Summer is almost here, and for the people on Nextdoor, it's already well underway in their heads. According to new research from Nextdoor's Customer Insights & Analytics team, 91% of neighbors are planning at least one leisure trip this summer — 14% more likely than the general population. More striking: they're planning to spend $7,400 on average, which is 87% more than the typical American consumer.
That number tells a story about the kind of audience Nextdoor reaches. These are homeowners, household decision-makers, community-oriented adults who are spending at a premium and doing it with purpose. The neighbor who's asking for restaurant recommendations in Rome is the same person who booked the international flight, reserved the hotel, and planned the itinerary for the whole family. Our data shows 77% of neighbors are the primary planner for their household's summer travel — 17% more likely than the average consumer.
And a lot of that planning is still happening right now. Twenty-one percent of neighbors are booking less than a month out, which means there's a real last-minute segment actively in market. For travel brands, that window is open today.
What neighbors are booking
Neighbors don't just travel more — they travel bigger. Compared to the general population, they're 41% more likely to book an all-inclusive resort, 33% more likely to book a cruise, 34% more likely to choose international flights, and 24% more likely to visit theme parks. Beach vacations lead overall intent at 54%, but the premium, structured-experience categories are where the over-indexing is sharpest.
When they splurge, they do it on the experience itself: 38% prioritize food and dining, 31% prioritize experiences and activities. Hotels and flights rank lower as splurge categories — neighbors treat transportation and accommodation more as functional decisions, which means brands in those categories should lead with value, reliability, and specificity rather than aspirational lifestyle imagery.
Who they trust for advice
Here's where Nextdoor's local-first DNA becomes particularly relevant for advertisers. Neighbors trust their local community 43% more than social media influencers when it comes to travel recommendations. Forty-four percent say they trust neighbors "a lot" for travel advice, compared to just 32% who say the same about social media influencers or online reviews. And 90% will rely on a neighbor in some way while preparing for or taking a trip — whether that's asking for local recommendations, getting pet care help, or having someone watch their house.
The environment where your ad appears matters. On Nextdoor, travel content exists in the same feed where someone is asking their neighbor which hotel they stayed at in Charleston. That context is hard to replicate elsewhere.
A targeting opportunity worth flagging: weather
One angle worth particular attention this season is Nextdoor's weather targeting capability. It lets advertisers reach neighbors based on real-time local conditions — a heat wave, a rainy weekend, an unexpected stretch of gray skies — exactly when the impulse to book a trip is highest. For travel brands running last-minute or impulse-oriented campaigns, this is a differentiated tool for capturing demand at the moment it forms.
The full picture
The Summer Travel Insights Report covers trip planning timelines, destination preferences by category, airline and hotel decision factors, booking channel behavior, pre-trip spending, payment methods, and more — across both the traveler and non-traveler neighbor segments.
Want to explore the complete findings? This summary highlights key insights from our research, but there's much more to discover. For the full report with detailed data, additional audience segments, and strategic recommendations for your campaigns, reach out to Jacob Chavis, Customer Analytics & Insights Manager, at jchavis@nextdoor.com. Our team can help you apply these insights to reach high-intent neighbors at the moments that matter most.
Source: Nextdoor Survey, US (04/2026)
