For many Kiwis, this long weekend is the first opportunity to shake off the Winter blues and take their first lesisure break away for the season. Our friends at Ezibed.com have distributed the following press release today:
20 October 2009
Press Release: Ezibed.com
Last minute accommodation website Ezibed.com has described domestic Labour Weekend travel bookers as more ‘impulsive’ than previous years, as holiday makers choose to wait before deciding whether to travel this upcoming long weekend.
The New Zealand owned online accommodation booking company has analyzed it’s booking patterns over the past 3 years and compared these to bookings made so far for this year, and the results indicate that domestic travelers are waiting until closer to the weekend before deciding on whether to travel or not.
Factors the company believes is contributing to travelers leaving their purchase decisions to the very last minute include waiting for a more detailed weather forecast and waiting to obtain the best deals often associated with booking at the last minute.
Gareth Pearce, Managing Director of Ezibed.com says that consumers can receive great deals on accommodation at the moment, even through the holiday periods. People are becoming increasingly aware that the longer they leave it, the better the deal that they could receive.
“Because of our current recessionary period it has become increasingly obvious that travelers are not making travel arrangements until they really have to.”
“Customers can get great deals if they put off booking their travel until the last minute but they also run the risk of the accommodation property selling out or putting their rates up as the date gets closer, especially in tourist hotspots. Accommodation deals listed on Ezibed.com are managed by the individual properties and rates vary based on occupancy levels. Rates also vary from region to region.”
Pre-Labour Weekend bookings are set to surpass last year says the company.
“Bookings for the holiday weekend are only 14% down on total bookings for the weekend last year. With 4 days to go and with the weather forecast predicted to be fine we are anticipating an influx of bookings over the coming days”, says Mr Pearce.
