Last minute travel is booming, and reasons include shifting consumer behavior as well as new technology that makes typically distressed inventory desirable and easy to purchase. 
In 2002, 23.3 million U.S. households plan to purchase travel online, accounting for $20.4 billion in U.S. leisure online spending (Forrester
).  Sales statistics from Site59, an industry leader in last minute technology and content, show that 58.3% of consumers book within three days of traveling.  4.8% of consumers book and travel on the same day, 21.2% of people book one day in advance, 18.1% book 2 days in advance, and 14.2% book 3 days in advance of traveling.  Over 84% of Site59 travelers book within 7 days of traveling, compared to 77% in Spring of 2001. 
Many leading travel companies have added last minute package deals to their inventory during the past year, including Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline, AOL, Yahoo, BestFares, Lowestfare, CheapTickets, Trip.com, WorldSpan, and Sabre, as well as several airline and hotel suppliers including American Airlines Vacations, Delta Vacations, Northwest Airlines, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and others.

Site59
understands that more and more families are finding it harder to plan trips and vacations for the future.  Job security, last minute business needs and overall concerns of traveling are just some of the reasons compounded by expensive change fees. 

“As shorter vacations with less advanced planning continue to gain popularity, busy consumers still demand an easy planning process, a quick and efficient booking method, choice of destination and of course, savings,” said Michelle Peluso, President of Site59.  “Sales of our last minute weekend getaways have seen explosive growth of more than 4000% from a year ago,” Peluso continued.

Created with procrastinators in mind, Site59 is the last minute leisure travel site that allows those who wait (and wait), to still end up somewhere great.  Site59 offers Flight & Hotel packages that combine flight, hotel and/or car, HotelPlus? packages with hotel and added extras, or FlightPlus? packages including flight and added extras.  Added extras can be a car, pre-paid dinner, concert tickets, or more unique offerings from a wild ride on a Harley to hot-air balloon rides, white water rafting, an all-Elvis weekend in Memphis or snorkeling in Mexico.   

 

Unlike other online travel providers, Site59 reveals important trip details such as exact airline and flight number, detailed product descriptions, full itinerary information and offers great and timely suggestions (the hottest restaurants, the coolest clubs, etc.) to do when you get there.  All packages are guaranteed available and can be booked from 14 days to 3 hours in advance. In addition, all of Site59’s flight reservations are eligible for frequent flier credit.

 

 

Related stories on ITN:

(25/11/2001) Site59 Reveals That ‘Travellers Making Plans Later Now’

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