Travelers’ Trends for North Carolina’s Top Vacation Destinations by Lodging Directory Rentalo.com

Miami, FL (Vocus) February 18, 2010 -- Rentalo.com, a leading lodging and vacation rental directory, has recently conducted a trend analysis on its database of 19,563 opted-in travelers searching for hotels, bed and breakfasts, and vacation rentals in North Carolina (http://rentalo.com/vacation-rentals/northcarolina/) ’s top vacation destinations from July 2008 to January 2010. In an effort to educate the travel industry, the website has decided to share these trends so that travel experts and industry participants may gain better understanding of the vacation planning dynamics and consumer’s level of interest in comparison shopping. The study results shown below confirms Rentalo’s business model success as a lodging web site that facilitates comparison shopping and vacation planning for trip planners.

North Carolina Beach Vacation Destination: Outer Banks, NC

Fifty-five percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Outer Banks vacation rentals (http://rentalo.com/vacation-rentals/outerbanks/), bed breakfasts, motels, and hotels. 62 percent were also interested in receiving offers from vacation houses, condos, guesthouses, inns, and hotels in Outer Banks including Cape Hatteras, Corolla, Duck, Hatteras Island, Hatteras Village, Hertford, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, and Nags Head.

Fifty percent were early planners who started their vacation planning 2 or more months in advance from the travel date, 16 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 33 percent were from last minute travelers inquiring within the last 30 days prior to the arrival date.

North Carolina Ski Vacation Destination: Beech Mountain, NC

Fifty-seven percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Beech Mountain vacation rentals (http://rentalo.com/vacation-rentals/beechmountain/), bed and breakfasts, and hotels. 23 percent were also interested in receiving offers from vacation cabins, cottages, guesthouses, motels and hotels in Beech Mountain including Banner Elk, Valle Crucis, Linville, Roan Mountain, Boone, Blowing Rock, Trade, and New River.

Fifty-three percent were last-minute planners who started their vacation planning within the 30 days from the travel date, 20 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 23 percent were from travelers inquiring 2 or more months prior to the arrival date.

North Carolina Ski & Romantic Vacation Destination: Boone, NC

Fifty-nine percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Boone vacation rentals (http://rentalo.com/vacation-rentals/boone/), bed and breakfasts, inns, and hotels. 44 percent were also interested in receiving offers from vacation homes, inns, resorts, and hotels in Boone including New River, Blowing Rock, Valle Crucis, Fleetwood, Trade, Banner Elk, Beech Mountain, Linville, and Glendale Springs.

Fifty-four percent were last-minute planners who started their vacation planning within the 30 days from the travel date, 21 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 22 percent were from travelers inquiring 2 or more months prior to the arrival date.

North Carolina Family Vacation Destination: Blue Ridge Mountains, NC

Fifty-nine percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Blue Ridge Mountains vacation rentals (http://rentalo.com/vacation-rentals/blueridgemountains/), b&bs, inns, and small hotels. 53 percent were also interested in receiving offers from other accommodations such as vacation cabins, inns, and boutique hotels in Blue Ridge Mountains such as Old Fort, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, Bat Cave, Marion, Black Mountain, Forest City, and Columbus.

Forty-six percent were last-minute planners who started their vacation planning within the 30 days from the travel date, 24 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 26 percent were from travelers inquiring 2 or more months prior to the arrival date.

North Carolina Spring / Golf Vacation Destination: Cashier, NC

Fifty-eight percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Cashier vacation rentals (http://rentalo.com/vacation-rentals/cashiers/), b&bs, resorts, and hotels. 25 percent were also interested in receiving offers from vacation homes rentals, bbs, inns, and hotels in Cashier including Sapphire, Highlands, Lake Toxaway, Scaly Mountain, Cullowhee, Otto, Franklin, and Dillard.

Fifty percent were last-minute planners who started their vacation planning within the 30 days from the travel date, 23 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 20 percent were from travelers inquiring 2 or more months prior to the arrival date.

North Carolina Family Vacation Destination: Maggie Valley, NC

Seventy-three percent of the vacation planners showed interest in comparison shopping among Maggie Valley vacation rentals (http://rentalo.com/vacation-rentals/maggievalley/), inns, motels, and hotels. 21 percent were also interested in receiving offers from vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, and hotels in Maggie Valley such as Balsam, Clyde, Crabtree, Cherokee, Waynesville, Sylva, Dillsboro, Cullowhee, Canton, and Whittier.

Fifty-nine percent were last-minute planners who started their vacation planning within the 30 days from the travel date, 20 percent of the inquiries were sent 1 to 2 months in advance, and 20 percent were from travelers inquiring 2 or more months prior to the arrival date.

In today's fast paced world, quick access to information plays an important role in consumer's vacation planning decisions. “Most travelers don’t want to sit and wait for owners to reply. Within a matter of minutes, they want to find and book their lodging” says Frank Suarez, Customer Service Manager for Rentalo.com. “Our free destination-based inquiry service allows travelers to easily and quickly compare their lodging options for all top vacation destinations worldwide.”

Additional trends and analysis data is available from Rentalo.com on its opted-in database of 1 million travelers and vacation rental listing owners. Over 400,000 inquiries for vacation rentals, hotels, and bed and breakfasts were received in 15,000 destinations worldwide since July of 2008.

About Rentalo.com

Rentalo.com is a leading online travel lodging and vacation rentals website. Its broad inventory of vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, and hotels (http://rentalo.com/) is available online and via RSS feeds, affiliate distribution partners, as well as thousands of journalists and editors through e-mail, press releases, and travel publications. Through selected partnerships, Rentalo's inventory is available to an online audience of more than 100 million travelers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit http://rentalo.com or call 1(305) 558-5577.

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