“There’s some irony in the fact that the longest holiday drought of the year sends us searching for relief by infinity pools, lazy rivers, and swim-up bars.”
Melanie Fish
Head of Public Relations
Expedia Group
.…on the trend of taking “drought-breaking mini-vacations.”
If you saw HBO’s “The Last of Us” this week, you know all about the Death Zone—a perilous place full of zombies and murderous raiders. Well, we’ve all now entered our own Death Zone, and it’s on the calendar—the nearly 100-day stretch between President’s Day and Memorial Day weekend is the longest 3-day weekend drought of the year.
For decades, Americans have survived this god-awful drought by simply working away and waiting for summer. But Dallas-based Hotels.com says a new trend is afoot.
Melanie Fish
“The trend is not waiting more than a quarter of the year to vacation,” Fish says. “People are creating their own drought-breaking mini-vacations.”
The company’s search data has identified a new trip type on the upswing: “Thirst Trips,” or short weekend stays that satisfy people’s desire for a day off by the pool.
The company predicts that shorter, more frequent 2– to 3-day trips will gain popularity throughout the spring and summer. Most reservations on its mobile app are now occurring within a week or less of travel, with searches for long weekends surging.
Google search trends confirm the trend, Hotels.com says, showing that interest in “weekend getaways” over the past two years reached their high point during the first few weeks of March 2022.
Searches for hotels with pools increased by 35% or more from February through April on the Hotels.com app, the company said, compared with the start of the year—with poolside properties hitting peak popularity in the first week of March.
So if you want to escape the calendar Death Zone, now may be just the time to dive in.
For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.
Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.
Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.
R E A D N E X T
-
Plano-based Beal Bank has entered the online CD market with two newly introduced divisions: UmbrellaBank.com and myCDbank.com. Targeting savings depositors and investors nationwide, the two divisions specialize in offering online-only certificates of deposit (CDs) with competitive rates. Each is currently featuring a 12-month CD at 4.65% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit.
-
In a press conference yesterday, Smith and Dallas Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones announced that Blockchain.com is the team’s official digital asset partner in a multi-year sponsorship deal.
-
Hong Kong-based Rosewood Hotels & Resorts—former owner of the iconic Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek—plans to build a 17-story standalone residential development as a nearby neighbor: Rosewood Residences Turtle Creek. The new 17-story tower, which Rosewood says "combines Beaux-arts inspired elegance with a wealth of outstanding amenities," will feature around 46 residences. It's being developed by One Turtle Creek, a partnership of USA Infrastructure Investments and SVAG, and is scheduled for completion in early 2025.
-
Two Dallas companies have been awarded $100,000 each by the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, which aims to help close racial disparities in VC funding given to diverse founders. The startups will also receive Google Cloud credits and hands-on support from Google. They join several other North Texas companies that received earlier grants from the fund. “Across the U.S., there are amazing Black startup founders who are building great companies yet are locked out of access to the funding that's critical to their success,” Google wrote in a blog post.
-
EverAg was formed in February through Frisco-based Dairy.com's merger with risk management firm ever.ag and software solutions business EFC Systems. With a team of about 450 spread across seven global locations, EverAg's tech is helping 600+ companies "efficiently and cost effectively move food from farm to fork." Now the new company has appointed former Conservis co-founder and SVP Mike Borman as its chief product officer, to be at the forefront of that effort.
