If you remember back in the days when we used to go into a travel agency and pick up brochures to choose a vacation destination, then you may well also remember that the commercials for these then popular travel agency brands would start appearing on TV in force right after Christmas.
This was partly because they wanted to appeal to our dreams of sunshine at the coldest time of year, and to capitalize on the fact we tend to make big plans at the start of a new year, but it was also in part due to the fact that a vacation could take a lot of planning, booking and saving up for (or paying for in installments ahead of time).
As the travel industry transitioned to being almost entirely online, we got used to researching, planning and booking trips at far shorter notice and handling everything ourselves, as well as some of the great deals we could find using things like airline and hotel price comparison sites.
The recreational travel agency became far rarer, and planning summer family vacations in January stopped seeming necessary.
The global economic crisis made people begin to think differently about their luxury things, like vacations and lavish events.
As a result of the uncertainty and general trend of belt tightening, going on trips on a whim became less of a thing and people began to once again regard a vacation as something they should plan for, save for and look forward to for considerable time, and also realized that where in the past booking at the last minute had yielded good deals, in the online age booking far ahead could actually get you a cheaper price.
As we emerge from the recession, it seems that people are back to expecting one of more good trips a year, but are staying in the habit of planning them early.
As well as vacations, people can also be seen to be planning other spring and summer events as early as January.
From spring breaks to birthday parties, summer outdoor parties and company picnics, the early birds start looking at organizing things as soon as the New Year balloons have come down.
The main reason for this of course, is that people are used to getting what they want, and the only way to ensure you’ll get the venue, date, and other features you want for your event is to book well in advance – much as people now tend to start planning Christmas parties in August or September.
If you absolutely must have inflatable obstacle course rental at your teen’s birthday in June, or you really want a specific venue to host your corporate summer garden party, then now is the time, it seems, to secure it!
Planning things early may seem odd to some people, as gearing up for summer in January can feel a bit strange, but it seems that the people who have become used to getting in early are the ones who are getting exactly what they want for the best prices.