While you’re sitting there contemplating your turkey, are you at home—or are you far away celebrating Thanksgiving on vacation? According to Airbnb, lots of people are electing to get away for the holiday. The company reports that nearly 20 percent of its Thanksgiving bookings are for 10 or more guests, which probably means multiple families or multigenerational groups are celebrating together (and not surprisingly, to hold all those guests, nearly half the booked listings are for homes with three or more bedrooms). Since Thanksgiving is, among other things, a food-based holiday, it’s interesting to note that nearly 90 percent of Airbnb listings feature a full kitchen, so you can get going on that feast even without your own trusty blender/food processor/crockpot or, in my case, trash compactor.
Another Thanksgiving trend will warm your heart. Last year, Thanksgiving was the most popular time of the year for people to travel with their pets—35,000 friendly, furry friends accompanied their humans and helped eat leftovers (if you’re giving turkey to your dog, please make sure it’s skinless and cooked plain without any seasonings and that you give it in small amounts only—it can be toxic otherwise).
As for other travel trends noted by Airbnb, family travel represented one-fifth of all nights booked in the first half of 2024, while U.S. families searched online for international destinations in increasing numbers for the holidays at the end of the year.
The top domestic destinations U.S. families are searching for this Thanksgiving:
- Gatlinburg, TN
- Orlando, FL
- San Diego, CA
- Pigeon Forge, TN
- Las Vegas, NV
- Branson, MO
- Palm Springs, CA
- Broken Bow, OK
- Big Bear Lake, CA
- Nashville, TN