autumn Archives - TravelSkills

Deal shopping? Go where business travelers don’t

October 19, 2016

One of Marriott's newest, largest hotels is on sale today only! Marriott Marquis Washington DC

New Marriott Marquis in D.C. offers some great deals- but only when biz traveler are not there (Photo: Marriott)

Ready to take a few days off for a fall getaway? Now’s the time to go because travel prices are hitting annual lows. If you are flexible about what day you leave, like big cities, would consider beach vacation and aren’t afraid of hurricanes, you can find a deal this season.

To find a great travel deal during peak business travel season this autumn, my advice would be to go where business travelers are not going.

Here are five places you are least likely to find business travelers and most likely to find low prices in coming months:

Weekends in major cities
Since autumn is peak season for meetings and conferences, hotels near large convention facilities tend to fill up (and raise rates) on weekdays. This means bargain hunters will most likely find good hotel rates on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at major city hotels. For example, I’m attending a Boarding Area conference over a November weekend in Washington, DC. The meeting is at the new Marriott Marquis adjacent to the district’s new convention center. I’m staying over a Friday and Saturday night and our group rate is just $139 per night. If I were to stay midweek, the rate would be around $450!

The view from the United Club at ATL (Chris McGinnis)

The view from the United Club at ATL last week (Chris McGinnis)

Midweek or Saturday flights
Business travelers are predictable — they like to fly to work on Sunday evening or Monday morning, and then fly home on Thursday or Friday. That means bargain hunters are likely to find the cheapest seats on days with lower demand: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. They are also more likely to find cheap fares on midday or late night flights, which business travelers tend to avoid. Fares overall are trending down this year due to cheap fuel and low-cost competition. For example, I fly frequently between Atlanta and San Francisco, and have grown accustomed to paying $400-$500 roundtrip. But now that Frontier is in that nonstop market with $238 round trip fares, Delta and United have matched that occasionally, but generally keep their lowest fares at around $310 round trip- still a very good deal.

Mountains or beaches
With business travelers focused on work instead of vacation, demand in typical holiday destinations wanes during autumn, a period known in the travel industry as “shoulder season”. With a decrease in demand, rates tank, and suppliers are more likely to toss in extras (upgrades, welcome cocktails, breakfast) to stimulate business. Best of all, the weather is usually dry and sunny during autumn- it’s also very colorful! But beware: this is also the time of year many resorts perform scheduled maintenance, which can be noisy or disconcerting, so be sure to ask about this when making your booking. For the best deals during shoulder season or other periods of waning demand, check on opaque or last-minute booking sites such as Hotwire.com where suppliers go to dump excess inventory at low rates. Another good tactic for finding specials is to scour travel supplier Twitter or Facebook feeds.

Business class during late winter holidays
Transatlantic business class fares typically run in the $5,000 to $7,000 range during peak business travel season — far beyond what most bargain hunters are willing to pay. However, business travelers tend to stay close to home and hearth during U.S. Thanksgiving and the Christmas/New Year holiday period. When demand slides, airlines put those big seats at the front of the plane on sale. For example, Lufthansa frequently rolls out a business class sale on flights between the US and Europe in late November/early December– so keep your eyes peeled (as we will). And it’s not just low fares- this is also a great time of year to look for last-minute frequent flyer mile discounts on business class seats. As the holidays draw nearer, I expect other airlines to offer similar business class deals like they did last year.

Our Fathom ship Adonia entering the harbor at Santiago de Cuba (Photo: Fathom)

Cruises
Autumn is the very best time of year to find deals on cruises for two reasons. First, kids are back in school, which means less demand from the family travel segment. Second, fearful that bad weather might ruin their well laid plans, consumers tend to avoid booking cruises when big storms hit the headlines like Hurricane Matthew did in the US this month. As a result of the decline in demand, fares tumble to rock bottom in September, October and November. For example, Royal Caribbean is offering a four-night November cruise from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas in an ocean view cabin for just $176- that’s only $44 per night! With room and board included, that might be cheaper than living at home! Best of all, fears of hurricanes ruining cruises are mostly unfound since new ships are fast enough to steer clear of any danger and the worst that can happen is that your itinerary changes.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

In the market for a new credit card?

Big news for big spenders as banks roll out new bonuses and perks (Image: Pixabay)

Scroll up to our “Credit Card Deals” tab at the top to shop around! It helps us help you!

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 150,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Fall travel season outlook & advice

October 3, 2016

New York’s Central Park puts on a spectacular show in the fall (Chris McGinnis)

Fall is my favorite time of year to travel. Why? Because it’s typically less crowded, prices come down from steep summer peaks, and the weather is fine just about everywhere. Business travelers always breathe a sigh of relief reclaiming their territory at airport security lines and hotel breakfast bars as hordes of family vacationers have gone home.

Fall is the perfect season for finding last-minute travel deals due to the seasonal dip in demand. But as this past summer came to a close, I began to think that autumn months would see an even deeper dip in demand due to all the angst and uncertainty over the election, Brexit, Zika and terrorism.

But it appears that travelers in the U.S. are as resilient as ever, and this fall remains busy (or busier) than last year. For example, with over 2,000 hotels in the U.S., Best Western Hotels & Resorts is expecting a robust fall travel season with advance bookings for September and October up 6.7 percent in the U.S. compared to this time last year. In Canada, advance bookings for autumn are up a strong 19 percent over this time last year, mostly due to increased interest by Americans attracted by the strength of the U.S. dollar there.

National Gas Price Heat Map (Source: GasBuddy.com)

National Gas Price Heat Map- red is highest, green is lowest. CLICK for more details (Source: GasBuddy.com)

Gasoline prices: One key reason for continuing interest in travel during in the months ahead is the declining price of gasoline. Currently, the average price per gallon nationally is about $2.20—down from a high of about $2.35 in June. Gas remains least expensive in the Midwest and Gulf Coast states (less than $2 per gallon in some areas), but recently edged up in the southeast due to a major pipeline break which caused supply problems. As usual, prices along the West Coast are highest, where $3 per gallon is the norm. (See map above where green show least expensive and red is most expensive.)

Airfare: Increased competition and growth by ultra low-cost airlines such as Frontier, Spirit and Allegiant combined with lower fuel costs is keeping airfares in check. Fall is a great season for finding last-minute airfare deals as airlines are much more likely to offer unsold inventory at deep discounts during the fall. If you have the flexibility to fly at this time of year (meaning you don’t have kids in school) you’ll find plenty of good deals—some so good that they might tempt you to leave the car at home and take to the skies. The best way to find these deals is to follow airlines’ social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook or Snapchat—that’s because by the time the deals hit major media outlets, they’ve disappeared. If you like to fly in business class, now’s the time to start poking around for discounts that usually pop up for flights in late December– last year, we saw fares drop as low as $1,800 round trip!

Hotels: Due to strong demand, hotel prices should remain about the same or increase slightly this fall compared to the same time last year. Due to the seasonal dip in demand, leisure travelers will find some very good deals at this time of year compared to pricey summer months. Fall is also the peak of the convention season, which means that rates at big city center hotels (especially large coast cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, New York and Washington DC) tend to spike during the week when attendees are in town, but decline on weekends when hotels are relatively empty. Tip: During fall months, travel suppliers reach out to business travelers with special deals and incentives tied to their loyalty programs. For example, now through November 20, Best Western is offering a discount of up to 15% and 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points to those booking on bestwestern.com.

View from my room at the newish Best Western Herald Square in NYC (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

TIPS:

Conventions: Since fall is peak convention season, demand (and therefore prices) for hotels can vary dramatically from one week to the next. That’s because one week, there might be a huge citywide convention in town and the next, nothing. A good example of this is when we see the huge Oracle OpenWorld (Sept 18-21) or Dreamforce (Oct 4-7) conventions come to town- hotel rates soar, Uber/Lyft impose surge pricing, and it’s impossible to find restaurant reservations. Same thing happens in New York City for Fashion Week or the UN General Assembly. If you have the ability to postpone trips during peak weeks, you’ll save your money and your sanity.

London: Now would be a very good time to go. The weather has not turned cold and damp yet. Airfares have come down from summer peaks. A wobbly economy and recent devaluation of the British pound means that London (and the U.K. in general) is a relative bargain these days, especially for dollar-wielding Americans. (The dollar/pound exchange rate is hovering at around $1.30, down from around $1.60 last year.) Just remember to call this season autumn when you are there… not fall.

Mom’s famous sweet potato casserole a welcome sight after a long Thanksgiving flight! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Cheapest Weeks: Bargain hunters will find the best fall travel deals during the first two weeks of November and December. If possible, schedule trips to coincide with these dips in demand. (The primary exception to this would be New York City, which is flooded with business travelers and holiday shoppers during the first two weeks of December.)

Thanksgiving- Thursday Nov. 24: As always, traveling around Thanksgiving can get crazy. But in recent years, airlines and travelers have pretty much learned the drill, and the only time we see major problems is when bad weather intervenes. As always, the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday and Monday after are most crowded. But recently airlines have found the Friday before Thanksgiving is now one of the busiest days, too. Plan accordingly.

Holiday bookings deadlines: My rule of thumb for making holiday bookings: If you have a very strict holiday schedule, you should have already made your Thanksgiving and Christmas travel reservations. If you have some wiggle room and want to shop around, Thanksgiving trips should be booked no later than the first week of October. Christmas/New Years trips can wait until about Halloween.

This post is sponsored by Best Western and originally appeared on its YouMustBeTrippin.com blog

Disclosure: Thank you for reading TravelSkills! We will periodically send out messages like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel. Our sponsors’ support, and yours, help us keep TravelSkills a free publication.

Big summer-fall fare sale- 3 days only

June 2, 2015

A Southwest Airlines 738 in new livery takes of from Midland, Texas (Photo: Felipe Garcia / Flickr)

Southwest Airlines big fall fare sale starts right now! Other airlines matching (Photo: Felipe Garcia / Flickr)

Travel demand and prices are bound to tumble after what could be the busiest summer travel season…ever.

So if you’ve been priced out of peak summer season, or have plans for trips in late summer or fall, Southwest Airlines has an airfare sale for you.

Southwest kicked it off today with with fares starting at $100 roundtrip. From there, roundtrip fares rise in three more steps: $200, $260 and $300.

What’s nice about this sale is that it’s good for late summer trips starting as early as August 24— keep in mind that Labor Day is not until Monday, September 7 this year.

And summer is not officially over until September 21. That’s a nice window for a late summer trip!

Sample round trip fares include:

$100: All intra-California and Las Vegas flights, Atlanta-Raleigh or Richmond; Washington DC-Boston

$200: Atlanta-Boston, Chicago, Dallas or New York; SFO or LAX to Denver

$260: Denver-Atlanta; LAX or SFO to Dallas, Chicago, Austin; New York to Chicago or New Orleans

$300: Most transcon flights between New York, Baltimore, Atlanta or Boston and LAX, SFO, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego Seattle

Expect other major airlines to match these low fares over the next 24 hours. (We’ll update this page with competitive matches as they roll out…see below)

Details of Southwest’s 72-hour sale:

>Must buy your tickets between now and Thursday, June 4 at 11:59 p.m. (in originating city).

>Travel window: August 24- December 16

>Not available on Fridays or Sundays

>Black out dates: Labor Day: September. 3-5 and 7. Thanksgiving: November 20 through December 1

>Only a handful of seats on each flight are on sale- you snooze, you lose.

>See Southwest website for other rules and restrictions, or to book trips.

**UPDATES: Airlines matching this sale so far JetBlue | Virgin America | American | United (limited) | Delta

–Chris McGinnis

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: A lie-flat seat to avoid! + 10 more airports get immigration pre-clearance + Hotel chains’ Wi-Fi service ranked + Toronto Airport’s new rail link

AirTran 3-day sale kicks off fall travel season

September 4, 2012

AirTran and Southwest launched a 3-day fall fare sale– must book by Thursday! (Photo: AirTran)

Election-year uncertainty and a weak US economy combined with higher gasoline prices, airfare and hotel rates have not deterred American travelers this summer, and healthy demand should carry on into the fall months.

Even though summer does not officially end until September 21, the fall travel season starts this week and extends through mid-November when demand begins to rise in anticipation of a relatively early Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 22).

Business travel “season” also starts this week as executives head back out on the road after summer breaks to visit clients they missed over the summer, or to attend meetings and conventions, which peak during the fall months. While there will likely be fewer visitors from economically embattled Europe, healthy demand in the US and Canada, as well as an influx of visitors from Asia are helping to counterbalance that decline.

Best Western is not a publicly held company, so it’s the only major hotel player (2,000 hotels in US) that releases valuable forward-looking data. Looking ahead, its advance bookings in the US and Canada for September, October and November are up 10% compared to this time last year. Advance bookings at airport hotels in North America, where guests tend to be predominately business travelers, are up 18%. Similarly, advance bookings at hotels located in intown areas are up 13%.

Here’s my outlook for the fall months:

Airfare: As the price of a barrel of oil approaches $100 again, airlines are feeling the impact of rising fuel costs, and in August they raised fares across the board for the fifth time this year. However, during fall months, travel demand declines compared to peak summer travel season, so travelers can expect some relief from high fares in coming months. However, the days of broad across-the-board fares sales are long gone—so smart bargain-focused travelers need to keep their eyes peeled for sales of very short duration between specific markets instead. For example, AirTran and Southwest launched a three-day fare sale this week good for trips up until October 3 only– fares are quite good, i.e., $200 between ATL and Chicago-Midway’ $254 to Denver, many Florida and Southeastern cities for about $180. Delta has matched nearly all these fares.

In the second half of 2012, airlines will offer seven million fewer seats, and nearly 3% fewer departures than in 2011, according to The Boyd Group. These reductions in airline capacity (down some 11% since 2005), combined with steady demand on the part of consumers, means that airfares during peak holiday travel seasons (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years) should remain painfully high.

Advance bookings for fall are up 10% at Best Western hotels like this one near San Francsico Int’l (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

But as always, heavily discounted shoulder season fares in early November, early December or early January should be available for those with the flexibility to take advantage of them. Tip: If possible, schedule business trips to coincide with these dips in demand.

Hotel Prices: Due to steady demand, hotel prices are rising, but the increases are uneven across the US. For example, travelers can expect to see significantly higher rates in large coastal cities such as New York, Boston, Washington, San Francisco or Seattle—especially during the fall months when meeting and conventions peak. However, rates in smaller, interior cities have remained mostly flat, or even declined in some cases. This variation means that average rates should increase less than 5% this fall. Tip: During fall months, travel suppliers reach out to business travelers with special deals and bonuses tied to their loyalty programs—keep an eye on blogs like The TICKET and program websites for the deals.

Gasoline Prices: The recent spike in gasoline prices is having minimal impact on travel plans in the US. In early June, the average price of a gallon of gasoline was $3.52. It then dipped to a low of about $3.30 in early July. By the end of August, it had increased rather dramatically to $3.72 according to the US Energy Administration. However, the price jump at the pump did little to keep Americans off the road for Labor Day—according to AAA, travel volume over the long holiday weekend was 3% higher than last year—up to the highest level since the recession began in late 2007. As demand for gasoline declines during Autumn, prices will hopefully decline, too.

Rental Car Prices: Rental car prices have remained mostly flat in recent years, but that could begin to change. This is due to consolidation in the industry, with only three major players left—Avis/Budget, Hertz (which purchased Dollar/Thrifty in August for $2.3 billion) and Enterprise (which now owns Alamo and National brands). Additionally, with airlines cutting service to smaller towns, demand for rental cars will increase as business travelers fly to the nearest airport, and then rent cars to drive to their appointments in smaller towns.

What about YOU? Are you planning to travel more, less or about the same amount this fall compared to last fall? Please leave your comments below.

HELP US HELP YOU! If this info was helpful to you, please tell your friends and colleagues about The TICKET! Tell them to SUBSCRIBE!

*****

Subscribe to The TICKET via E-mail!

Follow @cjmcginnis

*****

Virgin’s 2-day sale kicks off fall travel season

September 4, 2012

Virgin America launched a systemwide airfare sale today– but it only lasts 2 days. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Airfare: As the price of a barrel of oil approaches $100 again, airlines are feeling the impact of rising fuel costs, and in August they raised fares across the board for the fifth time this year. However, during fall months, travel demand declines compared to peak summer travel season, so travelers can expect some relief from high fares in coming months. However, the days of broad across-the-board fares sales are long gone—so smart bargain-focused travelers need to keep their eyes peeled for sales of very short duration between specific markets instead. For example, Virgin America launched a two-day fare sale this week good for trips up until October 31– fares are quite good, i.e., less than $300 for transcon trips to NYC or DC. But they are not available on Sundays or Mondays.

Advance bookings for fall are up 10% at Best Western hotels like this one near SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What about YOU? Are you planning to travel more, less or about the same amount this fall compared to last fall? Please leave your comments below.

*****

Subscribe to TravelSkills via e-mail!

Follow @cjmcginnis

Welcome new readers! If this information was helpful to you, please subscribe to TravelSkills via e-mail— and tell your friends about it, too!

*****