Ohio could see COVID-19 “revenge spending” on travel

Pent-up travel demand and rapid growth in vaccinations means many people expect to hit the road in coming months for short getaways and longer vacations.

Some industry groups predict there could be a wave of “revenge spending” from consumers who have been cooped up and who were forced to cancel vacations and other much-anticipated life events because of COVID-19.

“We’ve heard the term ‘revenge spending,’” said Micki Dudas, director of leisure travel sales with AAA Miami Valley. “I missed my Mother’s Day, I missed my Fourth of July celebration ... They missed a lot of important events.”

AAA has seen increased travel requests and bookings as more attractions and popular activities and destinations open back up and people generally feel more confident making plans, Dudas said.

Some Ohioans may splurge on trips, attractions and accommodations more than they would in a normal year because they did not travel at all in the last year and they have extra money in their travel budgets, Dudas said.

Many people want to travel and also see and reconnect with family and friends, so they are planning trips that include other loved ones, she said.

Advanced planning and reservations are important because pent-up demand may exceed booking availability, Dudas said.

About 87% of U.S. travelers have travel plans in the next six months, which is the highest level since March 2020, according to a recent study from Longwoods International.

Jacquelyn Powell, president and CEO of the Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau, says she is “cautiously optimistic” that more people will feel comfortable traveling, staying in hotels and visiting destination attractions and restaurants as Ohio continues to recover from the pandemic and more residents become vaccinated.

Libby Steeves, 45, a teacher who lives in Oakwood, was vaccinated in February and her 17-year-old daughter, Olivia, received her first dose on Friday.

Steeves said now that her entire family is getting vaccinated they plan to vacation in North Carolina for a week in June.

This is their first vacation since the start of the outbreak.

“We’ll just to go out to dinner and go out to things we haven’t done in a year ... things we used to enjoy doing,” she said. “We like to go to lunch, go shopping and just walking on the beach.”

Steeves said they will still be careful by wearing masks and social distancing, but she feels better with the extra layer of protection the vaccine provides.

Olivia Steeves said she is ready for a getaway.

“I haven’t gone more than a few blocks away from my house in the past year ― for the most part,” she said.

CDC’s new guidance says domestic travelers don’t have to worry about COVID-19 tests or quarantining but they should still wear masks, socially distance and avoid crowds.

Hotels/motels

Hotels and motels across Ohio expect to see more bookings and welcome more travelers this year, which is good news since many operators could not afford to have another spring and summer like last year, said Joe Savarise, executive director of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association.

Ohio’s lodging providers had an occupancy rate of just 33.3% during the week of Memorial Day in 2020, which compared to 62.2% in 2019, Savarise said.

Ohio’s hotel occupancy rate more recently was about 44.5%, he said, and most of the demand has been for weekend stays, related to the leisure market.

“There is no doubt hotel and lodging properties are seeing an increase in bookings, and we forecast that trend will continue into the summer,” Savarise said. “Right now, leisure and discretionary travel is leading the way.”

Missy Kozee, 47, of Centerville, says she recently returned from a trip to South Carolina with her husband, daughter and a friend. She was vaccinated a couple of weeks ago and her daughter, Jordyn, received her first shot on Friday at a Kettering Health Network vaccination clinic.

Kozee said she felt comfortable traveling because they stayed with family and they weren’t at the beach or around large groups of other people.

“I don’t know that I would have felt safe doing that,” she said.

Kozee, Steeves and other people interviewed by the Dayton Daily News said they are still not ready to fly.

But the Dayton International Airport and airports across the nation have seen a steady uptick in passengers going through TSA, and leisure travel currently is a significant share of local foot traffic, said Linda Hughes, Dayton’s air service manager.

Dayton airport passenger bookings in March and April are trending below the U.S. average, she said, but May is slightly above average and June booking performance looks strong.

Dayton aviation director Gil Turner said he hopes there will be a significant increase in air travel at the Dayton airport by the fall.

However, he said air traffic volumes will not climb back to pre-COVID levels until business travel returns.

“We remind our community that airlines will follow demand,” he said. “For a strong community we must buy local, and for a strong airport we must fly local.”

Allegiant airlines, which offers four nonstop flights from Dayton to Florida, has found increasingly positive sentiment from its customers in weekly surveys, said Sonya Padgett, an Allegiant spokesperson.

Customers have indicated they are likely to book travel this spring or summer, she said.