FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Travel Trends for Caribbean’s Virgin Islands
by Vacation Rentals and Lodging Directory Rentalo.com
Rentalo.com Reveals Traveler’s Trends on Hotels versus Vacation Rentals Comparison Shopping, Vacation Planning, and Themes for St Thomas, St John, St Marteen / St Martin, St Croix, and Tortola
Miami, FL. March 2, 2010 – Rentalo.com, a leading lodging and vacation rental directory that facilitates comparison shopping for trip planners in the US and abroad, is conducting a trend analysis on its database of 11,930 opted-in travelers searching for vacation rentals in Caribbean’s top island destinations from July 2008 to January 2010. These insightful findings confirm consumer’s high demand for comparison shopping in the travel industry, as well as other interesting findings on vacation planning and vacation themes for popular vacation destinations in the Caribbean.
Travel Trends for Saint Thomas
St Thomas’ Comparison Shopping Trends: According to the study, 68 percent of the vacation planners who inquired for a place to stay showed interest in comparison shopping among St Thomas vacation rentals, bed breakfasts, motels, and hotels.
St Thomas’ Vacation Planning Trends: 52 percent of the travelers were early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel dates, 25 percent of the inquiries were from travelers who inquired 1 to 2 months in advance, and 19 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date.
St Thomas’ Vacation Themes: Based on the number of adults and children requested on the inquiries received, St Thomas’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 39 percent of the inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 31 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 24 percent for families with children, and 7 percent for people traveling alone.
Travel Trends for Saint John
St John’s Comparison Shopping Trends: According to the study, 84 percent of the trip planners showed interest in comparison shopping among St John vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and resorts.
St John’s Vacation Planning Trends: 58 percent are early planners who started their vacation planning for Rincon 2 or more months in advance from the travel date, while 19 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 the arrival date.
St John’s Vacation Themes: The most popular vacation theme for St John is romance with 45percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 29 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 22 percent from families with children, and 6 percent for people traveling alone.
Travel Trends for Saint Marteen / St Martin
St Martin’s Comparison Shopping Trends: According to stats collected, 68 percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among St Martin vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and resorts.
St Martin’s Vacation planning Trends: Stats show that vacation planning for this island is dominated by early planners with 53 percent of the inquiries coming from those who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel date, 25 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 date.
St Martin’s Vacation Theme Trends: St Maarten’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 47 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 27 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 24 percent for families with children, and 5 percent for people traveling alone.
Travel Trends for Saint Croix
St Croix’s Comparison Shopping Trends: 76 percent of the travelers who searched for short term accommodations showed interest in comparison shopping among St Croix vacation rentals, bed breakfasts, and hotels.
St Croix’s Vacation planning Trends: 58 percent of the travelers were early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel dates, 20 percent of the inquiries were from travelers who inquired 1 to 2 months in advance, and 19 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date.
St Croix Vacation Theme Trends: St Croix’s most popular vacation theme is romance with 35 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations for 2, 25 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 25 percent for families with children, and 13 percent for people traveling alone.
Travel Trends for Tortola
Tortola’s Comparison Shopping Trends: 71 percent of the trip planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Tortola vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotel, and resorts.
Tortola’s Vacation Planning Trends: 56 percent are early planners who started their vacation planning for 2 or more months in advance from the travel date, while 19 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 16 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date.
Tortola’s Vacation Themes: Tortola’s romantic getaways account for 53 percent of the traveler’s inquiries requesting accommodations, while 27 percent for groups of more than 4 adults, 20 percent from families with children, and only 3 percent for people traveling alone.
“With the current state of the economy, comparison shopping plays an important role in consumer’s decisions” says Alfredo Purrinos, President and Founder of Rentalo.com. “At Rentalo.com, travelers can easily compare offers from vacation rentals, hotels, and bed and breakfasts that meet their specific needs.”
Rentalo’s free destination-based “Inquire Now” inquiry service offers huge time-savings to trip planners by providing direct access to quotes from inventory owners in close to 15,000 destinations worldwide. 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