released market research studies on Southern California vacation rentals and lodgings  to determine the preferences of its website visitors. These vacation rental analyses have been made publicly available to offer industry experts insightful information regarding the needs and habits of those in search of vacation rentals in Southern California. The study was performed on the website’s database of 23,479 opted-in travelers who visited the Southern California area from July 2008 to January 2010.

Travel experts, editors, and media publications interested in similar data pertaining to other vacation destinations, or additional consumer data stats such as budget, amenities, length of stays, peak seasons, and inventory data should contact Rentalo directly.  

Southern California Destination: Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake visitors like to do comparison shopping. A majority of 72.89 percent of the travelers who inquired on Big Bear Lake vacation rentals also accepted to receive offers from vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, and hotels.  
A 42.77 percent also wanted to receive offers from Big Bear City, Sugarloaf, Fawnskin, Angelus Oaks, Running Springs, Lake Arrowhead and Skyforest.
Big Bear Lake visitors are mostly last minute planers. 19.89 percent sent requests 3 or more months in advance; 17.05 percent did it 1-2 months in advanced, and 60.33 percent with only 30 days left for arrival.
The study showed that Big Bear Lake is a favorite of big groups. 8.07 percent of the total inquiries were from couples or parties of two, 40.39 percent were from families planning family vacations with children and 51.52 percent were from people planning group getaways with 4 or more adults and children. 

Southern California Destination: Palm Springs
Palm Springs visitors showed interest in comparing offers from different lodging types.  47.25 percent of the travelers looking for Palm Springs vacation rentals also accepted to receive offers from hotels and bed and breakfasts. 46.51 percent were also interested in receiving offers from nearby destinations like Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Thousand Palms, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Indio, Desert Hot Springs and Idyllwild.
Palm Spring visitors like to book ahead. 47.48 percent of those looking for Palm Springs vacation rentals sent inquiries three or more months in advance of their stay, 27.22 percent did so within 30 days prior to the arrival date and 23.13 percent was looking one to two months in advance.
Palm Springs is preferred by both families and larger groups. 31.60 percent of the inquiries were for groups of four or more people while 20.18 percent were families with children. 38.43 percent were couples or parties of two and solo travelers represented 9.12 percent.

Southern California Destination: San Diego
The study on San Diego revealed that 59.73 percent of the travelers who inquired on San Diego vacation rentals also wanted to compare offers from bed and breakfasts, and hotels.  66.63 percent were also interested in receiving offers from Pacific Beach, Coronado Island, Mission Beach, Roseville, National City, Mission Bay, San Carlos, La Mesa, Chula Vista, Bonita, La Jolla, Imperial Beach, El Cajon, Del Mar, Poway, and Solana Beach.
San Diego visitors also like to plan ahead. 42.36 percent inquired for rentals 3 or more months in advance. 22.01 percent did it one to two months in advance, and 32.34 percent only 30 days prior to arrival date.
Visitors to San Diego range mainly between families and big groups. 44.74 percent of the inquiries were from families with children, 18.70 percent from couples and 36.21 percent from people planning reunions of larger groups.

Southern California Destination: Santa Barbara
Besides inquiring about Santa Barbara vacation rentals, 70.62 percent of all Santa Barbara inquiries requested to receive offers from bed and breakfasts, and hotels.  
68.40 percent inquired on other nearby destinations like Montecito, Goleta and Carpinteria.
 40.85 percent of the inquiries were received 3 or more months in advance; 20.46 percent 1-2 months prior to arrival date, and 35.75 percent were last minute inquiries sent with only 30 days of anticipation.
According to this study, Santa Barbara is mainly a group destination. 34.16 percent of the inquiries included families with children, 25.31 percent were from couples looking for romantic getaways and 40.35 percent were from groups larger than 4 adults.

Southern California Destination: Santa Cruz
Stats on Santa Cruz revealed that 59.59 percent of the travelers who inquired on Santa Cruz vacation rentals  also wanted to compare offers from other alternatives like bed and breakfasts, and hotels.  58.08 percent accepted to receive offers from Soquel, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Felton, Aptos, Ben Lomond, La Selva Beach, Boulder Creek, Watsonville, Pajaro and Los Gatos.
34.58 percent inquired for rentals 3 or more months in advance. 17.07 percent did it one to two months in advance, and 46.34 percent only 30 days prior to arrival date.
Santa Cruz is another favorite among big groups. 37.58 percent of the inquiries were from families planning family vacations with children, 19.73 percent from couples looking for romantic getaways and 42.57 percent from people planning reunions of larger groups.

“Understanding consumer desires and vacation habits is a vital process in satisfying customer demands,” says Gabriel Amorocho, Rentalo.com’s Marketing Manager. “Our objective is not only to benefit internally from these analyses, but also to provide our customers with the most suitable solution to their needs. And, as we do so, also to help industry participants in identifying consumers’ preferences and act on those identified trends. We believe that this information can greatly improve the understanding of vacation lodging dynamics in a challenging environment.”

About Rentalo.com
Rentalo.com is a leading online travel lodging and vacation rentals website. Its inventory of vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts and hotels is accessible through search engines, RSS feeds; affiliate online distribution partners, as well as thousands of journalists and editors through e-mail, press releases and travel publications. Through selected partnerships, Rentalo's inventory is available to an online audience of more than 100 million travelers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, go to http://rentalo.com or call (877) 710-5914, 1(305) 558-5577.  

MEDIA CONTACT:
Carolina Plata
1-305-558-5577 ext 607

 

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