Hotel room rates continue to creep up but more rooms are empty

Hotel room rates have gone sky high the last two years as the tsunami of post-COVID travelers hit the highways and skyways. Finally, we are starting to see some of the hotel rates begin to moderate. In October the U.S. hotel average daily rate was $161, which is up 3 percent from the previous year. It is interesting to see that the U.S. hotel occupancy rate (how many rooms are full) decreased by almost 2% in October. Obviously, the hotel industry is trying to hold hotel rates high, however, as more and more rooms go empty historically, this has been a preamble for moderating hotel rates. This is especially true as we go into the slower winter months of travel. CLICK HERE to read a short article. CLICK HERE to see and hear more from our podcast.

34% of all hotel rooms sit empty every night – Think about that for a minute. Basically 1 of every 3 rooms sits empty every night. That means if a hotel is full on Friday and Saturday they must be less than half full several days of the week. This can lead to a large swing in hotel rates. The more flexible you are the more you can take advantage of swings in hotel pricing based on how competitive the hotel wants to be to fill up empty rooms on certain days of the week. CLICK HERE to find out more.

American Airlines is trying to make travelers pay higher airfares by hiding certain fares – The American Society of Travel Advisors has filed a formal complaint with the Department of Transportation that AA is trying to hide certain low fares from certain channels so they can force people to use their website to find and book the lowest available fares. This is also causing thousands of people to pay more for their airline tickets. Basically AA is using its oligopoly power to take advantage of travelers and travel advisors who want total transparency and fairness. CLICK HERE to read more. CLICK HERE to listen to Paul and I discuss this more.

Airlines have hundreds of new airplanes coming online in the next two years – Here are three reasons why. 1. The new planes are very fuel efficient (20%) and replace older planes with higher operating costs. 2. The airlines have a pilot shortage and if you can replace a small regional jet that holds 70 passengers with a larger jet that holds 180 passengers you don’t need more pilots to handle more passengers. 3. These new airplanes are continuing a trend of replacing smaller regional jets with more headroom, carryon storage and first class seats for upgrades. Basically these are a much better product for customers. CLICK HERE to hear more.

American, Delta and United are rapidly losing market share to low cost carriers (LCC’s)  – Since 2000 the BIG 3 airlines (American, Delta and United) have dropped their domestic market share from 73% to 52%. This is a massive drop in market share that has been taken up by Southwest, Alaska, Hawaiian, Jet Blue and others such as Allegiant and Sprit Airlines. The cost structure of the BIG 3 is so high that in some ways they cannot compete with the low cost carriers for domestic traffic. This is also why the big 3 are expanding so aggressively into the international markets. They can make money flying internationally and the LCCs don’t have the infrastructure to be competitive. CLICK HERE for more. 

European Tulip Festival & Christmas Markets – Always a Hit  – Women of the Midwest have launched two once-in-a-lifetime trips. Join a small group of a maximum of 20 like-minded travelers (women only) to experience the beautiful tulips at the Keukenhof Tulip Festival in the Netherlands next April. Besides tulips, this tour offers Belgian chocolate, waffles, and cheese tastings, pretty Delft porcelain, Van Gogh, overnights in a castle, and much more. CLICK HERE to see the full details. And you just can’t beat Europe’s Christmas markets; two groups took off this past weekend. Join us in 2024 as we depart right after Thanksgiving. We start in Vienna and end in Munich, and we have included a “Sound of Music” tour and several UNESCO World Heritage Sites – you won’t be disappointed! CLICK HERE to see the tour program. Reserve your spot today; these tours fill fast! Call or email our friendly group department at 888.549.1186 / GroupDepartment@executivetravel.com. CLICK HERE for more.

Check out our Weekly Travel Alert Podcast – Did you know our Weekly Travel Alert Video Podcast is available on YouTube plus all your favorite podcast stations, Spotify, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast ? Each week we are adding new and upgraded features. Please jump on board. CLICK HERE to see the Weekly Travel Alert podcast that is hot off the presses.