DALLAS— Results from a recent survey commissioned by Wyndham International reveals that Americans think travel deals are not always what they appear to be. In fact, 59% of respondents associate travel deals with “bait-and-switch” tactics designed to lure potential purchasers into exploring the deal in question. Another 62% of those surveyed have run into restrictions that render the promotion in which they are interested irrelevant to them. And almost half of the respondents (44%) complained the deals in which they are interested are not available when they want to travel. Wyndham reported that 81% of respondents define a good deal as “needing to be available when they want to travel.” Plus, value, instead of price, factors into how Americans define what a good deal is; 83% said that personalized service and attention to their needs provides value while staying at a hotel. In probing how Americans do define a good deal, Wyndham was able to conclude the following: — 77% of respondents classified one night free as being a good hotel deal. — 87% said 50% off the original price denotes a good hotel deal. — 76% didnt consider anything less than 10% below regular rates to be worthwhile. — 89% said they are most likely to trust deals from well-known companies. StrategyOne, an independent market research and polling firm, conducted the survey among 1,000 individuals in April 2002.
