It’s not every day that the world’s leading travel search engine debuts a new hotel. KAYAK helps navigate billions of daily queries for finding the perfect flight, stay, rental car, cruise, or vacation package and now, they are taking a step further. KAYAK Miami Beach is a 52-room property housed in a landmark 1934 Art Deco building off the Collins Canal, just steps from the beach.
Don’t just think of KAYAK as a cool boutique property in one of the most sought-after areas of Miami, the company will use the property as a design lab to test and refine software innovations in the accommodation space. “We created KAYAK to compare prices from hundreds of travel sites. We now want our app to help with the hotel guest experience too,” said Steve Hafner, CEO of KAYAK.
The Miami Beach property partnered with Life House, an award-winning lifestyle brand and management company, to shape and manage the guest experience and bring its hotel vision to life.
“Collaborating with KAYAK accelerates our mission to make travel more meaningful and accessible for a wide array of discerning travelers,” said Rami Zeidan, Founder and CEO of Life House. “We were able to create a perfect hotel experience for modern travelers who are seeking locally-rooted, intuitive hotels at accessible prices.”
The KAYAK app will provide 24/7 access to hotel staff and support, notifications of on-property events, room-ready alerts, housekeeping requests and more. The tech amenities at the hotel are designed to make your stay personal yet with as much (or as little) human interaction to suit your needs. Some of the contactless perks include Kiosks in the lobby for an expedited check-in experience of 60 seconds. In-room connected TVs will offer unique on-demand content, including yoga classes by local favorite Green Monkey Yoga, in addition to access to streaming services for movies, TV shows, and music. Scannable QR codes will allow guests to contact house managers as well as view a digital guestbook with hotel details and recommendations of things to do during their stay.
“Over time, we want the KAYAK app to help our users plan and manage every aspect of their stays,” said Steve Hafner, CEO of KAYAK. “The big hotel chains have been working on this tech for years and we look forward to leveling the playing field for independent hotels.”
The hotel’s design draws inspiration from the local Streamline Moderne architecture and features bold Deco-esque patterning with aviation themed silhouettes in a nod to KAYAK’s expertise in flights.
In case you were thinking of dipping your toe back in the travel waters on Memorial Day weekend, here are some stats provided by Kayak with big cities are among the most popular destinations.
Based on the top 100 destinations in the U.S., flight searches nationwide are up an average of 21% compared to 2019 levels (same dates). Prices are also seeing an increase due to high demand with the average flight price up 10% compared to last month and 16% compared to the same dates in 2019. We encourage people to book early to try to secure the best prices since they’re only expected to increase as Memorial Day weekend approaches.
This demand is even more prevalent when looking at car rental data with the average search volume in top cities up 224% and average prices up 199% compared to the same dates in 2019.
The top 10 cities for Memorial Day weekend based on searches compared to 2019 levels include:
- Miami has been a hot spot as of late and even during the pandemic with
flight prices up 5% compared to the same dates in 2019. - Las Vegas – average flight price up 17% compared to the same dates in 2019
- New York – average flight price up 24% compared to the same dates in 2019
- Los Angeles – average flight price up 14% compared to the same dates in 2019
- Orlando – average flight price up 29% compared to the same dates in 2019
- Chicago – average flight price up 11% compared to the same dates in 2019
- Atlanta – average flight price up 30% compared to the same dates in 2019
- Fort Lauderdale – average flight price up 19% compared to the same dates in 2019
- Denver – average flight price up 31% compared to the same dates in 2019
- Dallas – average flight price up 30% compared to the same dates in 2019
While the above outlines the top destinations, it looks like Miami natives are ready to hit the city or beach destinations. The most popular destination for people flying from Miami is the Big Apple with New York searches up 67% compared to 2019 levels (same dates).
