NEW YORK - Have consumers been conditioned to seek the best
vacation deals at the last minute?
The answer is yes - for now.
Travel professionals at the Travel Commerce Conference &
Expo, held here earlier this month, acknowledge that last-minute
deals are plentiful, but necessarily so, because travelers are
hesitant to book far in advance these days.
But like all trends, this one won't last forever, said Cathy
Pelaez, chief operating officer of Liberty Travel.
"I think the industry is cyclical. Things will change," said
Pelaez. "But we do need to keep our sights on travelers willing to
plan long-term. We're penalizing them by not offering them deals
that short-term travelers are getting."
The close-in trend also has boosted the bottom lines of
companies that sell last-minute packages. For example,
LastMinuteTravel.com, the Atlanta-based online retailer, has
achieved profitability in March for the first time in its five-year
history, said Alan Greenberg, the company's chairman and CEO.
Traditional agencies like Liberty also are seeing a significant
spike in last-minute bookings, Pelaez said. "Consumers are taking
shorter trips, which are conducive to last-minute travel."