While hotels and motels have traditionally been the lodging option of choice for travelers, recent statistics indicate a growing preference for vacation rental properties. According to a survey released in April, 2013 by TripAdvisor, nearly half (49%) of the 1,300 U.S. travelers who responded to the survey indicated that they either have or plan to stay in a rental home in 2013, up from 40% in 2011 and 46% in 2012.

Why such a surge in interest for vacation rentals over hotels? According to the survey, 82% of respondents cited savings and last minute deals as the top reasons.  Other motivating factors for the choice included traveling with a large group and the availability of more living space. While not specifically mentioned in the survey, it’s probable that greater awareness of the availability of vacation rentals as a result of increased online marketing and guest referrals are also playing a big role in the shift. After all, how many of you remember childhood vacations spent in a personal residence as opposed to in a major hotel chain?

Each type of lodging facility offers its own unique advantages. Here are the most common ones:

Ultimately, travelers are likely to make their selection for lodging type based on past experiences, personal preferences, budgets, travel purpose, size of the group and their relationship with one another, length of stay, and the availability of lodging options at their desired location. For shorter stays and when traveling alone, the conveniences that hotels offer are hard to beat.  But for longer term lodging and with friends or relatives who want to be close, but not too close, vacation rentals often provide the ideal accommodations. And if the convenience of hotel room service is a really big deal, consider hiring a professional chef to come in and prepare those special meals in the comfort and privacy of your vacation rental.      

You know that effectiveness is enhanced with target marketing. But how do you know which target to aim for, business or leisure travelers? Here are some key facts to help you decide.

Someone once said about marketing that if you do the right things, then you only need to concern yourself with doing things right. But if you do the wrong things, it doesn’t much matter how well you do them. The question you might then ask yourself is: “What are the right things for me?”

The answer will vary to some degree based upon your specific location, business model, facilities and other factors but regardless of what segment of the hospitality industry that you specialize in, certain statistics about demographic trends in the travel and hospitality industry are likely to shape your future marketing efforts. On a broad scale, these trends are influenced by travel purpose, economic conditions, personal disposable income, fuel costs, consumer confidence, and other factors.

Let’s start with the broad strokes: Exactly who is traveling?

According to the U.S. Travel Association, consumers spent $564 billion in 2011 for domestic and international leisure travel verses $249 billion spent by business travelers, a margin of more than 2:1. For domestic travel within the U.S., the margin is even greater with 77% of the 2011 total conducted for leisure purposes.

According to the Global Business Travel Association, business travel has grown less than 6% on average from 2010 through 2012 as the economy has recovered and as many companies are reporting record profits due to a weak labor market. In spite of this, the frequency of business travel was forecast to actually decline year over year in 2012 and again in 2013. Clearly, corporate profitability is not a significant factor.

So what is?

While there is no substitute for a face-to-face business meeting on certain occasions, many others can be accomplished in a much more cost-effective manner using technology solutions that have proliferated and grown in acceptance over the past several years.  Are these advances in broadband and V.O.I.P. technologies doing for business travel what e-mail did for the U.S. Postal Service? The implications cannot be denied.

For those businesses with marketing plans heavily concentrated on the business traveler, the target still exists but the bull’s eye appears to be shrinking. In order to respond, businesses must dial in the accuracy and effectiveness of their marketing efforts, consider expanding their focus more on the leisure market, or both.