Orlando Area Tourism & Travel Archives - Page 27 of 31 - Orlando vacation home rentals near Disney. Orlando vacation rentals

Spring Break Orlando Florida – Dramtically Lower Hotel and Vacation Home Rates Being Offered

As usual, we have been talking to many hoteliers and vacation home managers in the Orlando area. We do this to get some forecasted near term travel outlook in the local Orlando tourism and convention markets.

Many of the hotels we spoke to have had an okay December 2008 with an unusually strong Christmas. January 2009 was below par when compared to last year. However, February 2009 numbers appear to be way down when compared to last year, and the bookings the pace for spring break (March/April) is significantly slower.

On the bright side, guests are making reservations, but they are booking at the very last minute. As an example, race week for the Daytona 500 in February 2008 filled Orlando three months in advance. This year, hotels were not getting a significant portion of their reservations until 3 days in advance.

Many short term rental management companies we spoke to last week think a general decline of 15-20 % in the number of visitors to Orlando would be realistic for 2009 as the United States and much of the world teeters on the edge of an economic recession, and possible severe recession.

In conclusion, 2009 short term rental bookings in Orlando will be off significantly from 2008. In addition, long term booking windows will become a thing of the past.

Much to the delight of those persons who still decide to visit the Orlando area in 2009, they will benefit from dramatic rate cuts, free upgrades and whatever else short term rental companies can do to entice visitors to stay with them over the competition.

Orlando Vacation Home Deals Abound 2009

We called some of the local hotels in the Orlando and Kissimmee markets recently, and they are painting a tough picture for February, 2009. Those we spoke to are forecasting occupancies in February down 18-23% over last year.

Many of the hotels are also being pressured by tour operators and consumers to lower rates.

This trend will most likely be reflected in the vacation home industry, as some of the biggest demand declines will now begin to set in and affect the Orlando vacation homes market.

The bright side for consumers is the stellar deals to be had. It is not unusual to see rates 20% lower for many accommodation products than compared to just a couple of years ago.

If you are visiting Orlando, always shop around for accommodations. As always, we recommend you consider renting a spacious vacation home. For a typical family or group, these can be a more economically viable and enjoyable alternative to renting a much smaller hotel room.

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