Americans Are Returning to Travel as COVID-19 Restrictions Lift
Choice Hotels International's Chief Customer Officer Sarah Searls, Discusses Summer Travel Trends as Americans Hit the Road Again
NEW YORK, June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As COVID-19 restrictions continue to lift, Americans are returning to travel again. According to the U.S. Travel Association, more than two-thirds of consumers miss traveling and can't wait to get out again, and one in four are already planning a future vacation.
Recently, Sarah Searls, Chief Customer Officer of Choice Hotels International, teamed up with YourUpdateTV to discuss the latest trends as Americans begin to travel again, and the ways Choice is working to meet customers' current desires and needs.
A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/TsJdJ3quJLE
Travelers will choose to drive, rather than fly, and hence take shorter trips, closer to home. According to a recent survey by MMGY Global, 74% of consumers feel safest in their own cars and 67% are likely to travel by personal car during the next six months. Choice Hotels' nearly 6,000 franchised hotels across America are conveniently located near drive-to destinations and therefore well-positioned to support the resurgence of the American road trip this summer.
Travelers will place a renewed emphasis on their health and safety. Americans will have different comfort levels when they first venture out in this new travel environment and will be looking for indications from restaurants, hotels and attractions that they are committed to prioritizing travelers' health and safety. Specifically, the hospitality and hotel industries have enhanced existing cleanliness procedures to address health and safety concerns associated with the pandemic. Choice's Commitment to Clean initiative is designed to help give guests added peace of mind when booking a stay. Commitment to Clean is the company's holistic approach to supplying hotel owners and their employees with the tools they need to help Choice-branded hotels worldwide achieve superior levels of cleanliness. As part of the initiative, every Choice-branded hotel is designating a "Commitment to Clean Captain," each of whom is responsible for completing applicable best-in-class cleanliness training and communicating new protocols and best practices to the rest of each hotel's staff.
Travelers will be looking to make the most of their travel budgets. Choice Privileges, the company's award-winning loyalty program, is currently offering a Stay Twice, Earn a Free Night promotion, designed to help guests maximize their travel budgets as they return to the open road. Choice Privileges also recently announced a series of enhancements that help provide members with the flexibility to use their benefits as soon as they are ready to travel. Updates include reducing the number of nights required to earn elite status; pausing the expiration of loyalty points until Dec. 31; and initiating upgrades, extensions and bonuses for current elite members.
For more information on what Choice Hotels is doing to help travelers this summer, visit http://www.ChoiceHotels.com
About Sarah Searls:
Sarah Searls is Chief Customer Officer for Choice Hotels International, Inc. one of the world's largest and most successful lodging franchisors in the world. In this role, she is responsible for leading Choice's marketing & customer acquisition and digital experiences. Searls drives the company's "customer-first" strategy by maximizing how Choice understands and listens to customers and connecting these valuable insights with strategy to create exceptional customer experiences and value to franchisees. Searls joined Choice Hotels in 2009 as vice president of performance analytics and was the first member of the company's enterprise-wide analytics function, leading the design of the analytical solutions and tools that still drive Choice's business decisions today.
About Choice Hotels:
Choice Hotels International, Inc. is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. With more than 7,100 hotels, representing over 590,000 rooms, in over 40 countries and territories as of March 31, 2020, the Choice® family of hotel brands provide business and leisure travelers with a range of high-quality lodging options from limited service to full-service hotels in the upscale, midscale, extended stay and economy segments. The award-winning Choice Privileges® loyalty program offers members benefits ranging from everyday rewards to exceptional experiences. For more information, visit http://www.choicehotels.com.
About YourUpdateTV:
YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology.
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