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Travel has at all times been about the place folks need to go. Increasingly, it might be about what they need to expertise as soon as they get there.
That shift is reshaping how shoppers plan journeys, how hospitality manufacturers take into consideration demand, and the way platforms arrange lodging choices. For Heath Hammett, CEO of Vogo, just lately rebranded from VacationRenter, the chance sits on the intersection of lodging, experiences and a shopper who’s extra intentional about money and time.
Vogo started in 2018 with a easy premise: trip leases had been more durable to go looking than motels. Hotels had metasearch manufacturers and comparability instruments; trip leases had been extra fragmented. Over time, the corporate expanded past leases to incorporate motels, RVs, campsites and different lodging sorts. Hammett describes Vogo as “one-stop shopping” for vacationers searching for the best place to remain.
The firm stays primarily B2C and is on tempo to do $1 billion in gross reserving worth this yr, only for lodging. About half of the enterprise is within the U.S., with the remaining coming from international demand.
The Event Comes First
The most attention-grabbing shopper habits Hammett is seeing is a reversal of the standard journey planning course of.
Historically, vacationers picked a vacation spot first. They selected New York, Miami, Dallas or Paris, then found out what to do as soon as they arrived. Now, many vacationers are beginning with the occasion.
They purchase tickets to a live performance, a World Cup match, the College World Series or one other dwell expertise, then construct the journey round it.
“Normally, you say, I want to go here, and then I figure out what I’m going to do,” Hammett stated. “Increasingly, people all over the place are thinking, I want to go to this event, I want to have this experience, I want to see this concert, I want to go to the World Cup game.”
That has implications for lodging. The lodge room, rental residence or RV is not at all times the start line. It turns into the enabling layer across the expertise.
Consumers Still Travel, But They Adjust
Economic stress has not eradicated journey demand. It has modified how shoppers make tradeoffs.
Hammett stated Vogo’s analysis exhibits that whereas some vacationers say value isn’t any subject when the occasion issues sufficient, many others are adapting. They might e-book earlier, keep farther from the venue, decrease their lodging expectations or select shorter journeys.
The vital level for hospitality manufacturers is that buyers aren’t essentially canceling journey. They are discovering alternative ways to maintain doing it.
“People continue to travel,” Hammett stated. “They’re just finding different ways to do that.”
That might imply fewer seven- or ten-day holidays and extra shorter journeys anchored by one high-value reminiscence. A traveler might fly in for a live performance, keep two nights, add sightseeing and return residence. The occasion provides the journey a objective, which may make the spending really feel extra justified.
Memory-Making Is The New Travel Currency
The expertise economic system has been constructing for years, however Hammett sees it persevering with to affect journey throughout generations. Younger shoppers could also be particularly experience-oriented, however older vacationers are additionally considering rigorously about restricted time, funds and which means.
The mindset is more and more, “If I am spending this money and using this time, I want it to matter.”
That emotional lens modifications the function of hospitality. A spot to remain continues to be practical, however it is usually half of a bigger reminiscence. The lodging has to suit the event, the group, the funds and the logistics across the occasion.
In Vogo’s analysis, Hammett stated greater than 20% of shoppers have a common journey fund they use to save lots of for most of these experiences. That suggests shoppers aren’t treating event-led journey as purely spontaneous. They are budgeting for it as a part of how they need to dwell.
“Entertainment and travel intersect and are both deeply rooted in experience,” stated Evan Honeyman, VP of Client Success at TFL. “It’s the feeling fans get boarding their flight or leaving their accommodation to head to the concert or game they’ve been dreaming about. Entertainment and travel make it possible for fans to power their passion through experience.”
Hospitality Has Not Fully Caught Up
Hammett believes the hospitality trade nonetheless has work to do with regards to serving event-led vacationers.
The alternative is not only to promote a room close to a venue. It is to grasp why the traveler is coming and assist coordinate the journey round that objective. The World Cup is an apparent instance, as a result of practically each hospitality model in a number metropolis is aware of why demand is spiking. But the identical logic applies to smaller concert events, tournaments, festivals and cultural occasions.
“The hospitality industry currently does a pretty poor job of catering to those people,” Hammett stated.
A greater future may embody extra coordinated efforts amongst occasion distributors, lodging suppliers, transportation companions and venues. For vacationers, that might imply much less friction. For manufacturers, it may imply coming into the client journey earlier, earlier than the lodging choice is made.
That is very vital as a result of occasion demand can create lodge compression, excessive costs and restricted availability. Consumers who’re open to completely different lodging sorts might discover extra flexibility by contemplating homes, residences, RVs, campsites or different choices.
AI Can Reduce The Stress Of Planning
Hammett doesn’t see synthetic intelligence changing the emotional aspect of journey planning. Consumers nonetheless need management. They know who they’re touring with, why they’re going and what sort of expertise they need.
But AI will help scale back the choice burden.
Travel planning is sophisticated as a result of shoppers should evaluate areas, costs, scores, opinions, facilities, cancellation guidelines, distance from venues and match for the group. A human can solely course of a lot. AI can synthesize extra variables and assist vacationers make higher selections.
“I don’t see AI as this kind of open-ended concierge,” Hammett stated. “To me, AI has a massive opportunity to make the decision-making a lot easier.”
That distinction issues. AI might not inform a household why they need to go to a live performance or match. But it might assist them select the best place to remain as soon as they’ve determined the occasion is definitely worth the journey.
The Future Of Lodging Is More Flexible
Vogo’s personal evolution displays the broader market. The firm started with trip leases, expanded to different keep sorts and launched on-site reserving a bit over a yr in the past for a smaller variety of properties. That transfer takes Vogo nearer to a conventional on-line journey company mannequin whereas preserving its broader comparability orientation.
The class is transferring towards flexibility as a result of vacationers are transferring that approach. A shopper attending a serious occasion might desire a lodge subsequent to the venue. Another might select a home farther out. A 3rd might think about an RV or campsite if value or availability requires it.
The lesson for hospitality manufacturers is obvious: event-led journey shouldn’t be a distinct segment. It is turning into a planning habits.
Consumers are not simply asking, “Where should I go?” More typically, they’re asking, “What do I want to experience, and where should I stay so I can make it happen?”
For journey manufacturers, the businesses that reply that second query finest might win the following section of demand.
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you possibly can go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2026/07/10/why-event-led-travel-is-changing-how-consumers-book-trips/
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