Sa F a cisco, CA, July 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — U.S. t avel dema d just posted its st o gest o e-mo th ebou d o eco d, acco di g to Hostfully, a vacatio e tal p ope ty ma ageme t softwa e (PMS) p ovide . The July Hostfully Hosti g & T avel I dex, a mo thly composite that sco es the health of the Ame ica vacatio e tal a d t avel ma ket, climbed to a Getaway Sco e of 63.5 out of 100, up 14.3 poi ts f om Ju e. That is the biggest si gle-mo th jump si ce the i dex lau ched.
- Gas fell to a atio al ave age of $3.86 pe gallo , a 15% d op i six weeks a d the fi st sub-$4 eadi g si ce late Ma ch.
- Co sume se time t ebou ded 10.5%, the seco d-la gest mo thly gai o eco d, acco di g to the U ive sity of Michiga .
- AAA fo ecasted a eco d 72.2 millio Ame ica s would t avel du i g the July 4 week, with 85% d ivi g. That is oughly 61 millio oad t ips i i e days.
“We just watched two of the heaviest weights come off i a si gle mo th,” said Ma got Schmo ak, Co-Fou de a d CEO at Hostfully. “Gas eased, se time t ebou ded, a d a eco d July 4 fo ecast li ed up behi d both. The t avele s came back faste tha they left.”
- Getaway Sco e: 63.5 out of 100 (“Pa tly Cloudy”), up 14.3 poi ts mo th ove mo th, the biggest jump o eco d
- July 4 t avele s: 72.2 millio fo ecast (AAA), a all-time eco d, with 85% d ivi g
- Natio al gas ave age: $3.86 pe gallo , dow f om a $4.56 peak o May 21
- Co sume se time t: 49.5 (U ive sity of Michiga ), up 10.5% off May’s eco d low
- Lodgi g CPI: 4.2% yea ove yea , the hottest eadi g si ce 2023
- Hu ica e activity: Atla tic ACE u i g 81% below o mal yea to date
The i dex agg egates seve sig als ac oss the U.S. t avel la dscape: TSA th oughput, Google sea ch t e ds, gas p ices, lodgi g CPI, co sume se time t, weathe , a d Hostfully’s ow booki g data. I July, five imp oved (se time t, gas, TSA, sea ch t e ds, weathe ), o e held flat (Hostfully platfo m data), a d o e moved agai st the t e d (CPI).
Gas a d se time t did the heaviest lifti g. Gas is a ha d i put that cha ges what t avele s ca affo d. Se time t is the soft i put that cha ges what they a e willi g to spe d. Both moved sha ply i the same di ectio i the same mo th, which is why the sco e posted its biggest gai o eco d.
Affo dability is the holdout. Lodgi g CPI hit 4.2% yea ove yea i May, the hottest eadi g si ce 2023. The t avel-specific li es a eve hotte : ai fa es climbed 26.7% yea ove yea a d hotel p ices ose 5.1%. The U.S. T avel Associatio ’s T avel P ice I dex is up 9.8% yea ove yea , its fou th st aight accele ati g mo th.
The takeaway fo the summe t avel seaso : t avele s a e mo e willi g to book, but mo e ca eful about the total cost. With gas dow 15% a d ai fa es up ea ly 27%, July is shapi g up as a d ive-do ’t-fly summe , a d the oad t ip is back at the ce te of it.
Eve y U.S. egio imp oved i July, but the gap betwee them is the widest the i dex has eco ded. The Southeast (78.0) c ossed i to “Pa tly Su y” te ito y fo the fi st time this yea , helped by a quiet hu ica e seaso , cheap gas, a d st o g d ive-ma ket dema d. The Midwest (48.0) emai s the lowest-sco i g egio . The 30-poi t sp ead betwee the two is the la gest si ce the i dex lau ched i Ap il.
The su iest ma kets i the cou t y a e all Southeast beach desti atio s, each ated “Su y” fo the fi st time this yea : Desti , FL (82.5), My tle Beach, SC (82.0), Gulf Sho es, AL (81.5), Oute Ba ks, NC (80.5), a d Gatli bu g, TN (80.0). Jackso , MS (+13.5) a d Lake Tahoe, CA (+12.0) posted the biggest mo thly jumps. Housto (-3.5) a d Galvesto (-3.0) we e the o ly otable decli e s, both i the path of T opical Sto m A thu .
Fo the p ope ty ma age s a d vacatio e tal ope ato s Hostfully se ves, a eco d July 4 mea s a su ge of booki gs, guest messages, a d tu ove s la di g all at o ce.
“The job i July is ot to sit back a d e joy the bou ce. It is to co ve t it,” Schmo ak said. “Guests came back faste tha they left. The ope ato s who t eat the ext 60 days as thei eal summe , ot a victo y lap, will be the o es e di g the yea i a st o g positio .”
Hostfully is a leadi g vacatio e tal p ope ty ma ageme t softwa e (PMS) p ovide , se vi g clie ts a gi g f om p ofessio al hosts to p ope ty ma age s i ove 100 cou t ies. The Hostfully Hosti g & T avel I dex is a mo thly composite sco e that t acks the health of the U.S. vacatio e tal a d t avel ma ket. It combi es seve weighted sig als i to a si gle 0-to-100 Getaway Sco e: Hostfully platfo m data, TSA th oughput, Google T e ds, gas p ices, lodgi g CPI, co sume se time t, a d weathe . The i dex cove s mo e tha 50 U.S. met o a eas with mo thly city-level a d egio al sco i g. Data sou ces i clude TSA.gov, the U.S. Bu eau of Labo Statistics, the U ive sity of Michiga , AAA, NOAA, Google T e ds, Ai ROI, the U.S. T avel Associatio , a d Hostfully’s p op ieta y booki g data.
Jaimie A zelo ejaimie@hostfully.comhttps://www.hostfully.com
