Ever since the Ark cruise, the travel world has been geared to traveling in pairs. Those who don`t are subject to the dreaded singles supplement, which means they pay 50 to 100 percent more for a single room than a person who shares a double.
It`s not easy. A few companies organize trips for singles or women only and several newsletters offer guidance on how to avoid single-supplement pitfalls, but what it really takes is determination and willingness to negotiate, especially if you don`t want to share a room with another single. If you`re willing to be matched with a stranger, of course, it`s easier.
If you`re driving alone and staying at suburban and rural motels/hotels along the way, without reservations, you`ll find most rates are per room, not per person. In most motels, two or even four people can share the room you occupy alone at the same price. In some, singles get a small break, $5 or $10 less than the double-room price. About all you can do in this situation is look for every possible discount, such as those offered to members of AAA or other motor clubs; discounts for retirees; specials offered by motel and hotel chains to fill rooms in slow periods such as weekends and low seasons.
If you plan to make reservations to vacation in a hotel, though, here`s some advice from Jane Doerfer, who publishes a newsletter called Going Solo
(she says she has never paid full rate at a hotel): Price-shaving sometimes involves something she says Americans hate to do-namely, negotiate. She shops the 800 reservation numbers. But sometimes she bypasses them to talk directly to hotels, bypasses desk clerks to talk with reservation managers, keeps her ears open to see what other guests are paying, and is aware of nights when the hotel is likely to have vacancies.
”Every hotel has rooms it wants to get rid of,” she says.
Doerfer, who is married but travels alone extensively, does on-site investigative reporting for her newsletter. She`s not primarily looking for bargains, but for the most appropriate and enjoyable places for singles.
The newsletter is published six times a year for an annual subscription price of $29. It is written by professional travel writers and does not offer a matchup service for singles. To subscribe or to get a sample copy, write to Going Solo, Box 1035, Cambridge, Mass. 02238.
Several services handle discounted hotel reservations, as well. Two of them are Quikbook, 800-221-3531, which claims to make bookings at 40 percent off regular rates in a selection of big cities; and Express Hotel
Reservations, 800-356-1123, for reservations in New York and Los Angeles.
Another organization for single travelers is the Miami-based Women`s Travel Club, which founder Phyllis Stoller calls ”a service club for women who travel alone.” It offers trips, meetings, a newsletter and a travel library on subjects ranging from discount travel and shopping to flea markets, restaurants and hotel reservations.
The club, bonded and registered with the state, has a $35 membership fee, answers simple questions by phone and charges $5 a page to answer more complicated travel queries. For more information, contact Women`s Travel Club, 8180 Erwin Rd., Miami, Fla. 33143; 305-667-6229.
A third singles organization is Partners in Travel, whose newsletter of the same name includes cost-cutting tips, an extensive listing of singles seeking travel companions and opportunities for vacation home exchanges. Founder Miriam Tobolowsky says membership rates vary depending on whether the member wants to be listed in the newsletters. For more information, write to Partners in Travel, Box 491145, Los Angeles, Calif. 90049.
Of the three singles organizations, Traveling Solo is the most sophisticated, filling its newsletter with dining/lodging/destination tips for veteran travelers; Women`s Travel Club is good for those interested in taking all-women group trips, going to area meetings and getting answers to their travel questions; Partners in Travel is valuable to women looking for travel companions and home exchanges.
Singleworld, a tour operator at 444 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022, caters to singles with trips and cruises, and claims that participants will be in appropriate age groups.
A single room on a cruise ship can cost 50 to 75 percent more than half a double room. But if you are willing to share a room with a stranger, most cruise lines offer ”single shares” wherein a solo traveler pays one half of the double-room rate and, if the cruise line fails to find a roommate, gets the double room at no additional cost. Many tour companies also are willing to try to match up singles to share rooms.
For more information on Club Med, write to 40 W. 57th St., New York, N.Y. 10019; 800-223-6490.
