Dive Brief:
- Choice Hotels International’s Sleep Inn brand is partnering with outdoors app AllTrails to offer guests at participating locations access to a list of nearby hiking, biking and running trails, along with more than 750,000 miles of trails in AllTrails’ full library, the company announced Thursday.
- With 550 Sleep Inn hotels open and in the pipeline, hotel guests will have access to trails in places like Charleston, West Virginia; Clearwater-St. Petersburg, Florida; Union, Tennessee; and State College, Pennsylvania.
- The collaboration comes as more than half of today's leisure travelers say that easy access to walking trails and wellness activities is a top amenity they consider when selecting lodging accommodations, according to Choice Hotels research.
Dive Insight:
Travelers said connecting with nature was a top motivator in determining where they wanted to visit, according to a June 2022 study by Destination Analyst. Outdoor recreation also is on the rise, with Statista finding the number of Americans participating in hiking increased to nearly 59 million in 2021, up 80.4% since 2010.
“Today's modern guests know it's not just about getting from Point A to Point B, equally important is uncovering new opportunities to engage all five senses along the way,” Cathy Hartman, vice president of brand strategy at Choice Hotels, said in a release.
At participating Sleep Inn hotels, guests can scan a QR code in the lobby to access a list of nearby trails curated by AllTrails. Hartman said the offerings cater to a range of experience levels, from “a seasoned adventurer looking for a new experience off-the-beaten path” to “a road warrior wanting to reconnect with nature after a long travel day.”
Through the partnership, Sleep Inn guests also will have one month of free access to AllTrails’ premium offering, which lets users download maps for offline use, view immersive trail previews and more.
