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Summer Vacation, Grandparents, and Market Growth (Travel Tuesday)

Posted: 10 May 2011 08:48 AM PDT

Vacation rentals have been getting a fair amount of media attention in the last week. As we get closer to Memorial day getaways and the end of the school year, travelers are starting to think about their next trips. Fortunately, the vacation rental market is not only growing, it’s also gaining visibility as travelers move out of hotels and into vacation homes.

Here’s the week’s vacation rental news:

TripAdvisor announced “10 Great U.S. Summer Vacation Rental Escapes.” Hank Hudephohl, director of vacation rentals noted, “While vacation rentals are booking up during peak warm weather weekends… there are still plenty of beautiful homes available for rent in destinations across America this summer.”
Belize resort Chaa Creek noticed a recent travel trend: “Grandparents taking their grandkids on exotic summer adventure holidays.” We think this is a great idea. With a vacation home, grandparents and grandkids can enjoy a long summer vacation together, and the parents can join for part of the time. There’s room for the whole family.
The Dayton Daily News reported on the growing vacation rental trend. The article cited a Radius Global Market Research survey indicating that there are, “more than 6 million vacation properties in the United States and Europe that are rented to travelers every year.” That’s a lot of options for travelers looking for a great place to stay on their next vacation.
USA Today also picked up on the greatness of vacation rentals, noting that, “sales of vacation rentals grew about 9%… in the three years between 2007 and 2010.” Much of the credit for the recent development goes to websites like FlipKey, which have helped to organize a previously fragmented market.

In other travel news, tourism has been threatened by flooding along the Mississippi River; Boston, MA is introducing “Hubway” bike sharing; TripAdvisor announced the 2011 Traveler’s Choice Destinations Awards winners; and a Pakistani tourist town was surprised to find itself in the spotlight as the hideout of Osama Bin Laden.

That’s the news roundup for the last week. Happy Travel Tuesday!

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Wednesday, May 11, 2011