What do we think of when we hear the word, “revenge”?
Perhaps a hero who must overtake a villain; someone who was wronged and needs to make a right. Or perhaps someone who simply missed out on an opportunity and won’t sit idly by.
Today, the word “revenge” is applying to something new: travel. Because for those of us who’ve missed out on our travel dreams due to the state of the world, we feel a good-versus-evil fire under us that can’t be ignored. Now that proper precautions are in place to travel certain places safely and smartly, “revenge travel” is turning into a whole movement. And we’re here for it.
We’ve been talking to countless folks, helping them book trips of all kinds: gotta-go-now surf trips to Mexico, gotta-plan-now ski trips to Alaska, you name it. And we’re not alone with this uptick. A recent AirDNA study shows that demand for Airbnb and VRBO bookings in “small cities and rural areas” is up 62% over the past two years.
Digging a bit deeper into AirDNA’s report, “mountain and lake destinations and resorts” have seen a 44% increase and “coastal destinations and resorts” have seen a 42% increase. And for the revenge travelers who are able, these vacations aren’t just lasting a few days; they’re lasting for weeks, or even months.
“Flexible travel is here to stay,” reads the AirDNA report. “A significant portion of the population continues to work remotely, giving them the flexibility to work from anywhere and live on Airbnb. Mid-term stays grow as incremental new demand.”
The New York Times recently reported on this “revenge travel” movement. One of their intervieweees was Brian Egozi, 36-year-old real estate developer from Aventura, Florida. Last month, he took his family on a trip to the Bahamas—finding ways to get there and back safely while having plenty of fun in between: jet-skiing, scubadiving, fine dining, the works.
“They’ve been locked up for so long,” he said—speaking about his children who are ages 10, 8 and 4. “We needed to do something big; we wanted to make sure we’d be giving them a trip that was memorable.”
Everyone around the world is approaching travel in their own way. And for those who miss it to pieces and just need to have it back, “revenge” is the only word that captures their motivation. The thing is, proper revenge requires plotting. So if you’re ready to plot, we’re ready to help.