Bostonites Prefer To Stay Home for the Holidays, According to Inspirato/Harris Survey

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fewer adults in Boston (41 percent) plan to travel this holiday season than adults in any other major U.S. city, according to new research released today by private vacation club Inspirato. Why? Bostonites simply enjoy being home for the holidays.

The survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive for Inspirato, polled more than 2,500 adults in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and found that lack of money is the main reason (47 percent) why half of Americans in these cities are not traveling this holiday season.

But only 36 percent of Bostonites cite finances as a reason for staying put. More than half (53 percent) of the city’s respondents without travel plans cite their fondness for spending the holidays at home while, only 38 percent of respondents overall report the same preference.

The survey also found that Bostonites are especially keen on home-cooked Thanksgiving meals. While the majority of adults (88 percent) polled across all 10 cities prefer a home-cooked meal for this Massachusetts-born holiday, respondents in Boston tipped the survey’s scale at 94 percent. And Bostonites with higher incomes ($75,000+) are more likely than all other high-income earners polled to actually enjoy a home-cooked meal on Thanksgiving (99 percent vs. 89 percent).

The Inspirato survey examined a variety of holiday vacation habits among residents in America’s 10 largest cities. Among all respondents, 49 percent plan to take at least one personal trip over the upcoming holiday season. Holiday travel is most popular this year among residents in Atlanta (57 percent), San Francisco (59 percent) and Washington, D.C. (59 percent), while residents in Boston (41 percent), Los Angeles (45 percent) and Philadelphia (45 percent) are least likely to report travel plans.

Additional survey findings include:

The majority (73 percent) of holiday travelers this year will do so via car or SUV. But 46 percent of younger adults (ages 18-49) plan to travel by plane (compared to only 34 percent of adults ages 50 and over), as do 48 percent of adults with incomes of $75,000 or more (compared to 31 percent of those with lower incomes).
Most travelers (72 percent) plan to visit another state this holiday season; 36 percent are traveling to another state in a different region of the country. Five percent are traveling to Canada or Mexico, while another 8 percent are leaving North America entirely.
Men are more likely to be traveling for personal reasons this holiday season than women (54 vs. 45 percent).
On average, travelers are planning to spend around $1,300 on their upcoming holiday travel, including transportation, accommodations, food and entertainment.
More than one in 10 respondents plan to take a vacation in 2013 specifically to recuperate from the 2012 holiday season.

Methodology

This study was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Inspirato between October 4-15, 2012 among 2,507 respondents 18 years or older in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available. Data tables can be found at: www.inspirato.com/HolidaySurvey.

About Inspirato

Designed specifically for a new generation of luxury consumers, Inspirato (In – spuh – rah – toh) offers the best of destination club consistency and service, together with unmatched value, flexibility and low-cost membership. Our members have access to an ever-growing portfolio of luxury vacation homes in the world's top destinations, including California, the Caribbean, Colorado, France, Hawaii, Italy, London, Mexico, New York City and more. By leasing vacation properties (rather than owning), Inspirato is able to keep membership fees low, offer up to 50 percent off market rates, and easily add homes and destinations as demand increases. Our innovative business model has led to rapid growth since our January 2011 launch, placing Inspirato at the forefront of the "luxury for less" movement. For more information, please visit www.inspirato.com.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll^® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.