Navigating Rising Travel Costs: Tips to Maximize Your Vacation Budget

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel!

 As we are in summer travel season, it's clear that travel costs have increased. Today we'll discuss why costs are up and how you can get the best price for your upcoming vacations. Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts Ryan and Julie.

In this insightful episode, Ryan and Julie dive deep into the factors driving up travel costs across the board, from surging fuel prices to supply-and-demand imbalances and labor shortages within the tourism industry. They provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges travelers face in finding affordable options.

However, the real value lies in their practical tips and strategies to help you navigate these higher costs and maximize your vacation budget. Some of the key recommendations include:

• Booking early to lock in prices before they rise further due to demand
• Exploring flexible travel dates and considering off-peak times
• Being open to alternative, less popular destinations
• Investigating all-inclusive packages that may offer better value
• Staying vigilant for deals and promotions, or letting your travel advisor do the work

They also share insights on the advantages of working with a travel advisor, such as accessing exclusive promotions, applying discounts retroactively, and setting up convenient payment plans.

Whether you're planning a family vacation, a romantic getaway, or an adventure of a lifetime, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to stretch their travel budget without compromising on the quality of their experience.

Ryan and Julie's expertise, combined with their insider tips and practical advice, will equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate the rising travel costs and make the most of your hard-earned vacation time and money.

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Transcript

Ryan: 0:00

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. As we are in summer travel season, it's clear that travel costs have increased. Today we'll discuss why costs are up and how you can get the best price for your upcoming vacations. Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts Ryan and Julie. I'm your travel professor, teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation. And she's a Disney loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. Whether we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories. It's always all things travel. Julie, you've been on a couple vacations recently. You went with your family to Turks and Caicos. You and I were on a cruise with our friend Michelle. Did you notice any costs going up when it comes to travel?

Julie: 0:57

Definitely flights.

Ryan: 0:59

Yes,

Julie: 0:59

Flight prices have definitely increased and I've seen that a lot as I've been, quoting vacations for clients. Cost is up across the board.

Ryan: 1:10

Absolutely. Many people still look for those last minute deals, whether it be flights or cruises or hotels. And gosh, darn it. They just don't have to offer those anymore. Do they?

Julie: 1:21

They don't, and we'll get into some of the reasons why they don't have to offer that anymore. But I, would say more times than not when I am working with a client that hasn't traveled recently as in post pandemic. They are very surprised at the cost of travel. It is not what it was.

Ryan: 1:40

Yeah, especially for folks who haven't traveled in a while, they kind of have an assumption in their head or a number in their head. Sometimes that number has no basis in anything other than that's what they think they should pay, which is always a scary conversation to have you know,, it's an interesting conversation, isn't it?

Julie: 1:59

Yeah, like those 500 cruises, they're not really a thing anymore, or not something that I would tend to recommend. and a lot of times people, the flights are the biggest issue, I think. A lot of times people will have a budget for their all inclusive vacation and will say, that budget will get you flights. The flights are so high and it used to be Southwest you could find some great deals and now I'm kind of seeing the opposite with Southwest where they're not even releasing their lower priced flights anymore to certain destinations. It's very unpredictable. But that's why we are here to talk about what could be driving some of these factors. We want to explain to to our listeners and our clients, what is going on that could be contributing to these price increases. Cause a lot of these things you may not be thinking about. And they're big parts of the puzzle.

Ryan: 2:52

Yeah, and more importantly than what are some ways you can think about planning for your vacation to counteract some of the issues that are going on.

Julie: 3:00

Absolutely. Yep.

Ryan: 3:02

Before we start talking about that, if you did not catch last week's show and you are planning a Walt Disney World trip, you are going to want to listen in because Julie and I discuss a lot of different options for what Disney calls Enchanting Extras. To plus up that vacation to add even more magic. So, Julie, as we talk about this idea of increased cost to travel, there's some different things going on. What's the first reason?

Julie: 3:32

Fuel costs. So this is a major factor that is driving up vacation costs. There's been a surge in fuel prices and as that happens, airlines and all other modes of transportation.

Ryan: 3:46

so even talking about road trips you've got issues with fuel costs, obviously. Absolutely.

Julie: 3:51

Yeah. That additional expense has to be passed on to somebody. So it gets passed on to the traveler.

Ryan: 3:58

The second issue has to do with supply and demand. And obviously we are Pretty well past issues with travel and the pandemic. However, supply of different things like flights, accommodations, travel services, are still trying to catch up from that initial demand after people started traveling again. And so what we have is, the classic economy lesson, right? You have more people wanting and less options for them. So that adds to higher prices.

Julie: 4:32

Again, going back to flights is the biggest thing. And this is why I always tell people, especially with Southwest, which is one of those airlines that says on this date, we will release our next flight schedule to purchase your tickets as soon as you can. Because it used to be that if I wanted to fly from BWI to the Orlando airport to go to Disney. I could pick 15 different non stop flights on a Saturday, and now it's like 8,

Ryan: 5:04

Yeah. And I would say from Indianapolis, I used to be able to choose six or seven and now I can choose three

Julie: 5:10

Yeah, which it's still great to have a couple of options, but there's a, the difference is noticeable.

Ryan: 5:18

Yes.

Julie: 5:20

So one other thing to think about that I think that a lot of people forget is labor shortages. So post pandemic, we are still in a period where there's a lot of labor shortages for a lot of different reasons. And we won't get into all of those reasons, but the tourism

Ryan: 5:40

shortage everywhere, right? And travel is not immune to that.

Julie: 5:43

Yeah, travel is definitely not immune to that. The tourism industry has faced a huge labor shortage worldwide. Everywhere from hotels to restaurants to the tourist attractions. So as a result of that, the businesses are having to offer higher wages to attract more employees. And that ultimately impacts the cost of that service. So like on a previous episode, we were talking about other things to do at Walt Disney World and some of those things, everything we talked about on that episode has returned, but there are a number of things that we couldn't mention because they haven't returned because the staffing just is not there.

Ryan: 6:21

Well, the good thing is, Julie, we have some very real tips, for folks for how they can maximize their vacation dower in light of these. But first, I want to talk about where in the world is all things travel.

Julie: 6:35

All right.

Ryan: 6:36

A new location that popped up as I was looking at the stats is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I know in your neck of the woods you're probably familiar with Philly,

Julie: 6:45

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I was just there last night on my plane.

Ryan: 6:49

Obviously, there's lots of places we can meet our listener Independence Hall the Museum of Art, the Liberty Bell, Independence National Park, the Rocky statue, all that stuff. I also love the redding terminal market so many places to see in philadelphia If you have not been to philadelphia, you are missing a huge slice of american history hey listener We are excited that you are listening all the way from philadelphia reach out to julia or I And you can do that either via email or on facebook because I would love to send A nice little thank you gift for being featured on the show Julie, we have some tips, and this first one, boy, this is a tip we often give, and it counteracts a lot of the issues that we just discussed. Book early, plan your vacations well in advance. I have folks that I'm working on 2025. I'm even starting to work on 2026. Now that may be too far ahead for some people, but we're in the middle of summer here. If you don't have your fall break plans or your holiday plans, if you tend to travel over that, you need to get on those things because that availability is lower. Those options are lower. Lock that price in before it starts to go up based on supply and demand, right?

Julie: 8:14

Yeah, and again, I hate to keep bringing it back to the flights, but I've just had so many scenarios recently where people will say or, or we've had other advisors have a scenario as well where their clients are waiting to purchase their flights thinking that the prices are going to drop and that's just not going to

Ryan: 8:32

Yeah, yeah,

Julie: 8:34

I always just say, you know, book as early as you can so that you can book what you want to book, have the experience that you want to have.

Ryan: 8:40

And oftentimes when you book if promotions come up working with us We're able to apply that new pricing to what you've already booked don't wait for what might come later

Julie: 8:53

And you can also, set up a payment plan with us to

Ryan: 8:56

that

Julie: 8:57

slowly pay off that trip. So the thousands of dollars that your trip might cost, maybe you're only paying$50 a month, a hundred dollars a month, whatever it is. I have plenty of clients that do this, we have it set that the first or the 15th or every Friday, something like that, we're putting payments towards their trip. The Beaches, Turks, and Caicos trip I just returned from, we planned two years in advance in order to secure the room that we want because I knew that the availability was really tight.

Ryan: 9:28

And the advantage to that is. All you put down with the deposit. So people are like, well, what if plans change? You have a refundable deposit that you get back and if you can't go then you're not out anything But you have that peace of mind that you've booked what you want and and you're all set there. What's the second one julie?

Julie: 9:49

Try to have some flexible travel dates. So, If you can make it happen, sometimes traveling on like a Sunday to a Friday or, flying during the week, you're gonna get some better pricing than if you are going to have to fly and travel over the weekend.

Ryan: 10:10

And you've talked about flights on this show You maybe if you have some flexibility, start with your flights, find the best price for when you want to go and then go from there versus the other way around.

Julie: 10:23

Yeah, I've done that a lot recently because, again, flights are making such a big impact on the price.

Ryan: 10:30

Along with having flexibility with your dates, have flexibility with your destinations. So maybe explore less popular or off peak destinations. Maybe this is a time where you don't go to the most popular place, but you choose kind of that B level destination. Destination that you've always heard about thought about maybe now's the time you check that out places with lower demand there's going to be more affordable prices and accommodations to to support that

Julie: 10:59

and that doesn't mean that you're going to have a B level trip,

Ryan: 11:02

No, and I I know and I hesitated when I said b level maybe it's the place you've talked about but haven't really looked into maybe now's the time to get serious about it

Julie: 11:13

This also goes with just being open to destinations. So, obviously, we struggle sometimes when a client comes to us and says, We want to go somewhere in the Caribbean, but they have no idea where. Well, the budgeting portion of that is one of the pieces that helps narrow it down by saying, This island is going to be more expensive than this island. Being open to other destinations can certainly help with your budget. I would also urge clients to consider packages that are all inclusive and there are some better all inclusive packages versus others, as in some include more. Some may even include your flights or a flight deal. So be open to having that all inclusive vacation package as it may provide a better value for your money at the end of the day.

Ryan: 12:01

And investigate what that all inclusive means, don't just look at the sticker price and say, no, I can't afford that. Look at the sticker price and say what does that include? Because that may include everything and so therefore is a lower cost and Really helps you maximize that dollar

Julie: 12:20

Yeah. And what comes to mind when we talk about that is Brian talked about his cruises recently and how one of the cruise lines had a higher price tag, but it included so much more than what some of the other river cruise lines included, which I think is a huge thing to look at when you're planning your trip, You might not like that number up front, but Ryan came off of his cruise with what, like a charge of

Ryan: 12:48

Yeah, I, I, yeah, I had a sweatshirt and I had the gratuity that I was going to pay anyway for the crew. So, literally, it was for the price of a sweatshirt, that was my total cost when I got off

Julie: 13:00

You've got the price of going into the trip and also the price of coming out of the trip to consider.

Ryan: 13:07

So the last tip is keep an eye on deals and promotions. This kind of seems like a no brainer But i'm gonna take a twist on it a little bit You don't have to keep an eye on it necessarily But if you're working with a travel advisor like julie or myself, let us keep an eye on it. So Let us know, hey, we're really interested in going to Hawaii next year. Hey, we're really interested in this type of vacation coming up because as things come across our email inbox, as we're seeing things in our trainings, we have you in mind. And in fact, that's one of the things that we learn at our agency training every year is as we talk to these different vendors, have people in mind that have either talked to you ahead of time. Or that you think it might be right for and I will tell you the people that I already know are interested in x y and z I can find them some really interesting options as i'm looking at different deals and promotions

Julie: 14:06

On the flip side of that, sometimes if you have already booked your trip and the promotion comes out, we can apply it depending on the type of vacation. Specifically for Disney, we can do that very easily. So again, you don't have to keep an eye on it. We do. Every time Disney releases a promotion, all of my clients are texting me, did you see this? Did you see this? And I'm like, I did. Yes, I did. I'm checking it. Don't worry.

Ryan: 14:31

absolutely. Those are some of my favorite emails. Hey, I just saved you X amount of money. You don't have to do anything. It's already been applied, right?

Julie: 14:38

Yep. Yep.

Ryan: 14:39

So the bottom line with all this folks is it's very important to have patience and flexibility when thinking of travel. Prices fluctuate, but with careful planning and research, you can enjoy unforgettable vacations without breaking the bank.

Julie: 14:57

You want to plan a trip to an amazing destination but don't know how to get started? As your travel advisors, we work with you to create a customized itinerary for your vacation and take the stress of planning away so you can focus on the fun and creating memories. You can reach me at julie at creatingmagicvacations. com.

Ryan: 15:15

You can reach me at Ryan at CreatingMagicVacations. com We look forward to talking to you next week on All Things Travel when Julie and I have a discussion that's an ultimate vacation head to head cruise versus all inclusive resort.