Desperate for a quick getaway? Travelers can bag cheap last-minute hotel deals in several cities in Florida, Texas and other states for stays booked up to three days in advance, new research has shown.
The “spontaneous travel” study, to which Newsweek was given first-exclusive access, was conducted by Vio.com, a travel booking website, which looked at two years’ worth of internal booking data from the website in top cities across the United States and United Kingdom. Spontaneous travel in this study refers to accommodation booked from zero to seven days before arrival.
The data observed includes the percentage of travelers who booked hotels in varying number of days ahead (from zero to three days in advance to more than 30 days in advance) as well as the average nightly cost of hotels in each city. The company also surveyed 1,001 Americans and Britons (53 percent American and 47 percent British) about their travel preferences.
According to the study, booking U.S. hotels at the last-minute can save you 30 percent on costs. The study found that the average nightly rate at a hotel in the U.S. is $80 for bookings made zero to three days in advance, compared with $115 for those made over a month ahead.
Omri Amir, chief strategy officer at Vio.com, told Newsweek: “The affordability of last-minute hotel rates in some U.S. cities reflects a mix of local market conditions, tourism patterns and supply-demand dynamics.”
The cheapest city for a spontaneous break, based on hotel bookings made zero to three days in advance, was found to be Amarillo in northern Texas. The average nightly hotel rate in Amarillo for stays booked within that period is $49.
Amarillo was followed by Winston-Salem, North Carolina ($51), Kissimmee, Florida ($52), Dayton, Ohio ($57), and El Paso, Texas ($58), in the top five ranking.
Lubbock, Texas ($60), Tallahassee, Florida ($61), Pensacola, Florida ($62), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ($62), and Reno, Nevada ($62) rounded out the bottom half of the top 10 rankings.
At the other end of the spectrum, the most expensive cities for hotels booked with the same period were found to be New York City ($199), Miami Beach in Florida ($185), Boston in Massachusetts ($173), Honolulu in Hawaii ($165) and Seattle in Washington state ($156).
Amir explained that “cities like Amarillo, Winston-Salem and Kissimmee, which attract regional travelers or those seeking quick, affordable getaways, tend to have lower booking urgency. This allows hotels to deeply discount rates to fill rooms on short notice.
“Major destinations like New York and Miami are driven by consistent demand from international tourists and large-scale events, where even last-minute availability is limited, keeping prices high,” the chief strategy officer noted.
On average, travelers book hotels in the U.S. just five days in advance and nearly one in five travelers (19 percent) prefer spontaneous travel over planned trips—meaning hotel stays booked eight or more days in advance—the study found.
Winston-Salem was found to be the most spontaneous travel destination in the country, with hotels booked just a day in advance, on average. Honolulu in Hawaii—which was named as the state that most Americans want to visit in a survey this summer—was the least spontaneous U.S. travel destination. Travelers book hotels in Honolulu around 47 days prior to arrival, on average.
The study also found that spontaneous travelers are twice as more likely than planned travelers to end their trip early due to disagreements with their travel partner, while 50 percent are more likely to get lost or stranded.
Couples who travel spontaneously were also found to be twice as likely to break up during the trip than those who plan ahead.
The latest ranking comes as more than half of Americans (57 percent) are reported to be preparing for winter travel, with the vast majority (96 percent) planning to travel as much or even more than last winter, according to a Tripadvisor study released earlier this month.
Travel is projected to hit “record highs” by the end of 2024, with global tourism spending forecast to reach U.S. $2 trillion, according to Euromonitor International, a market research firm.
Cheapest U.S. Cities for Last-Minute Hotel Stays
- Amarillo, Texas ($49 per night)
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina ($51per night)
- Kissimmee, Florida ($52 per night)
- Dayton, Ohio ($57 per night)
- El Paso, Texas ($58 per night)
- Lubbock, Texas ($60 per night)
- Tallahassee, Florida ($61 per night)
- Pensacola, Florida ($62 per night)
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ($62 per night)
- Reno, Nevada ($62 per night)
Source: Vio.com
Note: The average nightly rates listed above are for hotel stays booked up to three days in advance.
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