Vacation booking sees jump in January, travel expert says

Admit it, you’d rather be on a tropical island drinking a pina colada (and/or getting caught in the rain). It’s never too early to plan for your vacation, and HomeAway.com is giving other services like Airbnb a run for their money when it comes to finding roomy accommodations for well-deserved holidays away from the office.

According to “Phocuswright’s A Market Transformed: Private Accommodations in the U.S.,” travelers who opt to stay in vacation rentals versus hotels or home stays increased from 1 in 10 in 2011 to 1 in 3 in 2015.

But don’t wait until the spring. According to HomeAway travel expert Melanie Fish, the biggest time to book is now.

“We took a look at historical data from HomeAway.com and found that vacation home demand tends to jump 75 percent from December to January, with the most popular time to book a vacation being the second and third weeks in January,” Ms. Fish said in an email sent to The Washington Times, adding that as the holidays pass, people begin thinking about their travels in the new year.

“The numbers jump dramatically because when people are together over the holidays, they make plans for the next time they’ll be able to get away from it all,” Ms. Fish said. “They’ve decided where they want to go, so the next step is to book it. It’s human nature to want a trip to look forward to, and, for most people, summer vacation is the next big break after the holidays.”

For more information, visit HomeAway.com.