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The Road Trip Resurgence Summer travel season will not be slowed by gas prices, unemployment or the economy. Why? Americans feel it’s their right to vacation. Here’s why. Wednesday, June 20, 2012 Caryn Eve Murray

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It seems Clark Griswold had the right idea after all: Load the family into the car and hit the road for a summer’s worth of cross-country adventure.

National Lampoon’s “Vacation,” the 1983 hit that put Chevy Chase, as the hapless Griswold patriarch, behind the wheel of the iconic family road trip, might well be a roadmap itself for what this year’s American summer hiatus is shaping up to be – minus, of course, poor deceased Aunt Edna lashed to the roof rack.

It’s shaping up to be a good year, after all, for travelers with Griswold style aspirations. High unemployment, a struggling economy and gas price worries notwithstanding, industry observers are hearing the engines rev on America’s highways and have been making preparations to receive a strong influx of guests who arrive the time-honored way: by car. 

“The tradition of summer travel is still very strong,” said Callette Nielsen, global brand manager for SpringHill Suites, who recently reviewed the third annual survey for the brand, conducted for them by TNS.

“Eighty-four percent of Americans are very much looking forward to their summer vacation travel plans, and there really is an American tradition of this despite changes over the last three years in the economy,” she said. “We are pleased to see people are still looking forward to getting on the road: 64 percent are going by car. And we are pleased that tradition isn’t changing.”

The findings provided more than mere affirmation, however. Nielsen said it has enabled SpringHill Suites to “prepare to create experiences the guests are looking forward to.” That includes expansion and upgrade of complimentary WiFi as well as showcasing the hotels’ complimentary breakfasts.

“We also have a great new summer map that we hand out to the children, which include word search and coloring, to engage them,” said Nielsen, who said the new maps would roll out at the end of this month.

Nielsen said the increase in summer bookings is most evident through the springhillsuites.com channel, where reservation activity has been strong but being done with less advance notice. “A large proportion of reservations come through those channels, and we are seeing that grow,” she said. In fact, she said, those channels tend to offer travelers the best value for their dollar.

Speaking of dollar values, the survey also found that until gas prices hit $4.80 a gallon, on average, no one entertained thoughts of calling the whole trip off and putting their summer plans in parking gear.

But for now, that shift in gears seems unlikely. “Right now our forecast is that the growth in summer vacations for 2012 is going to be 2 percent, same as it was for 2011 over 2010,” said David Huether, senior vice president of research for the U.S. Travel Association. “We see activity continuing to increase, but to moderate a bit. …Some of it has to do with gasoline prices but also it has not been a smooth acceleration in terms of interest in travel due to the rocky nature of the recovery.”

Still, Choice Hotels International has been preparing even for that 2 percent national boost. Alexandra Jaritz, senior vice president for brand strategy and marketing, reported earlier this month that as gas prices continued to fall, prospects were looking up more and more and marketing strategies are positioned to capture as much of prospective guests’ interest as possible.

“We are seeing an uptick in bookings and an uptick in people traveling,” she said, “We are pretty positive. We are seeing our consumers wanting to go out and travel.” Their research indicated that American families are considering an average of two trips this summer, she said – logging a total of 1,100 miles by season’s end.

“Last year our consumers opted to stay closer to home or to have staycations. But we are seeing this year they are staying a little longer and instead of staying with aunts or uncles or brother or sister they may stay a day or so longer at a hotel instead of with a family member,” she said.

High on its list of priorities, the brand has burnished its hot breakfast offerings: Last August, Choice’s flagship brand, Comfort, rolled out a new version of hot breakfast (“not just a bagel and coffee,” she said) after noting that 75 percent of its guests consider the free hot breakfast the top indicator of good value.

Summer travel promotions have stressed other top values beyond the breakfast: free Internet and free parking among them. “We are positioning ourselves as the brand of the people, the brand of middle America, after listening to the voices of our consumers and delivering good value,” she said.

That strategy keeps the nation’s ever-fragile gas prices in mind, too. Choice is preparing to launch a campaign July 10 through Aug. 8, allowing consumers to compete to win a $50 gas card by uploading their favorite vacation photos on the brand’s Facebook page, and describing the vacation in 20 words or less.

“We have in the past run some good promotions with free gas, and consumers take to it well, which is why we know this works,” Jaritz said. Similarly another summer promotion will offer $50 gift cards (suitable for use for gas, or at restaurants and retail shops) to guests who stay two separate times at a Choice branded hotel this season.

The brand has also increased its presence on the road, with its campaign riding along – in both a real and a virtual sense – with travelers. Choice has placed more advertising on Gas Station TV, doling out information through screens atop filling station pumps, visible to travelers who stop en route to wherever they might be going. Choice also has an increased presence on smartphone apps, such as Gas Buddy, which provides comparative pricing for fuel prices in any geographic area.

“All of our hotels also have pins on MapQuest so if you search for hotels, they come up,” Jaritz said. The partnership with MapQuest has proven to be especially successful, she said, “and we know from our analysis we are getting a significant return on our investment. It used to be we would spend all this money on radio and print, but now we are going heavily after the mobile space. Apps are clickable and very easily trackable which makes it very nice. The numbers are very strong and yes, we are seeing bookings.”

And it is marketing, after all, that sometimes makes the difference between “stay” and “go,” particularly with travelers’ extra emphasis lately on value, said Huether.

“What I have heard, when we thought gas prices were going to go high, is that companies were providing deals and incentives for travelers to encourage them to get on the road. Be it a ‘stay three nights get a fourth free,’ or something else.” He said travelers are able to contact their state tourism offices or convention and visitors bureaus for specifics on who is offering what special deals.

People in the industry, after all, “want to keep travelers moving, despite gas prices, and so far it seems to be working.” Just a word to the wise as drivers hit the road: Steer clear of the hapless Griswolds, especially if Aunt Edna is still in tow.