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By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Travel Blogger
Why is it that whenever a company or industry starts to make a rebound, it want to make up for all it lost in revenue the past couple of years all at once?
Sure, I’m sympathetic to all in the travel and hospitality industry who suffered tremendously during the pandemic but now that people are traveling again – and in huge numbers – the prices for airline tickets, hotel rooms, Airbnb rooms (many with a $50-75/a night cleaning fee added onto the price) is ridiculous. But heck, travel is getting too expensive and is also becoming almost too much of a hassle to, well, travel.
Upon taking one look at room prices in Siesta Key, FL, my sister and husband decided not to go back to their favorite vacation spot this September. At nearly twice what they normally pay – $1,800 for a week in a quaint hotel a few blocks from the beach – it’s simply not affordable for them unless they find another couple to join them and share the cost. Plus, add in the price of gas (it’s at least a two-tank drive) and they are looking at $2K before they walk through the door.
Be careful of listed hotel prices too, because many of those hotels have adopted the airlines’ policy of shaking every last cent out of you. Instead of baggage fees and charging for aisle and middle seats, they hit you with resort fees that can be $50 or more a day. That advertised rate of, say, $150, suddenly becomes $200. Stay a week and that’s an additional $350 added to your budget.
This, and airline add-on fees, is called drip pricing in the travel industry. Are you aware some airlines charge to print out your boarding pass? By the way, choose the cheapest seat and don’t fall into that pay-for-seat-selection trap.
The price of rental cars has, thankfully, gone down since its pandemic peak where a compact would cost you $90/day. It’s more around $45 now, hardly a bargain but not as bad as earlier but just like airlines and hotels watch for all kinds of additional fees.
Plus, because everyone and their grandmother seem to be traveling these days, even getting a flight or a room is difficult. And when you get to wherever you are going, it’s likely to be crowded to the point that being there is almost as much of a pain as it is a pleasure. Plus, there’s a pretty good chance your flight will be delayed or canceled. If that happens, know your rights; the airlines are required by government law in the U.S., to offer compensation for delayed or canceled flights. Demand this because they won’t likely tell you about it.
Travel is a great experience. I highly recommend it for everyone. But I suggest waiting until things calm down a bit.
If you have the itch to go somewhere now, make it local, within a day’s driving distance. Sometimes there’s a lot in your hometown or area you never do because, well, it’s in your hometown and you’ll get to it sometime. Now is that time.
You know those spots – they could be as simple as having a picnic at a local lake or a river. Your town probably also has some type of tourist attraction you haven’t been to since you were a kid. Plus, check out local festivals and summer and fall events.
And then, when hopefully prices settle down and the hassle of it all eases – travel is, after all, a complete supply-and-demand business – head back to your favorite vacation spot or go to a new one. Patience can indeed be a virtue for travel as well as for other aspects of life.
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