Revealers flock to the beach to celebrate spring break, amid the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, on March 6, 2021.
Marco Bello | Reuters
Do you want to finally take this vacation? You are not alone.
Millions of Americans, many cooperating for a year, hit the road and take to the skies as more people are vaccinated against Covid-19. President Joe Biden said last week that all American adults will be eligible for the vaccine in May.
As more and more people are confident that the threat of Covid-19 is fading, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the lowest fares, some double-digit, that airlines offered when they were most desperate to fill the gaps. planes. Hotel rates are also rising.
Travel search site Kayak said summer travel searches have risen 27% each week since Biden’s announcement and said airfare to the top 100 destinations in the United States United increase by 7% month-on-month.
“Domestic air fares are rising. While discounts can still be found, they no longer fall on the laps of consumers,” said Jamie Baker, an analyst at JP Morgan. “Discounted rates increasingly require a hunt and, for many consumers who have been closed for a year, they probably won’t live up to the effort.”
The cheapest domestic entertainment fares, which include promotional fares that airlines send to the inbox, were $ 59.48 on March 15, still 26% less than a similar week in 2019, but they went increase more than 6% a week, according to Harrell Associates, a company that monitors air fares. Average leisure rates were nearly $ 187, about 5% a week and about 9% more than at a similar point in 2019.
On Monday, airline executives said bookings were rising in March and extending into the summer. U.S. airlines are on track to lose an average of $ 150 million a day this quarter, according to Airlines for America, but CEOs of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said the rise will ultimately prevent their burnout. effective this spring. JetBlue is again calling unpaid flight attendants a month earlier due to stronger-than-expected demand.
“As long as there are no setbacks, we’re on the road to recovery and we can put these days talking about cash burns, layoffs and things like that largely in the rearview mirror,” CEO Scott Kirby told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday.
According to hotel data analytics firm STR, hotel occupancy in the United States this month and through March 13 is an average of more than 51%, the highest in more than a year. In hot vacation spots like Miami, occupancy is nearly 70% with average rates of $ 228 per night, the highest prices since February 2020.
Jamila Ross, owner and founder of The Cooper Door B&B in Miami, said she had discounted her January and February rates by more than 40 percent to $ 100 a night, but has since been able to raise them. up to $ 120.
Covid was particularly devastating for his hotel because it depended heavily on the cruise industry due to its proximity to the port.
He said the hotel is now about 70% full, 40% more than last month, although it retains some inventory due to Covid.
“We want to be a responsible brand,” he said. “We can’t afford any slips.”
Maura Gannon, general manager of The Mermaid & the Alligator, a nine-room hotel in Key West, Florida, said, “As soon as people got the shots, the phones rang.”
He said some travelers ask about bookings in May and June, which are traditionally part of the lowest-demand season.
Some travelers observe high-end accommodations that allow them to stay physically away from other guests.
“The villas will be the first of the year,” said Viktoria Riley, marketing director of Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort in the Bahamas. The three-bedroom chalets cost $ 16,500 per night during the low season that begins in mid-April and lasts until late November.
Of course, room rates and rates have fallen profoundly in the pandemic and there are still deals, especially for business travelers who are still mostly on the sidelines. Demand is not even close to pre-pandemic levels.
In the third quarter of 2020, the latest available data, U.S. domestic flights averaged $ 244.79, the lowest in 25 years, without adjusting for inflation, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. USA
However, airlines have drastically reduced their ability to meet weak demand, which means there are fewer seats. They are expected to add more seats as the high summer season approaches.
And with much of the international travel still out of bounds, domestic leisure destinations have become the place to go.
Delta Air Lines, for example, on Friday introduced nine new destinations or increased service to outdoor vacation destinations such as Glacier Park, Mount, and Jackson Hole, Wyo.
“Travelers from the United States are being diverted in a way to the United States and to the handful of countries we are allowed to visit,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a consulting company in the travel industry. . “This is changing demand patterns and therefore changing airfare prices.”