Flying Solo: KAYAK and OpenTable Serve Up the Ultimate Guide for Travel and Dining as a Party of One

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Aug 20, 2024, 09:30 ET

September is revealed as one of the most popular months for solo travel & dining
50% of Americans plan to travel alone this year, 52% will dine as a party of one
Washington D.C. revealed as the top destination for solo dining and travel in the U.S., with Berlin the top international destination

STAMFORD, Conn. and SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of September, one of the most popular months for solo travel and dining,¹ KAYAK and OpenTable are teaming up to launch a solo travel and dining guide, a go-to source for the hottest solo travel destinations, must-visit restaurants, and expert tips. Solo dining bliss with data-driven insights and inspiration.

OpenTable logo (PRNewsFoto/OpenTable) (PRNewsFoto/OpenTable)

Survey data² from KAYAK and OpenTable shows a strong appetite for solo adventures (81% of Americans have dined solo and 70% have traveled solo), and aims to help travelers determine where to embark on their next solo trip.

KAYAK: Top Destinations for Solo Travelers
With average hotel prices, flight costs, meal expenses, safety considerations, local attractions and the share of solo dining in mind, the guide includes a dynamic ranking of the top destinations for solo travelers.³

Washington, D.C. is the #1 destination for solo travel and dining in the U.S., followed by Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and Salt Lake City, with the full Top 15 ranking revealed here. For those eyeing solo international adventures (which over 1 in 5 Americans (22%) say they are considering²), Berlin, Vancouver, Montreal, Paris, and Milan capture top honors for international destinations favored by U.S. solo travelers, with the full Top 10 ranking revealed here.

"Search share for solo hotel rooms are up 38% since 2019, making solo travel one of this year's hottest trends,⁴" shared Matt Clarke, the VP of NA Marketing at KAYAK. "And if you're flying solo, chances are you're dining solo too. With one third (33%) of Americans trusting fellow travelers and experts for their solo adventures, we tapped KAYAK travel experts and the dining pros at OpenTable for their best solo travel and dining hacks and tips."

OpenTable: Top Spots for Solo Diners
Survey data² also shows that 52% of Americans plan to dine solo this year, however, 37% report that feeling stuck when it comes to finding inspiration is their biggest barrier to dining solo. To accompany KAYAK's top solo travel picks, OpenTable is dishing out the top 5 solo dining spots in every destination, based on its popularity among solo diners, plus a selection of restaurants beloved by our OpenTable team for solo dining.

"Solo dining is one of the standout trends of 2024, up 8% from last year.⁶ Our data also shows solo diners tend to be big spenders, splurging 48% more per person compared to the average diner,⁷" said Robin Chiang, SVP of Growth for OpenTable.

The data-driven list features 75 restaurants across America including: Bistro Du Jour in Washington, D.C., Little Whale in Boston, Tre Dita in Chicago, Ecco Buckhead in Atlanta and Current Fish & Oyster in Salt Lake City. Internationally, the list highlights 50 restaurants: Funky Fisch in Berlin, Tableau Bar Bistro in Vancouver, Brasserie 701 in Montreal, Tracé in Paris and Ristorante Torre in Milan. Check out the Top Restaurants for Solo Dining to see the full list⁵.

OpenTable recently launched Icons, a destination featuring the best of the best restaurants in select cities, to help locals and travelers score a hot table. "Between Icons and our solo dining and travel guide – which features restaurants for solo travelers, by solo travelers – we have dining covered for your next trip," Chiang continued.

For more information KAYAK and OpenTable's solo travel and dining guide, head to www.kayak.com/c/solo

About KAYAK
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world's leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. We also support business travelers with our corporate travel solution.

About OpenTable
OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant tech and part of Booking Holdings, Inc . (NASDAQ: BKNG), helps more than 60,000 restaurants worldwide fill 1.7 billion seats a year. OpenTable's world-class technology empowers restaurants to focus on what matters most – their team, their guests, and their bottom line – while enabling diners to discover and book the perfect restaurant for every occasion.

Methodology
¹OpenTable & KAYAK Data: OpenTable looked at the share of solo dining by month in 2023 and KAYAK looked at the largest share of hotel searches for one person by month in 2023.

² Survey Methodology: An online survey was conducted by PureSpectrum among 2,000 general consumers in the US. Within this sample, major cities have been weighted for direct comparison. The research fieldwork took place between 3rd - 5th June 2024.

³KAYAK & OpenTable Data: A total of 25 cities have been selected based on the largest share of solo travel searches made on KAYAK and the share of solo dining at OpenTable restaurants. The solo travel share has been identified based on the hotel searches for one person conducted from January 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024 for the travel period between January 17, 2024 and November 30, 2024. To identify solo dining share, OpenTable looked at solo seated diners from phone, online and walk-in reservations from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 in cities with over 50 restaurants on the platform as of January 1, 2024.

⁴KAYAK Data: To determine trends in solo travel compared to 2019, KAYAK looked at the share of hotel searches for one person based on searches conducted from 1/1/24 - 6/30/24 for travel between 1/7/24 - 11/30/24. To compare year-over-five-year, KAYAK considered hotel searches for one person based on searches conducted from 1/1/19 - 6/30/19 for travel between 1/7/19 - 11/30/19.

⁵OpenTable's Top Restaurants for Solo Dining is generated from OpenTable diner reviews and dining metrics from April 1, 2023 - May 31, 2024. Restaurants with a minimum threshold of diner reviews were considered and evaluated by a compilation of unique data points, including diner ratings, the percentage of five star reviews, the number of alerts set, the percentage of reservations made in advance and direct searches. Metrics were weighted to comprise an overall score. The qualified restaurants were then ranked by the percentage of solo dining.

⁶OpenTable Data: OpenTable looked at online reservations for all restaurants active on the OpenTable platform for parties of 1 from June 1 2023 to May 31 2024, and compared it to the corresponding period in 2023.

⁷OpenTable Data: OpenTable looked at the average spend per guest for parties of one and overall from June 1 2023 to May 31 2024.

SOURCE KAYAK