CHICAGO, March 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spring break travelers fall into two broad categories: crowd lovers and those who seek some peace and quiet. According to the latest Orbitz Insider Index survey, 64 percent of travelers purposefully avoid college student destinations and 75 percent of travelers say they would rather go somewhere less popular and avoid the crowds.1 Orbitz has identified the top destinations that travelers are booking and also some great alternatives for sun, fun, skiing and play that are still showing lower occupancy and lower rates.
While the majority of travelers say they want to skip the crowds, plenty of travelers are still making the trek to spring break's most popular destinations, based on 2015 Orbitz.com booking data. Las Vegas retains its top spot as the number one spring break destination, and offers savings of 4 percent on hotels and 3 percent on airfare. After the extra brutal winter, travelers are flocking to warm weather destinations – eight of the top 10 have higher temperatures. For all of the top spring break destinations, airfares are down 4 percent over 2014 while hotels are up a modest 7 percent.
"Spring break is the unofficial start to the busy 2015 travel season and nearly three-quarters of Americans are looking to take advantage of that with a trip, according to our survey," said Jeanenne Tornatore, senior editor for Orbitz.com. "Getting away from the crowds doesn't mean travelers have to sacrifice value. Orbitz.com makes it that much easier to find a great deal thanks to a number of promotion codes that make it easy to save."
Among the top 10 destinations, Honolulu, Hawaii and San Juan, Puerto Rico are missing from this year's list, having been replaced by Playa Del Carmen and Riviera Maya, Mexico.
| Orbitz.com Top 10 Spring Break Destinations2 | |||||
|
Rank |
Destination |
Average Hotel |
% Change YOY |
Average Air |
% Change YOY |
| 1 | Las Vegas, Nev. | $115 | -4% | $339 | -3% |
| 2 | Cancun, Mexico | $303 | 16% | $545 | -4% |
| 3 | Orlando, Fla. | $170 | 44% | $350 | -1% |
| 4 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic | $342 | 7% | $616 | -2% |
| 5 | New York, N.Y. | $255 | -5% | $299 | -2% |
| 6 | New Orleans, La. | $234 | 3% | $362 | -11% |
| 7 | Chicago, Ill. | $166 | 3% | $271 | -10% |
| 8 | Miami Beach, Fla. | $251 | 1% | $368 | -5% |
| 9 | Playa Del Carmen, Mexico | $313 | -2% | $545 | -4% |
| 10 | Riviera Maya, Mexico | $329 | -5% | $545 | -4% |
For the majority of travelers looking to avoid the crowds, Orbitz.com senior editors have identified the best bets for destinations where lower occupancy translates into not only fewer crowds but also greater deals for spring break travelers.
| Orbitz.com Lower Occupancy Destinations for Deals3 | |||
|
Rank |
Destination |
Average Hotel |
Average Air |
| Beach | |||
| 1. | San Diego, Calif. | $153 | $372 |
| 2. | Clearwater, Fla. | $141 | $457 |
| 3. | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | $167 | $584 |
| Mountain | |||
| 1. | Salt Lake City, Utah | $113 | $403 |
| 2. | Vancouver, Canada | $120 | $455 |
| 3. | South Lake Tahoe, Calif. | $152 | $424 |
| City | |||
| 1. | Seattle, Wash. | $160 | $328 |
| 2. | Atlanta, Ga. | $155 | $300 |
| 3. | Montreal, Canada | $133 | $424 |
To help travelers save even more for spring break, Orbitz.com has promotion codes available for hotel stays and flight packages.
- For qualifying hotel stays of two or more nights, travelers can save 15 percent with the promo code TAKEABREAK for travel booked by March 29, 2015.
- For three or more nights and a minimum spend of $500, travelers can save $75 off flight and hotel packages with the promo code 75VACA. Travel must be booked by March 31, 2015 and used by June 30, 2015.
- For four or more nights and a minimum spend of $1000, travelers can save $150 off flight and hotel packages with the promo code 150VACA. Travel must be booked by March 31, 2015 and used by June 30, 2015.
"Travelers can save big by planning a little in advance and taking advantage of deals," continued Tornatore. "I always recommend that travelers do a few things to save, like booking a package for savings and looking for value-adds like free breakfast, Wi-Fi, parking and airport shuttle service. Travelers also shouldn't underestimate the costs for items like checked luggage, overweight baggage fees and attraction tickets purchased on-site."
1 The Orbitz Spring Break survey was fielded by Orbitz from Feb. 11-15, 2015 via insightexpress. 778 U.S. adults aged 18 and older who had traveled within the past twelve months were surveyed.
2Top 10 spring break destinations and average travel prices are based on Orbitz.com bookings for travel from 3-1-15 through 4-15-15 vs. the coinciding period last year 3-1-14 through 4-15-14.
3Orbitz lower occupancy destinations and average hotel prices are based on Orbitz.com hotel bookings for travel from 3-1-15 through 4-15-15.
Terms and Conditions
TAKEABREAK
Book a qualifying hotel between February 23, 2015 12:01AM CST and March 29, 2015 11:59PM CST, for 2 or more nights for travel between February 23, 2015 and June 30, 2015, via Orbitz and instantly receive 15% off through the use of the promotion code up to a maximum savings of $500 per booking. Limit one discount per hotel room and one promotion code per booking. Discount may not be used toward the booking of a vacation package. Discounts are not redeemable for cash for any reason. Promotion codes are non-transferable, not for resale, and cannot be combined with other offers. Any attempt at fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Orbitz reserves the right to change or limit the promotion in its sole discretion. Most major chains are excluded, to find participating hotels look for the "PROMO CODE ELIGIBLE" message.
75VACA
Book a qualifying 3-night flight + hotel vacation package between March 6, 2014 12:00AM CST and March 31, 2015 11:59PM CST, for $500 or more for travel between March 6, 2014 and June 30, 2015, via Orbitz and instantly receive $75 off the hotel portion of your booking through the use of the promotion code. Limit one discount per hotel room and one promotion code per booking. Discounts are not redeemable for cash for any reason. Promotion codes cannot be resold. Any attempt at fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Orbitz reserves the right to change or limit the promotion in its sole discretion. Promo code not valid for Las Vegas, NV bookings.
150VACA
Book a qualifying 4-night flight + hotel vacation package between January 1, 2014 12:00AM CST and March 31, 2015 11:59PM CST, for $1000 or more for travel between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015 via Orbitz and instantly receive $150 off the hotel portion of your booking through the use of the promotion code. Limit one discount per hotel room and one promotion code per booking. Discounts are not redeemable for cash for any reason. Promotion codes cannot be resold. Any attempt at fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Orbitz reserves the right to change or limit the promotion in its sole discretion. Promo code not valid for Las Vegas, NV bookings.
About Orbitz.com
Orbitz.com is a leading travel website that enables consumers to search for and book a broad range of hotels, flights, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages and destination activities. Since launching in June 2001, Orbitz.com has become one of the world's largest online travel sites. Orbitz.com now offers the groundbreaking Orbitz Rewards loyalty program—the only program where customers can earn rewards immediately on flights, hotels and packages, and redeem instantly on tens of thousands of hotels worldwide. Use the Orbitz Rewards Visa® Card to earn even more rewards. Orbitz.com is the #1 way to book travel on mobile devices, be it using our apps (get them at orbitz.com/mobile) or our smartphone-optimized website (m.orbitz.com), both of which are tailored for smartphones and tablets. The Orbitz app won the 2014 Appy Award for best travel app. Orbitz also ranks #1 in Online Travel Website Customer Satisfaction in the 2014 American Customer Satisfaction Index. Follow Orbitz on Facebook, Twitter and through the Orbitz Travel Blog. Orbitz.com is operated by Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE:OWW).
About Orbitz Worldwide
Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE:OWW) is a leading global online travel company using technology to transform the way consumers around the world plan and purchase travel. Orbitz Worldwide operates the consumer travel planning sites Orbitz (orbitz.com), ebookers (ebookers.com), HotelClub (hotelclub.com) and CheapTickets (cheaptickets.com). Also within the Orbitz Worldwide family, Orbitz Partner Network (orbitzpartnernetwork.com) delivers private label travel technology solutions to a broad range of partners including some of the world's largest airlines, bank loyalty programs and travel agencies, and Orbitz for Business (orbitzforbusiness.com) delivers managed travel solutions for companies of all sizes. Orbitz Worldwide makes investor relations information available at investors.orbitz.com.