Priceline NORWALK, Conn., April 4, 2016 . . . At the height of professional and college sports season, Americans are planning trips to cheer on their favorite teams in critical match ups or championships. Whether it be for college basketball or the start of baseball season, priceline.com, a leader in online and mobile travel and part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), released survey results that finds that 41 percent of Americans would cancel an important event with family or friends to attend a championship game. And nearly 10 percent admit spending more than $1,000 on travel to get there, before game ticket costs.
“With the ability to book hotel and airfare on mobile devices at the touch of button, consumers aren’t afraid to go on more short, last-minute trips, including traveling to see major sports events,” said Brian Ek, travel analyst at priceline.com. “For fans, including the nearly one third missing out on sports events due to travel costs, priceline.com offers deals to get you to the games, no matter your budget, including flights and hotel rooms up to 60 percent off offered everyday on the priceline.com app.”
Priceline.com’s latest survey also uncovered the following:
The most popular professional sporting events by U.S. region:
- Nationwide, females (43%) are more inclined than males (37%) to travel to a professional football championship game
- Pro basketball championship games are most popular in the West (43% and 14%, respectively)
- Pro hockey in the Mid-West (13%)
- Pro baseball in the Northeast (23%)
- Pro racing and pro golf in the South (17% and 9%, respectively)
The most popular college sporting events by age group:
- Nationwide, consumers would most likely travel to a college basketball championship game (35%)
- College basketball championships games are most popular among ages 18-35 (38%)
- College football among ages 35-44 (35%) and 65 and older (35%)
- Homecoming among ages 18-24 (18%)
- College baseball among ages 25-34 (12%)
Championship sports game or family and friends:
- One in 10 would cancel an anniversary with a spouse or significant other if given the opportunity to attend a championship sports game
- One fifth of respondents (14%) said they would miss an immediate family member’s birthday
- Parents may miss a family member’s birthday or a wedding to attend a big game, but would never cancel an anniversary or their child’s sports game or recital
- The majority of Americans (59%) said they would not cancel a family or friend’s important event to attend a championship game
How much will Americans spend to see their favorite sports team play:
- Fifteen percent say they’ve spent over $600 in travel costs to see their team play, which could involve an airline ticket and mid-range hotel room.
- Almost half (44%) of respondents keep their travel costs to $100 or less, which probably indicates a preference for home games or games with nearby opponents
- Consumers 65 and older are most inclined to keep their travel costs to under $100, followed by those ages 18-24
- Among those making less than $50,000 per year, an average of 9% of people said they have spent $1,000 or more on travel costs
About Priceline.com
At priceline.com, part of The Priceline Group [NASDAQ: PCLN], we believe every trip matters. We provide travelers smart and easy ways to save on hotel rooms, airline tickets, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. With access to over 600,000 properties of all types, consumers can find accommodations with a Best Price Guarantee as well as free cancellations and pay-at-arrival. Priceline.com’s Express Deals® offers exclusive savings without bidding and our famous Name Your Own Price® service delivers the lowest prices available.
About the Survey
The Priceline.com Sports Survey, conducted using Google Consumer Surveys, surveyed 1,500 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 18+ between March 4th and March 7th, 2016. This survey is a combination of data from visitors to desktop and mobile web sites and those with the app Google Opinion Rewards (Android only).
