Jetsetter Sees Frigid Temps Affect Hotel Rates and Bookings

As Travelers Flock to Warm Places, Hotels Adjust Their Rates

News provided by

Feb 27, 2014, 07:30 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Jetsetter.com, which offers the world's finest travel experiences at members-only prices up to 40% off, today announced that the Polar Vortex and its blasts of Arctic air have affected both hotel rates and bookings.

In some of the coldest major U.S. cities like Chicago, Boston, and New York, hotel rates have dropped by 7%,¹ but it hasn't been enough to entice travelers—bookings have decreased by 10%.¹ Colder locales have been hit even harder. Bookings for Canada have been almost cut in half.¹

For warm destinations, however, the freezing weather has spawned a surge in wanderlust that's been good for business. Bookings for the Caribbean, Mexico, Florida, California, and Hawaii have risen by 38%.¹ According to General Manager Shaun Stewart, "Hotels in most of these locations have taken advantage of the fact that travelers are more than eager to trade frostbite for sunshine and have increased their rates by as much as 20%."¹

About Jetsetter.com
Jetsetter.com is a travel community providing members with hand-selected experiences, verified by experts. From hotels to resorts, to tours to trip planning, Jetsetter offers exclusive deals and insider advice you won't find elsewhere. Each vacation featured on the site is hand-selected by a team of curators and personally verified by a Jetsetter correspondent. Jetsetters can browse offerings on sale in flash at prices up to 40 percent off (and Jetsetter deals launch daily at noon Eastern Standard Time); or peruse Jetsetter 24/7, a collection of over 1,900 hotels and resorts available 365 days a year. Jetsetter correspondents are available for private consultations through the Personal Travel Planning Service or to personalize deluxe tours through the new Jetsetter Journeys. Jetsetter apps for iPhone and iPad were named best travel apps in Apple App Store Rewind 2011. All Jetsetter partners featured in retail and flash, as well as the Jetsetter Now hotel app, must meet an 85 percent approval rating in post-stay member surveys. Jetsetter is part of SmarterTravel, a subsidiary of TripAdvisor®, Inc. For more information, visit www.Jetsetter.com.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 260 million unique monthly visitors** in 2013, and more than 150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 3.7 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 34 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 20 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn.