Hotels.com sees interest surges in last minute holidays

07 Sep 2009

According to leading hotel website Hotels.com, last minute searches for late summer breaks are up by up to 400% compared to this time last year.

The Croatian beach destination of Split saw the most dramatic increase in last-minute holiday-hunting, with searches up 400% year-on year. Likewise, the popular sunshine destinations of Marrakech in Morocco and Albufeira in Portugal have seen substantial increases in searches (up 350% from a year ago). Closer to home, Nice (up 80%), Venice (up 80%) and Bodrum, Turkey, (up 80%) also saw increased interest.

Alison Couper, director of communications at Hotels.com, said: "The surge in last-minute searches shows travellers are keen to snap up the many great deals to be had. There are some real bargains on September breaks to be found on our site for those who want to get away for some late summer sun."

Hotels.com offers five-star hotels in both Marrakech and Albufeira and a budget three-star hotel in Santorini that have been attracting the bulk of attention from site visitors.

The Le Meridian N'fis is the site's most popular Moroccan hotel, offering views of the Atlas Mountains and easy access to the Cascades d'Ouzoud. The hotel's interior is a mix of oriental and western styles.

In Albufeira, Hotel.com's most popular hotel this summer has been the CS Sao Rafael Suite Hotel, a five-star hotel with beach access and all the luxuries of a modern hotel. Santorini's most popular hotel, Best Western Paradise, boasts views over the Mediterranean Sea and is close to the famous castle and is just ten minutes away from Santorini Airport.

Other locations that saw a surge were Tenerife (70%), Sorrento (45%) and Marbella (20%).

About Hotels.com
As part of the Expedia group which operates in all major markets, Hotels.com offers more than 100,000 quality hotels, B&Bs and serviced apartments worldwide including Dublin hotels, cheap New York hotels, hotels in London and Edinburgh hotels.

Hotels.com benefits from one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating the best rates for its customers, plus there are 1.3m reviews from users who have actually stayed in the hotels to ensure customers make an informed choice when booking. Hotels.com won the Gold Award for best hotel booking site in Webuser magazine in February 2009.