Travelers Reveal Increasing Interest in Family Reunion Vacations

Santa Cruz, CA, October 15, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Family reunions have seen huge growth in the past year alone, with 23 percent of leisure travelers having named it as the primary reason for taking one or more trips during the past year, up a remarkable 13 percentage points since 2008.* As reunions increase in popularity, families are selecting vacation rental homes for a sense of privacy under one roof, rather than the stress of requesting adjoining rooms, remembering floor numbers, and designating “family” floor monitors to keep a watchful eye out for “tween” and teen members of the group. In fact, 2.45 million family reunion travelers who took an overnight trip of at least 75 miles from home in 2008 indicated staying in a vacation rental they rented or owned during the past year.*

“Our member companies have historically seen tremendous growth in the number of reunion groups who choose vacation rentals for their families’ accommodations over the traditional hotel,” explains Alex Risser, President of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA), whose professional members represent approximately 150,000 vacation rentals in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. “The vacation rental option often costs less than reserving multiple hotel rooms, and homes can even be rented side-by-side in the same neighborhood.”

Vacation rentals can range from one to upwards of 20 bedrooms underneath one roof with spaces to accommodate small to medium-sized reunion gatherings, including resort-style pools, barbeque areas, patios, restaurants on-property or in-home movie theaters. While staying in a professionally managed rental of any size, guests not only save on their overall cost of accommodations, but they can choose to cook meals in-home or using an outdoor grill, bring home leftovers from restaurants, cater meals using personal chef services or store ready-made meals and snacks. Most vacation rental management companies also boast partnerships with local vendors to offer guests discounts on tickets to area excursions, attractions, golf courses, as well as special rates on car and equipment rentals, to name a few.

The VRMA launched a “Discover Vacation Homes” awareness initiative this year as a tool for travelers to learn more about the vacation rental option, found online at http://www.DiscoverVacationHomes.com, and on Twitter as @GoVacationHomes. The program aims to offer a variety of tools and resources for the traveling public, and links to more than 500 of North America’s most reputable professional vacation rental companies.

* Ypartnership / Yankelovich, Inc. 2009 Leisure Travel MONITOR

About Discover Vacation Homes
Discover Vacation Homes is the trusted public voice and an expert resource on behalf of the professionally managed vacation rental industry. As the awareness initiative of the long-standing Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA), it represents approximately 150,000 rental homes, condos and villas from more than 500 of the most well established vacation rental management companies in North America and the Caribbean. Often costing less than a single hotel room, vacation rentals afford travelers an accommodations lifestyle unlike any other, providing considerably more space, amenities, guest services, and privacy than other lodging options.

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