Whoever said social media is a low-level contributor to a travel brand’s online traffic? Not execs at alternative accommodation websites, it appears.

Hitwise examined the online behaviour of three million consumers in the UK and found that rental sites generally have seen a massive 112% increase in traffic over the course of the past three years.

The analysis also found that a high proportion of visits to rental sites originated from social media channels – a marked difference from those of hotel websites who get the majority of their traffic from search engines.

Hitwise managing director, Nigel Wilson, says the shift in behaviour towards accommodation rentals illustrates the trend that “younger generations are embracing technologies to drive what they want – when where and how they want it”.

“This no longer means bagging the best deal, but embracing the service that most closely meets their needs. Marketers must tune in to channel preference and booking requirements to offer the right people the best holiday.”

Search terms also vary between those searching for alternative accommodation and prospective hotel guests, Hitwise found in its analysis.

For example, hotels would often get their traffic based on terms such as “budget”, “cheap” or “deal”, whereas their rivals at the likes of HomeAway and Airbnb would attract those looking for “hot tubs”, “villas” or “log cabin”.

One in four using search engines for rental sites were found to be females aged 18-34, but men aged 35-44 are, in Hitwise’s words, “bargain hunters” and most likely to be visiting intermediaries sites or a hotel’s website.

Over in the US, visits to rental sites have increased by 70% over three years.

Hotel intermediaries such as Hotels.com and Booking.com have declined by 8%, Hitwise says.

If the same rate continues then it is expected that rental sites are likely to overtake hotel websites over the course of the next 12 months.