Does cost increase if traveling solo?
- Thread starter Puffy2
- Start date
Rapunzellover
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
Sadly, as sayhello noted, this is a virtually universal practice for travel companies. I personally feel it's unnecessary punishment for solo travelers, but.... they have their reasons.
BadPinkTink
Republic of Ireland is not part of UK
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2015
I travel solo alot, not just Disney but all over Europe and on my USA vacations. I don't use travel companies and book all my hotels, transportation etc myself. As PP have said most travel companies add on a single supplement , which in my view puts me off using them. If you like the look of the New York Trip, why not do it DIY.
For flights I use a comparison website called SKYSCANNER
There are lots of online hotel broker websites. These are websites who block book hotel rooms and then sell them cheap. I have used Expedia, RoomX and Opodo but Im sure there are alot more. The rooms are cheaper than booking direct with hotels BUT you usually pay in advance and there is no cancellation refund
Other than the broker websites, I also just go to Google maps of a city I want to visit, zoom in on an area, for example Mid Town Manhattan and see what hotels show up. You can then go to the hotel website and check out their rates and availability.
For things to do and see, most cites have very good tourist information websites which I use as a starting point. One thing I do in every city I visit is take a hop on hop off bus tour, so if I'm researching a city, I will find the company that operates in that city. By checking out the hop on hop off bus routes you also find most of the tourist must do things, like museums, places of interest, local history etc.
I am a Hard Rock cafe fan so, again if I am researching a city I will see if they have a Hard Rock Cafe and where it is.
It actually very easy to do a DIY vacation and the best thing is is usually works out cheaper than booking through a company
For flights I use a comparison website called SKYSCANNER
There are lots of online hotel broker websites. These are websites who block book hotel rooms and then sell them cheap. I have used Expedia, RoomX and Opodo but Im sure there are alot more. The rooms are cheaper than booking direct with hotels BUT you usually pay in advance and there is no cancellation refund
Other than the broker websites, I also just go to Google maps of a city I want to visit, zoom in on an area, for example Mid Town Manhattan and see what hotels show up. You can then go to the hotel website and check out their rates and availability.
For things to do and see, most cites have very good tourist information websites which I use as a starting point. One thing I do in every city I visit is take a hop on hop off bus tour, so if I'm researching a city, I will find the company that operates in that city. By checking out the hop on hop off bus routes you also find most of the tourist must do things, like museums, places of interest, local history etc.
I am a Hard Rock cafe fan so, again if I am researching a city I will see if they have a Hard Rock Cafe and where it is.
It actually very easy to do a DIY vacation and the best thing is is usually works out cheaper than booking through a company
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
But, technically, you are still paying a single supplement. All the hotel rooms you book cost you twice as much as it would cost for 2 people to split the price. Yes, you can do it cheaper, but it's totally not the same experience (I'd love to know how you'd book some of the exclusive backstage experiences included in the NY ABD) and the hotels are not giving you any sort of break for traveling as a solo.
Sayhello
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sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
If you think 40% is bad, take a look at cruising. Most cruiselines these days charge you almost 100% more than the per person price (they don't make you pay the port charges twice, but everything else is the exact same charge as if 2 people were in the cabin). Even though you don't eat 2 people's worth of food (normally!) or take up 2 seats at the shows, etc.
Sayhello
BadPinkTink
Republic of Ireland is not part of UK
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2015
not necessarily, when I check availability on hotel websites I sometimes check for 2 people and for 1 person. Most times the price for 1 person is cheaper.
I guess it depends on whether you are someone who prefers someone else to organise things for you and are willing to pay for that convenience. By doing things DIY you don't pay commission to the middle man.
I guess I am a very independent person and like to follow my own schedule. I have done a travel company holidays in the past, I did a 12 day 7 country bus tour around Europe and I booked my last DLP trip through a travel agent. While I did enjoy the vacation with the travel company, I found it very restrictive and did not like having time limits in places or having to go here instead of there. For the DPL vacation, I used a travel agent who booked our flights, transportation, hotel, park tickets and ADR. This was because I was travelling with my mum and she likes booking with a travel agent instead of DIY.
I agree its not the same experience, its a different experience.
minnie4ever
I work to travel...where to next??
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2014
Most of the cruise ships charge 100%. Some of have single rooms now (which look pretty tiny)that are for singles but not sure how they price out.
ABD, as sayhello says, charge 40% more. I HATE paying that single supplement but I am willing to bite the bullet to travel. I did read somewhere that TAUCK
has a few tours that do not charge a single supplement. I think I will check into that. In the meantime, I will stay at the POP to save $$$ instead of the Poly so I can travel the world before retirement.
ABD, as sayhello says, charge 40% more. I HATE paying that single supplement but I am willing to bite the bullet to travel. I did read somewhere that TAUCK
has a few tours that do not charge a single supplement. I think I will check into that. In the meantime, I will stay at the POP to save $$$ instead of the Poly so I can travel the world before retirement.
mathgeek
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2003
That's what my DVC is for. That way I can stay at the Poly for the price of Pop and still travel the world before retirement.
You shouldn't feel penalized because you're traveling solo, but as I was thinking about this last night (insomnia!), there are other operating costs. Staffing doesn't change regardless of one or two people in the room (steward, maintenance, crew), their budgte for food really isn't going to be solely dependent on exactly how many people are booked, utilities will cost about the same. So unless any given line cruises with many solos routinely, I can see why'd they'd want to keep their operating budget closer to where they predicted it should be. Now, tours, that seems a different beast. Other than the cost of the room, those other costs shouldn't apply to the tour operator.
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