The travel industry operates according to the Noah`s Ark Rule of Tourism: Customers must travel by twos.
Cruise lines and hotel prices are generally ”per person double occupancy.” That means you get that price only if you happen to be part of a twosome.
If you`re traveling alone you have to pay steep ”single supplements,”
which are often nearly if not the same price as for two people.
On cruises, single passengers generally pay at least 150 percent of the per-person double occupancy rate. If the cruise is $1,000 per person double occupancy, a single pays $1,500. On prime itineraries the single pays 200 percent-$2,000.
Singles are penalized so much on cruises and tour packages that many solo travelers can`t afford to go. Here are a few examples of how singles are paying more for travel and enjoying it less.
– A seven-night Caribbean cruise on Cunard`s Countess starts at $1,095 per person double occupancy. If you go alone you pay 200 percent-$2,190.
– Clipper Cruise Line`s Virgin Islands cruise on the Nantucket is $1,600 per person double occupancy. If you`re traveling alone, it`s $2,700. The
”category 2” rate for a more expensive cabin adds $300 to the price for singles.
– Grand Hyatt New York charges singles $195. If you`re traveling with a friend it`s $112.50 each.
– Singles pay an exorbitant sum even at small hotels. At the 139-room King George Hotel in San Francisco, single rooms are $89. Double rooms are $99. That rate (double or single) does not include the continental breakfast or afternoon tea the hotel is known for, so a single traveler probably questions why he pays almost $40 more. He, after all, uses less hot water and fewer towels.
”It gets to be very clear that the travel industry has been built for people traveling in twos. If single travelers want privacy they`re obviously going to pay a very stiff price for it,” says Ed Perkins, editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter. ”It`s certainly unfortunate that more hotels and cruise lines don`t have affordable accommodations for singles.”
Travel agents are caught in the middle having to explain to single clients that they will have to pay much more than what they see in
advertisements, says David Love, spokesman for the American Society of Travel Agents. ”A lot of times it comes down to two can travel as cheaply or almost as cheaply as one. That`s just the way the industry works.”
In spite of increasing numbers of single travelers, most experts say the travel industry will continue, at least in the near future, to operate for couples.
”The industry is very much a mind-set of `We`ll give them what we want to give them, not what they want.` It`s a convenience matter,” Perkins says. ”They can build all rooms or cabins the same way in a given price class, so they will never have to turn away a couple because they only have single accommodations.”
The industry will respond eventually, he says. ”There is a tremendous opportunity for hotels and cruise lines to cash in on a growing singles market, but I don`t see any signs of them doing it yet.”
Love is slightly more optimistic. ”The industry is becoming aware of the singles market, but everything moves slowly. They (the hotels, tour companies and cruise lines) can`t give a half-price, but they are seeing an increasing amount of young people staying single, and the situation for singles will definitely change. There`s always power in numbers.”
Diane Samuelsen, spokeswoman for Cruise Lines International Association, an organization with 35 member cruise lines, explains the situation simply: A cabin that accommodates two people is priced for two people. ”A single person staying in a room for two must pay for two, or at least a fare that`s close,” she says.
Potential passengers can get around the supplements, she says, by asking cruise lines to match them with another single, or by choosing a ship that has single cabins.
The problem with single cabins is that they often cost nearly as much or as much as a double.
American Hawaii Cruises, for example, has single cabins, but they are
”Class C category,” and are $2,095. The least expensive per person double occupancy rate cabins is $1,125. And if they had just paid the single supplement, the fare would be $1,800 (160 percent of the per person double occupancy rate.)
As for asking the ship to match them with other singles, most travelers don`t want to do it.
”Most of our clients don`t want to share. You don`t know who you`re getting. I have had some very bad experiences and I refuse to do it now,”
says Jackie Jordan, chairman of ASTA Southern Regional/ASTA`s Cruisefest (an educational program for ASTA`s member travel agents.)
Meanwhile, many single clients who used to cruise with their spouses now don`t go on cruises because the cost is prohibitive. ”I wish I knew the answers,” Jordan says. ”It`s a shame because I have many good clients who have lost husbands. For them to pay for two people is not logical, and it upsets them greatly.”
Love and Jordan offer a few suggestions for single travelers:
– Seek out ships with single cabins, then try to get discounts. Jordan suggests Cunard`s Sagafjord and Holland America Line`s Rotterdam. ”They have single cabins that are fairly priced. Book early,” she says.
– Set up an appointment with a travel agent, and tell him or her that you are single and want to travel as economically as possible. ”If they don`t seem very knowledgeable, look for another travel agent,” Love says.
– Be assertive. ”Stick to your guns and don`t waver on your budget,”
Love says. ”Stay firm on what you`ll pay and say you`ll shop around.”
– If you do take a chance on sharing a cabin, make sure the rate is guaranteed if the cruise line doesn`t find a match.
– Singles organizations that also find roommates are the Travel Companion Exchange, (516-454-0880), and Singleworld (800-223-6490). These organizations arrange roommates for tours and cruises.
– Look for special interest tours arranged by art and science museums, clubs or local travel agents. The group rate may cut the cost for singles.
