Tourism and hotel experts from the U.S. and China conducted a study about the “staycation” trend. This trend, where people stay in their own city for a hotel stay, dining out, or doing local activities, became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that this trend is still popular and is likely to stick around as a regular part of the tourism industry.

The study looked at different types of tourists and what Chinese tourists like about staying close to home. It also collected data from the U.S., Netherlands, and Indonesia about similar staycation trends.

Understanding the market

The researchers delved deep into the world of staycations in Asia. They took a close look at 121 staycation packages offered by four- and five-star hotels. To understand what customers like in these packages, they used a special method called a stated choice experiment.

This method helped them sort customers into different groups based on what they like. They also learned more about each group’s characteristics and how they like to spend their money. The researchers found eleven different categories of staycation deals. Eight of them were about the package itself, two were about the hotel, and one was about extra perks.

The two most important things people cared about when choosing a staycation were the hotel’s star rating and its location. People also liked getting extra perks, like discounts for restaurants or theme parks.

What matters

The eight things that mattered in a staycation package included the theme of the stay, the activities it offered, the food choices, where you could eat, how long you could stay, parking, whether you could bring your pets, and how much it cost. These eight things were broken down into twelve different details, like having a romantic theme, being pet-friendly, or offering in-room dining.

These findings don’t just benefit researchers. They can also help businesses in the tourism industry. By understanding what different groups of customers like, businesses can create better promotions and marketing strategies tailored to each group’s preferences. This means happier customers and better business for everyone in the world of staycations.

“It goes beyond traditional methods of calculation and analysis to directly extract proposed segments from respondent behaviors, representing a methodological advancement,” the researchers explain. “It also helps establish a demand or ‘choice’ framework that could facilitate further investigation of staycation markets.”