For many travelers, skipping town for a bit is also a perfect excuse to get some mental distance from their omnipresent mobile devices. But the desire for digital distance comes with a layer of irony — those mobile devices are increasingly what make travel possible in the first place.

People rely more than ever on mobile technology to find and book travel reservations. A slew of stats from the Internet travel giant Expedia show just how much people plan their trips while already on the go.

More than 65% of people who book a hotel room within 24 hours of checking in do so from a mobile device, according to Expedia. More than 15% of travelers who book a flight 24 hours or less in advance do so via mobile. Both stats show how smartphones have given new power to the harried, last-minute traveler in recent years. Hotels with ratings between two and three stars are most commonly reserved via mobile devices, indicating that they're likely the best (or most available) last-minute lodging option.

Nine of the top 10 cities for reserving rooms while on the go are in he United States, with Paris as the only outlier. In Las Vegas, a whopping 32% of all bookings are made on mobile devices. Los Angeles and Orlando also top 10%. And when do people use their mobile devices to plan trips? Friday and Saturday are the most popular days, showing again just how valuable smartphones have become for enabling that spontaneous weekend getaway.

Check out the following infographic for the fuller picture, then let us know in the comments — what are your favorite mobile apps for travel?

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, Photomorphic