Budget Travel: Appealing to Value-Minded Vacationers

We’ve blogged often about high-end wanderlusters — you can re-read our post about luxury travel market segmentation here — but today we’re sharing top tips for budget travel trend marketing to bring the vast audience of value-minded vacationers to your location. Yes, even if you’re a bucket-list destination, Forbes Five Star resort or luxury hotel! Because these days, travelers across all income levels are looking to extract more for their money.

Budget Travel Destinations? They Can Be Anywhere!

When planning the trip of a lifetime, vacationers don’t typically associate Hawaii with budget travel, but even these far-flung isles can deliver a lot of bang for the buck. In our work with the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, we strategically positioned The Hawaiian Islands as a destination with six unique experiences. Here’s our advice to expand your audience beyond the typical luxury traveler:

Promote Experience Over Expense

Ask just about anyone you know, and they’ll likely say that money spent on travel is always well worth it. That’s why vacations far outrank physical possessions when it comes to budgeting. Lean into that mindset and showcase how your destination can deliver an experience that brings genuine meaning to travelers’ lives as well as treasured memories they can revisit again and again.

Blog About Balance

Every destination offers less expensive things to do, so vacationers can save in one aspect to splurge in others. So, while the majority of your blog posts will push crowd-pleasing popular attractions that are on the pricier side, you can offset the pressure on travelers’ wallets by also sharing content on places like low (or no!) admission state and local parks, public gardens and arboretums, historical sites, community events and more. Be sure to use relevant keywords to climb in search results and reach the greatest number of vacationers expressing travel intent.

Push Off-Season Travel

Unless your destination sits within a latitude that brings ideal vacation weather every single day of the year, you experience fluctuations in visitation and visitor spending across the seasons. Value-minded travelers who aspire to experience locations out of their financial reach during peak season can often swing it after the crowds disperse. Be sure to actively promote your off-peak months to offset the dip in travelers and their spending.

Partner With Influencers

There is an abundance of luxury travel bloggers who push out slick and sophisticated content designed to stir up aspiration and envy. But there are just as many influencers focused on more attainable travel. Build an itinerary that features your destination’s lower-cost — but still high-interest — attractions, accommodations, events and more and invite these carefully vetted influencers on a FAM trip to share it all with their like-minded followers.

How High-End Properties Can Benefit From the Budget Travel Trend

Without a doubt, one of a vacationer’s largest travel expenses is their accommodations. Today, hotels and resorts aren’t just competing with each other but also with an ever-increasing number of vacation rentals promoted through user-friendly websites and apps such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Here are ways to get those value-minded heads in YOUR beds:

Promote Limited-Time Offers

Just like destinations, properties also stare down need periods. Don’t let this hurt your occupancy rate. Develop limited-time offers to get your rooms booked. And, while some travelers won’t have the budget for a luxury suite or premium view, they will appreciate the relative affordability of a standard room that carries the same amenities access and “I stayed at < your property >” bragging rights as any other guest.

Design Inclusive Packages

Vacationers see value in booking a stay that bundles their accommodations and perks for one inclusive rate. This is also a winning proposition for your property. By offering a package that includes a room plus credits to be used toward on-site dining, spa treatments or activities, guests are encouraged to spend in your property-owned assets, boosting TrevPAR.

Get Mileage Out of User-Generated Content (UGC)

Recommendations from friends and family far outweigh what you have to say to promote yourself. So let your guests handle some of your social media marketing. Communicate to them about tagging your property in posts and including vanity hashtags. Then they’ll get out the word — and stunning visuals — showcasing how much value your hotel or resort delivers.

Leverage Local Partnerships

Of course, your first priority is to keep guests on-property to patronize your owned assets, including restaurants, spa, amenities and recreational activities. But you can partner with popular attractions in the area to extend exclusive savings on tickets or admission — always a strong selling point.

Whether you’re a state tourism office or big city CVB, Forbes star-rated resort or boutique or name-branded hotel, you can boost your bottom line by bringing in a wider array of travelers. For even more industry insights and expert guidance from the Hospitality Business Review 2025 Travel Marketing Agency of the Year, contact Lynn Kaniper at 609.466.9187 ext. 117 or lkaniper@danacommunications.com today.