Hotels

Extreme heat is changing travel patterns

[This is a slightly different version of a story we prepared for NBC News]

Cathy Balestriere was expecting “especially low” bookings last month at Crane’s Beach House, the boutique hotel she manages in Delray Beach, Florida. Instead, they jumped 12% from the year before.

“It feels like a miracle based on where we were sitting just a few weeks ago,” she said.

It’s not a miracle. It’s the weather.

The surge coincided with a sweltering mid-June heat wave across the Midwest and the Northeast, putting over 80 million people under heat alerts — the latest run of unseasonably extreme temperatures fueled by a global climate that is warming at a record pace.

Florida might not be the first destination that comes to mind for people looking to beat the heat, but it’s where some headed after their hometowns became just as sweltering.

This time of year, most guests at Crane’s are in-state or regional travelers, Balestriere said. But many of the last-minute bookings came from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas. Delray Beach has been hot, too, but visitors to the hotel “can at least enjoy the ocean breeze and access to the beach and refreshing pools,” she said.

It’s a similar story at the Lake Nona Wave Hotel in Orlando, where reservations soared 45% in the past three weeks compared with the year before, largely from the Northeast and Texas.

“We have had a couple of guests mention while they are checking in that the heat at home is unbearable,” sales and marketing director James Tattersall said.

“Snowbirds” typically head south to Florida and other balmier states in the winter and spring, creating a high season there when it’s frigid up north. But Crane’s Beach House now sees a growing opportunity in warmer months. It has already shifted its seasonal editorial calendar, Google ad strategy and newsletter messaging to capture more of the off-season demand, Balestriere said.

It’s part of a broader change that has been underway for years as tourist hot spots adapt to shifting demand tied to evolving seasonal weather.

While not every place is feeling an impact in the same way, or at all, “there is no question that we are seeing a growing preference for destinations with more comfortable summer temperatures alongside rising global temperatures,” said Jesse Neugarten, founder and CEO of Dollar Flight Club, a travel deal alert service.

From May to June, the platform had a 31% surge in flight bookings and interest from Northern cities like New York and Boston to destinations in Florida, he said, “where travelers are looking for relief from heat waves.”

Scorching weather at home is also pushing people toward cooler climes abroad. While hotel bookings in Italy — a longtime summer hot spot — are up a modest 3% since last year, “it’s Scandinavia that is having a moment,” researchers at the Virtuoso luxury travel network said in a recent report.

Bookings in the region have surged 25% since last year, with even steeper 49% and 47% increases in Iceland and Sweden, respectively. Even the Netherlands, where authorities have tried to reduce tourist volumes, is seeing 33% higher hotel demand this season, Virtuoso found. 

Some parts of the continent are getting so hot during the summer that the typical high season is getting longer, said Rebecca Masri, founder and CEO of Little Emperors, a private members luxury hotel club.

“With the weather in southern Europe staying warm, booking trends are shifting to September, October and even November,” she said, as some hotels and resorts that usually close at the end of the summer extend their operations. “These months are becoming the new peak season.”

Consumers will increasingly see those shifts reflected in pricing, said Chris Lafakis, a director at Moody’s Analytics.

“You won’t have to be rich to vacation, but it’s going to be more expensive to travel to the more favorable destinations,” he said. “Those with the means to do so will be able to, and those that don’t will unfortunately not have as many options to fall back on.” 

As airlines have added capacity, domestic and international airfares have fallen by double-digit percentages this July Fourth holiday week compared with last year’s, according to booking platform Hopper, despite record expected travel volumes. But while average hotel room rates in some cooler northern European countries have stabilized since last year’s surge, they’re climbing in popular areas — up 18% in Iceland and 47% in Norway, Virtuoso said. 

Weather-driven shifts in travel patterns will create economic winners and losers, Lafakis said. “Probably 20% to 30% of the overall damage to the economy from the heat is because of less travel tourism,” he said. As seasonal temperatures soar, would-be visitors “may go somewhere else or choose not to go at all.”

Some industry experts aren’t so worried.

During hot weather, “travelers will usually change their behavior rather than cancel a trip,” said Tiffany Townsend, a spokesperson for New York City Tourism and Conventions. “They might visit more museums and indoor attractions or do more shopping” while it’s scorching outside and schedule outdoor activities early or late in the day.

Heather Dickie, 69, a Texas-based marketing consultant, said her travel itinerary is still in flux, but she said she needs a break from the heat. “If I can get out of Dallas,” where temperatures have already hit triple digits, “Alaska is sounding good,” she said.

But she’s more likely to head about 650 miles “up the road a bit” toward Taos, New Mexico, for the relative reprieve of highs in the mid-80s. “I have friends in that area,” she said, “and am looking at late July or August for a nice, cool getaway.”

More travelers are booking ‘up.’ Are you?

(Our travel trends story first appeared on NBC News in a slightly different form)

Consumers who got a taste of higher-end amenities during the last couple of years’ travel boom aren’t too keen to go back to basic economy.

And the travel industry doesn’t want them to.

“If revenge travel was then, emboldened travel is now,” said Erika Richter, a spokesperson for the American Society of Travel Advisors. The group sees customers taking advantage of the upgraded offerings operators are dangling.

With travel volumes still trending well ahead of pre-pandemic highs, “premium leisure travel is definitely on the rise,” said Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, which analyzes the travel industry.

At the top end of the market, the most deep-pocketed consumers are still spending heavily on high-dollar getaways and exclusive experiences. Now, airlines, hotels, and cruises are prodding passengers of less lavish means to go premium, too — in some cases revising down what counts as “luxury.”

Upgrading from basic

Caleb Cash-Tobey and his husband have been springing for larger rooms and suites than they used to. Each year, the Fort Smith, Arkansas-based couple takes one major trip as well as smaller monthly ones that they’re increasingly comfortable enhancing with extra amenities, such as evening turndown service and in-room breakfast.

“We’ve learned that we should take the experience when it is offered because some experiences are no longer available in the post-Covid world that we may have really enjoyed,” Cash-Tobey. One example: a Champagne-augmented tour of the British crown jewels that a favorite London hotel discontinued.

Kristin Winkaffe, a travel adviser with Avenue Two Travel in Columbus, Ohio, said customers are becoming “more inclined to treat themselves to experiences that they may not have considered a few years ago. They’re now prioritizing the quality of their vacations over budget constraints.”

The travel industry is happy to oblige

Both international and domestic airlines are increasing their premium cabin capacities, a pre-pandemic trend that shows no sign of letting up. Major carriers have been adding extra legroom in premium economy and expanding some business and first-class cabins, looking to nudge more flyers out of their cheapest seats and into pricier ones.

Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein told investors in October that revenue from premium offerings jumped 17% from the prior year, “outperforming the main cabin by five points.” Its premium select tier for long-haul flights, situated between economy options and the upscale Delta One, was revamped in late 2022 and has performed “above expectations,” he said.

“The airlines have realized that if they price these products in the right way, they can coax enough people to trade up,” Harteveldt said. His firm found last year that 1 in 3 travelers either booked a premium option or considered one, down just slightly from 38% in 2022, “when we were still in the throes of revenge travel and when people still had more savings.”

Some consumers are shelling out on upgrades that are more about practicality than self-pampering.

“Since the pandemic, I now only book changeable airplane tickets and hotels,” said Cathy Raines of Washington, D.C. That typically adds about 15% to her bills, Raines said, but she thinks it’s worth it for the added flexibility.

Kristin Chambers, founder of the Boston-based luxury travel agency Travellustre, said many of her clients now ship their luggage ahead of arrival and book VIP services like airside pickups, expedited service at customs and immigration, or cars to hotels. “Travelers are increasingly willing to invest in aspects of their journey that will guarantee an elevated level of service,” she said.

Suitcase kids

Seattle resident Rebecca Ross and her husband have ruled out Airbnb-style accommodations without 24-hour staff. “Life is too short to be standing around with a roller bag and a double-parked car wondering how to get in. We’ve vowed that our lodging must have a front desk with a human,” she said. That sometimes means spending more but often just requires a little extra time to hunt down, she added.

Morning Consult report in September put it bluntly: “Forget first-class seats and penthouse suits — luxury travel is about customer service.” If that means redefining what counts as premium to include things like the ability to speak to a real support agent, the researchers found consumers may welcome it all the same.

First-class flights, fancy hotel stays, and fine dining hold less appeal now than simply “feeling relaxed,” “experiencing comfort” and great service, the report said, adding that brands can find opportunity by treating the latter as high end: “The experiences that comprise ‘new luxury’ don’t require the traveler to be affluent.”

The high end gets higher

Some amenities certainly do, though, and wealthy customers are scooping them up.

Many “ultra-high-net-worth individuals” ditched first-class seats on commercial flights for private jets during the pandemic, and the habit stuck, said Doug Gollan, founder of Private Jet Card Comparisons, a buyer’s guide to these services.

“New flyers racked up record-high private flight hours in 2021 and 2022, and 95% of these newcomers have continued to fly privately,” he said — at an average cost of about $40,000 for a two-hour trip.

Lodging operators have also seen strong demand from offerings aimed at higher-dollar guests. “Booking patterns continue to overwhelmingly favor premium suites, and some categories are booked months to years in advance,” said Gebhard Rainer, the CEO of Sandals Resorts International.

The company’s newest resort, Sandals St. Vincent and the Grenadines, won’t open until March, but its beachfront butler villas that start at $1,111 per person per night, and two-story overwater units starting at $1,570 per person per night, have already sold out dates well into 2025, Rainer said.

The Westin Poinsett Hotel in Greenville, South Carolina, put together a “Home Alone” themed holiday package with prices ranging from $599 to more than $1,000 a night — over-the-top rates for the local market during what’s usually a slow holiday season there. It sold out with 93 bookings and many guests asking about reservations for next year.

“I have been in the industry for 25 years between Washington, D.C., and Greenville, and by far this was the most successful package I have ever seen,” said John Geddes, the hotel’s sales and marketing director. “Guests were spending a minimum of four to five times the amount they would generally spend.”

Tour organizations and cruise lines report much the same.

“Travelers are willing to pay more for exclusive experiences,” said Terry Dale, CEO of the United States Tour Operators Association. As a result, organizers “are curating itineraries to include personalized services and experiences with more exclusivity, going beyond the standard offerings.”

Holland America, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Line, is seeing more guest bookings for premium spa services like its thermal suites and hydropool, said spokesperson Bill Zucker. “Our private cabanas are selling out regularly. And our new direct luggage service, where guests can have their luggage shipped directly to and from their home, is proving to be very popular,” he said.

Lindblad Expeditions, which operates National Geographic-branded cruises, replaced its Islander I luxury yacht with the more luxurious Islander II for Galapagos voyages in 2022, raising the average fare by 45%.

“Some nail-biting ensued,” said Lindblad Chief Commercial Officer Noah Brodsky, but the Islander II is already 78% booked for this year. That’s well ahead of historical trends, he said, “and an indication of the uptick in premiumization.”

Shop for Black Friday/Cyber Monday Travel Deals

(Courtesy Provincial Archives of Alberta, via Flickr Commons)

It’s that time of year again.

Thanksgiving, with all the food and travel that’s associated with it. And Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Buy Stuff ads galore.

Here at Stuck at The Airport, the shopping team is a bit overwhelmed with all the travel deals and alleged travel deals in our inbox. But we’ve pulled out some offers that look enticing and a few we’re going to try to nab ourselves.

Here are a few to get you started. And here’s to a safe Thanksgiving travel week. Let us know what you spot in the airports along your journey.

DEAL TO CHECK OUT

HOTELS

Red Roof is once again offering a week-long Black Friday flash sale, starting on Monday, November 20. 

Travelers who make a reservation at any Red Roof Inn®, Red Roof PLUS+, HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof, or The Red Collection property from November 20 through November 28, 2023, and stay between November 20, 2023, through February 29, 2024, will save 20% off their stay. Sale details on www.redroof.com now.

Aqua-Aston Hospitality, which manages 25+ hotels and resorts across the Hawaiian Islands is offering 20% off at Aqua-Aston Hospitality’s properties on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island. Sale dates: November 21 — 28, 2023. Stay dates: November 21, 2023 — December 20, 2024. Book online at aquaaston.com during the booking window, use code CYBERSALE

For Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will be offering a 30% off best available rate promotion valid for bookings made from Friday, November 24 at 12:01 a.m. EST through Tuesday, November 28th at 11:59 p.m. EST for stays through June 30th, 2024. The promo code will be: CYBER23. 

Heading to Portland, Oregon?  One our favorite hotels, The Nines, is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a $299 deal. Each Sunday from now through January 2024, the Nines will offer $299 bookings: $99 for the room and $200 Food and Beverage credit to be used at the hotel’s, on-site restaurants, Urban Farmer and Departure. (They’ll also add a $30  ‘destination fee,’ but it’s still a great deal). Book here.

Most of the YOTEL properties around the world are participating in a Black Friday sales that offers 40% off stays booked by December 3 for stays through September 2024. Book here.  YOTELS not participating: YOTEL San Francisco, YOTELIAR London Gatwick, YOTELAIR Istanbul Airport (airside), YOTELAIR Paris Charles de Gaulle, and YOTEL AIR Amsterdam Schiphol. Blackout dates apply.

CARS, CARS, CARS

As we head into one of the busiest travel seasons, Hertz, Thrifty and Dollar are promising discounts on all vehicles for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Details: Hertz (30%), Dollar (20%), Thrifty (15%).

AIRLINES

Air Tahiti Nui is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month and offering its first-ever Tiare Pass. 250 passes that cost $1525 each will be available during a 25-hour flash, November 25 from 9 a.m. PST to November 26 at 10 a.m. PST.

The $1,525 price includes a round-trip from the US to each destination the airline serves and is valid for travel between December 1, 2023, and December 1, 2024 (included: one checked bag, onboard meal, and all taxes and fees.) The airline has flights that depart from Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle (SEA) and flies Paris, Tahiti, Tokyo, and New Zealand.

NOTE: The Air Tahiti Nui sale is only bookable by calling the airline’s reservation team directly during the sale period. Find that phone # here.

LUGGAGE

ROAM is offering $100 off its fun, customizable hard-side luggage from now through November 27. Build your discounted ROAM luggage deal here.

We’ll keep sifting the emails for more travel deals for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

Cool places & events to add to your ‘go’ list

Kentucky’s new GLASS National Art Museum

The Stuck at the Airport art team is based in Seattle, which is home to world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, the Chihuly Garden and Glass attraction, the Refact Glass Festival, and a bubbling glass art community. Down the road, in Tacoma, WA, there’s an entire Museum of Glass.

But we’re putting the newly opened GLASS National Art Museum, in Danville, Kentucky on our ‘go’ list. The just-opened museum is built around the collection of Stephen Rolfe Powell, an artist known as a hot glass master of color who died in 2019. He was highly regarded in the international glass world and his glass sculptures are in the collections of major art museums. He was also a professor at Danville, Kentucky’s Centre College for more than 35 years, where he founded a glass program.

The Art Center of the Bluegrass, a multipurpose space in Danville, acquired Powell’s collection and is displaying it along with works by other prominent glass artists. 

Find the Glass National National Art Museum at 408 West Main Street, Danville, KY. Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10:30 am – 6:30 pm. Admission: free.

(Photos courtesy GLASS National Art Museum).

Circus dinner theater: Teatro Zinzanni at Lotte Hotel Seattle

(Elena Gatilova in Teatro ZinZanni Residency at Lotte Hotel Seattle. Photo by Nate Watters)

Love, Chaos & Dinner. And maybe an overnight stay.

If you live in or near Seattle or are looking for a reason to head that way this holiday season or sometime before the end of March 2024, the rollicking theatrical cirque experience that is Teatro Zinzanni is a must-do.

The sumptuous dinner show is wacky and, at times, a wee bit racy. And there’s a stellar cast that leans into some tried and true vaudeville traditions while offering a steady stream of impressive and often heart-stopping acrobatics and funny stuff performed on and above the stage and, sometimes, in the audience.

There’s a storyline to the evening, but with all the singing, the shtick, and the ‘how can they do that?! feats on the trapeze and elsewhere – that won’t matter.

This is Teatro Zinzanni’s 25 anniversary and over the years the company’s giant cabaret tent has been in residence in several locations in and around Seattle.

This season, Teatro Zinzanni is in residence in the Grand Ballroom of the Sanctuary at Lotte Hotel Seattle so there’s no room for the entire tent.

But the mirrored walls, the wooden booths, the in-the-round seating, and the elevated live orchestra Teatro Zinzanni fans have come to expect are all here. And it’s clear that the Sanctuary, formerly the oldest church in downtown Seattle, is a perfect venue thanks to lots of stained glass, a 58-foot-high domed ceiling, and plenty of history.

Sleepover after the show

Lotte Hotel Seattle is one of the newer, high-end hotels in Seattle and an overnight here is a great pairing with an evening at Teatro Zinzanni.

Designed by industrial French designer Phillipe Starck, the hotel has 189 rooms, a spa, plenty of meeting space, great views over the city, the waterfront, and Elliott Bay, plus a cocktail lounge and restaurant on the top floor with a very reasonably priced Happy Hour.

The guestrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, large mirrors, fun art, spacious bathrooms clad in travertine stone, and a cozy decor that takes inspiration from Pacific Northwest forests.

We spotted a lot of fun wood (real and referenced) throughout the hotel, from the front desk made out of a log from a 3,000-year-old Sequoia tree to the ‘wood’ carpeting in the hallways and in the rooms.

They’ve even got a discount package for anyone attending a Teatro Zinzanni show.

Travel tidbits from here and there

File under: Hotels we hope to visit

A bourbon-themed hotel? Yes.

File under: How we wish we could fly

We’re looking at the moon

Heading to Las Vegas? Visit this airport museum

Learn the real story behind Denver Airport’s Mustang