After 9/11, people stopped travelling. This caused the travel industry to buckle down and start making travel affordable again. They (especially the hotel industry) slashed prices, and made the world of budget travel a happy place. You could find amazing deals on Hotwire, Priceline, Expedia, and many other travel sites. Solo travel for the average twenty something was affordable, and the hunt for the perfect deal was all part of the fun.
After a few years, travel picked back up, and then the prices started to rise again. Hotels and airlines no longer needed to tempt customers with amazing deals. Now the average twenty something still had to hunt for a deal, but now it was much harder. The websites we depended on for deals suddenly have very limited discounts, or worse, the prices are actually higher than if you book through the hotel, rental agency or airline directly. It quickly became very frustrating, and in some cases just not economical to take trips. Even if you booked well in advance, the prices were just too high.
For example, in March 2003 I booked a July flight from Indianapolis to San Francisco. Round Trip it was just under $200 on Hotwire. I stayed in a hostel that time, so my total costs for lodging and airfare were just about $300. When I did research on what that trip would have cost me to book in March 2008, it would have been more like $450. If I wanted to actually stay in a budget hotel in Union Square, it would balloon up to at least $600. I flew from Indy to Vegas in June 2007, and even with advanced purchase on Southwest my flight was still a little over $300. Prices kept ballooning, and the travel industry had a stockpile of excuses for why this kept happening. Whether it be fuel charges or some other excuse, there was always a “reason.”
Travel is down again, and things are starting to come full circle. It isn’t in full swing yet, but I can see the change on the horizon. I booked a cruise in December. That time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is often a busy time for cruise lines and begins the “peak” tourist season for many of their ports. Somehow, I still managed to score a pretty sweet rate.
Yeah, I have an interior cabin, but still the price is pretty affordable. I booked my airfare about a month ago, and secured round trip flights from Indy to Tampa for $180 including trip protection. Now the catch is, you have to know the airline’s hidden fees for checked bags, drinks, seat assignments, and other odds and ends.
A cheap ticket might not be so cheap once you tack everything on. Since I booked in September, the price have held at about the same rate. It isn’t like a year ago where the prices quickly climbed over $250 before your reached two months out. Not all the airlines are slashing prices yet, but it is happening and I see prices getting better over the next few months.
However, I also see especially the airlines starting to pick up their fuel costs woe and start finding new and annoying ways to make money. Really this has very little to do with fuel. These are changes the airlines have been waiting to implement for years, the fuel crisis just gives them an excuse.
My advice? Book now. Get out of dodge for a few days and enjoy the savings you will find between now and Christmas! However, also be smart, only plan vacations you know you can afford, and if possible you can avoid using huge chunks of credit.
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© 2008, Jenni Hammitt. All rights reserved.
