The math is simple but deceptive:
If a hotel room cost two hundred bucks, that’s a hundred bucks per person, because hotels assume two people are sharing the room.
But if you’re not a couple and are traveling alone, you’re still paying $200.00, which amounts to a penalty for single travelers since they’re paying a two people rate.
Worse, some hotels, cruise ships and resorts actually charge a Single Supplement fee which can be as high as 150% of the rack rate. Hotels and cruise ships don’t give single travelers a price break because that cuts into their revenues. And so the single traveler continues to exist as a second-class citizen in the travel world.
The policy has frustrated many of the 15.9 million singles, about 21.8% of all travelers.
Some travel agents create itineraries for singles, bringing them together for trips. But the results are mixed.
Some don’t mind traveling and sharing a room with another single, of the same sex that is. Others do.
We think the industry can do better. Resorts and cruise ships will occasionally offer a reduced rate for singles, but they’re frequently inferior rooms on off seasons for a limited time.
Noah may have had it right. But unless you’re on an ark, traveling in pairs shouldn’t have to be the only way to go.
In this faltering economy, we think solo travelers should ask for a reduced rate or even half the rate. After all, a room not sold at any price is evenue lost forever!
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