The share of holiday travelers who plan to stay in hotels is up this year, and hotels are the top lodging choice among those certain to travel for leisure in the next three months, according to a new national Hotel Booking Index Survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and conducted by Morning Consult.

AHLA’s Hotel Booking Index (HBI) is a new composite score gauging the short-term outlook for the hotel industry. The one-through-ten score is based on a weighted average of survey respondents’ travel likelihood in the next three months (50%), household financial security (30%), and a preference to stay in hotels for travel (20%). Based on the results of the survey, the AHLA Hotel Booking Index for the next three months is 7.1, or very good.

Moving forward, AHLA plans to release Hotel Booking Index results three times a year:

• In January
• Ahead of the summer travel season
• Ahead of the holiday travel season

The survey found that the share of those who plan to stay in hotels during their holiday travels is rising this year. 31% of Thanksgiving travelers plan to stay in a hotel during their trip, compared to 22% who planned to do so last year. 28% of Christmas travelers plan to stay in a hotel during their trip, compared to 23% who planned to do so last year. Among those absolutely certain to travel for leisure in the next three months, 54% plan to stay in a hotel, according to the survey.

Overall holiday travel levels will likely remain flat, however, with 28% of Americans reporting they are likely to travel for Thanksgiving and 31% likely to travel for Christmas this year – compared to 29% and 33%, respectively, in 2021.

The survey also found that concerns about COVID-19 are fading among travelers but are being replaced by economic challenges like inflation and high gas prices. 85% of respondents reported that gas prices and inflation are a consideration in deciding whether to travel over the next three months, compared to 70% who said the same about COVID-19 infection rates. In a May AHLA survey, 90% of respondents said gas prices and inflation were a travel consideration while 78% percent said the same about COVID infection rates.