FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hotels Versus Vacation Rentals Comparison Shopping Trends for Caribbean’s Top Family Destinations by Lodging Directory Rentalo.com
Rentalo.com Reveals Traveler’s Trends on Hotels versus Vacation Rentals Comparison Shopping, Vacation Planning, and Themes for Travelers Visiting Cayman Islands, Turk & Caicos, St Lucia, Aruba and Barbados
Miami, FL. February 28, 2010 – Rentalo.com, a leading lodging and vacation rental directory, is facilitating vacation planning for trip planners in the US and abroad in the hottest in the Caribbean destinations. The lodging site recently conducted a trend analysis on its database of 8,149 opted-in travelers searching for vacation rentals in Caribbean’s top leisure destinations from July 2008 to January 2010. Rentalo’s free destination-based inquiry service (also called “wanted ad service”) offers huge time-savings to trip planners by providing direct access to quotes from inventory owners in close to 15,000 destinations worldwide. Below you will find insightful findings that confirm consumer’s high demand for comparison shopping tools in the travel industry, as well as other interesting findings on vacation planning and themes for these popular Caribbean destinations.
Caribbean’s Family Vacation Destination: Cayman Islands
Eighty percent of the vacation planners who inquired for a place to stay showed interest in comparison shopping among Cayman islands vacation rentals, bed breakfasts, motels, and hotels. 54 percent of the travelers were early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel dates, 27 percent of the inquiries were from travelers who inquired 1 to 2 months in advance, and 15 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date. Cayman Island’s most popular vacation theme is family vacations since 36 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for families with children, 29 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 34 percent for couples, and 3 percent for people traveling alone.
Caribbean’s Romantic Vacation Destination: Turks and Caicos
Sixty-eight percent of the trip planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Ocho Rios vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels and resorts. Early planners who started their vacation planning for Turks and Caicos 2 or more months in advance from the travel date account for 53 percent, while 27 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 14 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date. Turks & Caico’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 41 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 30 percent from families with children, 28 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, and 5 percent for people traveling alone.
Caribbean’s Romantic Vacation Destination: St Lucia
Eighty-four percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among St Lucia vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, and hotels. 55 percent of the inquiries were from early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel date, 27 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 17 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to their arrival in St Lucia. St Lucia’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 42 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 29 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 20 percent for families with children, and 10 percent for people traveling alone.
Caribbean’s Family Vacation Destination: Aruba
Eighty-seven percent of the travelers who searched for short term accommodations showed interest in comparison shopping among Aruba vacation rentals, bed breakfasts, and hotels. 56 percent of the travelers were early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel dates, 19 percent of the inquiries were from travelers who inquired 1 to 2 months in advance, and 25 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date. Aruba’s most popular vacation theme is family vacations since 31 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for groups of more than 4 adults, 28 percent for families with children, 28 percent for couples, and 15 percent for people traveling alone.
Caribbean’s Romantic Vacation Destination: Barbados
Sixty-nine percent of the trip planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Barbados vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and resorts. Early planners who started their vacation planning for Barbados 2 or more months in advance from the travel date account for 56 percent, while 18 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 24 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date. Barbados’ most popular vacation theme is romance with 45 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 28 percent from families with children, 20 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, and 5 percent for people traveling alone.
“Travelers love Rentalo’s free destination-based inquiry service because it saves countless hours searching for the best lodging deals online.” says Gabriel Amorocho, Marketing Manager for Rentalo.com “At www.rentalo.com, they can compare quotes from lodgings that can meet their specific needs and budget.”
Additional consumer statistics is available on Rentalo’s opted-in database of 1 million travelers and vacation rental listing owners. Travel editors, experts, and other media publications interested in similar data pertaining to other vacation destinations, or additional consumer data statistics and facts such as budget, amenities, length of stays, peak seasons, and inventory data should contact Rentalo directly. Over 400,000 inquiries for vacation rentals, hotels, and bed and breakfasts were received in 15,000 destinations worldwide since July of 2008.
About Rentalo.com
Rentalo.com is a leading online travel lodging and vacation rental website. Its broad inventory of vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, and hotels is available online and via RSS feeds, affiliate 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, visit http://rentalo.com or call 1(305) 558-5577.
Media Contact:
Carolina Plata
c.plata@rentalo.com
1-305-558-5577 ext 607