2015: Invest in Travel – 5 reasons why
Summary
• Strong dollar will boost international travel
• Lower gas prices will boost domestic travel
• Airbnb, Homeaway and others provide great alternative to hotels
• Hotels are finding new ways to lure customers
• Weather worries may be over
Travel and Tourism industry may be one of the most important leading indicators for the economy; if business and leisure travel improves then it is a sign of improved consumer confidence.
According to American Hotel & Lodging Association (ahla.com) Resident and international travelers in the United States spend an average of $2.4 billion a day and the tourism industry generates $887.9 billion in sales and pays about $134 billion in federal, state, and local taxes each year.
“Lower gas prices, strong dollar, improving economy, everything that is needed to boost Travel and Tourism industry is here.” says Madhu Madhusudhanan, CEO of Proxce, Inc.
If you are trying to find alpha in stock market this year, then OTA’s like Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN), Orbits (NYSE:OWW), Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) may be your best bet, along with few hotel chains like Marriott (NASDAQ:MAR), Starwood (NYSE:HOT) and others, here is why:
Strong dollar will boost international travel
The dollar is strengthening against Euro, One euro is currently worth $1.19 down from $1.39 a year ago. Same is true with Japanese Yen and other currencies, the same dollar will give consumers cheaper hotels, lower local expenses and as the rest of the world tries to catch up with US economy, other countries will seek to promote travel to boost their economy.
Lower gas prices will boost domestic travel
As pundits argue that consumers are likely to spend savings on the gas to gadgets and apparels, while that may be true, but airlines are likely to use this opportunity to increase their marketing budget to lure families and couples to travel more. Lower gas not only leads to lower airfares but If someone was planning a cross-country trip or a visit to a national park in an RV, then they won’t find a better time than now.
Airbnb, HomeAway provide great alternatives to hotels
If you are traveling with a family of 4 or more, and you are not a fan of booking 2-3 hotel rooms for each stay, then sites like Airbnb and homeAway can come to your rescue, allowing you to not only rent vacation homes, but condos, castles, villas, farms and many more options to make your travel more adventurous.
Hotels are finding new ways to lure customers
Cheaper room rates to targeted ads, hotels are trying everything to improve their occupancy rates. Elevated guest experience will be a common theme for hotels from 2015 onwards, Major hotel chains are now allowing mobile check-in’s to ease the guest on-boarding process, tech start-ups like Proxce and others are working with hotels to connect with their guest in a more personal way.
Weather worries may be over
Polar vortex may not be an issue this year, and with no major storm forecast in the near future, this year may be a great time to execute any travel plans that was postponed. And for people seeking exotic locations, Cuba may be a potential candidate as U.S. attempts to restore diplomatic ties with the Island nation.
About Proxce
Proxce helps business travelers skip the front desk for check-in at hotels, our Proximity Identity Manager system uses BLE/iBeacons to provide auto check-in and keyless entry to guest rooms in hotels. To learn more, visit the website www.proxce.com