12/17/2022

How to Prepare for Travel Chaos Over the Holidays

The surge comes as travel and tourism companies are paying more for labor

After two years of stop-and-start COVID-19 restrictions, Americans are ready to re-embrace holiday travel this year. If you're hitting the road, expect company—lots of it. According to a recent survey from travel booking app Hopper, almost 60 percent of people plan to travel over Thanksgiving, the winter holidays or both.

"We have a lot of demand and fewer seats to book," said Hayley Berg, Hopper's lead economist.

The surge comes as travel and tourism companies are paying more for labor and other major costs like jet fuel—and passing those price hikes along to customers. Airfares have climbed by nearly 43 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to the October Consumer Price Index. Hotel rates were up by nearly 6.5 percent for the year, and experts predict this will rise further around the holidays. Hopper found that Thanksgiving hotel rates are an average of 13 percent higher than last year, while Christmas rates are up by 32 percent.

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.