In Sagging Economy, Are Vacations Taking A Hit?

FARAI CHIDEYA, host:

I'm Farai Chideya and this is News & Notes. Staycation. It's one of those newfangled words that's caught on fast. A vacation is when you vacate. You take off, you stay in a hotel, or camp out, or see the sights. A staycation is - well, you got it. With soaring gas prices and plane tickets, this was supposed to be the summer of staying at home. But was that prediction off the mark? If you're thinking about traveling soon or for the winter holidays, what should you keep in mind? With us to talk about both of those issues we've got Madeline Nunn, senior travel agent with the Richmond, Virginia, branch of the American Automobile Association, or Triple-A. Hi, Madeline.

Ms. MADELINE NUNN (Senior Travel Agent, AAA): How are you?

CHIDEYA: I'm great. So, back in May, a Rand McNally survey found that two-thirds of Americans planning road trips this summer said they would shorten their trips or cancel them all together. Summer is wrapping up, so what actually panned out?

Ms. NUNN: Well, actually, the staycation thing is sort of a myth, so to speak, because Americans are traveling. They're traveling because they are hard-working and they need the rest and the revitalization. They need this vacation. So, what we're finding is that they're not staying home, per se. Some are just staying a little closer to home. And sometimes they're limiting the length of time that they may take for this vacation.

CHIDEYA: Well, give me an example, since you deal with people who are trying to plan their trips. Give me an example of someone you talked to who changed their behavior at least a little bit.

Ms. NUNN: All right. One thing they do, they may decide to - they may decide to, instead of using a car or air travel, they may decide to use Amtrak. We've seen a very large increase in train travel. They may decide to travel off-peak times versus peak times, because the price will be slightly less. They may decide to stay in a two- or a three-diamond resort rather than staying in a four- or five-diamond resort, which can bring the price down also. So, those are some of the things they're doing. You know, limiting the time. Maybe if they had planned seven nights, they may just take five nights. But they're going to take that vacation nevertheless.

CHIDEYA: Traveling can be expensive for families that have kids, because obviously it can be a whole bunch of people that you need to take care of, not just one or two. So, did anything change for families in particular?

Ms. NUNN: Well, some families have decided to drive. And what we have found out is that driving approximately is only going to cost them maybe 20 dollars more, per say, to drive on a vacation. This year, (unintelligible) last year, unless you're driving across country, that is. So, it's only about 20 dollars more, basically. And some people have decided instead of putting all the family on a plane, they may drive to a vacation. They may take a spot that may be a little closer to home also. And that will decrease the cost of the trip.

CHIDEYA: Of course, where you go can make a big difference in what you spend. If you go to New York City on vacation, you're going to spend one amount of money. If you go camping, you might spend a very different amount of money. Do you see people making choices on that level as well?

Ms. NUNN: Definitely. Right now, because New York City is still a very high-ticket item, and it's a high-ticket item because of the influx of Europeans, basically, with the dollar - with their euro being so high in relationship to the Dollar. So, some of our very noted places - spots to go, like Washington, D.C., and New York City, that the cost of the hotels have not decreased. But if you're talking somewhere, like places that are local, Nashville, Tennessee, perhaps, Myrtle Beach, perhaps, some of those places, you'll see people traveling to and the price has not increased as much, or it's sometimes because they're not getting the influx of travelers, their price may be a tad lower than what, you know, the big cities are.

CHIDEYA: So, let's talk a little bit about the short term and the long term. The short term is that we're still in summer, and thank goodness for that. Enjoying ourselves, wrapping it up. If people want to go and get a great last-minute vacation, what are some things they should think about?

Ms. NUNN: Well, they need to be flexible, number one, because you may have your mind and heart set on something, and what we found is a lot of cruises right now, they're not such a bargain, because kind of the last-minute wrap-up, the last hurrah. So, you have to be flexible in whatever you're going to do, because what you may want to do may not be available. So, if you can be flexible, if it's seven nights you want, and maybe only the four-night is available, then that's what you may have to do. If you want to maybe go the Caribbean, and that may not be possible, maybe Myrtle Beach, ,Nags Head, somewhere like that may be something.

On the West Coast, they have places that will be close, too, like San Diego, instead of taking that long trip that you might want to go on. Maybe going on down to San Diego Zoo or something like that. They can do that, and that's within their range. And once again, resorts that they stay at, they definitely play a large part in the cost of the trip. So, you may want to think about, you know, not staying at that two- or three-diamond property, and staying - I mean, I'm sorry, the four- or five-diamond property, and staying at the two- or three-diamond property.

CHIDEYA: What about winter travel? Some people are already planning and buying tickets for the Christmas and winter holidays. Other people are like, what do you mean? It's, you know, it's the middle of summer. What do you think?

MS. NUNN: Yes. Planning in advance is definitely a plus. The number one reason is that you're going to get what you want. A lot of people feel that they can just lay back, and wait and get that bargain. Well, that bargain for holiday travel, per se, is really a myth. And so you need to plan early, plan as early as you possibly can. You need to be flexible, flexible with your dates, flexible with your destination even.

Look for alternative destinations, because if where you want to go is not available, I'll take a place like the Atlantis, down in the Bahamas. It fills up very quickly, and even though it's a very high-priced resort, it still fills up very quickly. So, you need to have an alternative there for you, and that's one thing you need to do. Alternatives and be flexible. Planning ahead is a plus to you. Right now, you know, people may think next - this is in advance. It's not in advance. We do have AAA members who have planned as far back as January of this year for their holiday travel.

CHIDEYA: Wow. Just quickly, we've been hearing about airlines cutting back on capacity. Do you think some travel routes will just fill up, period?

MS. NUNN: I'm hoping that they won't fill up, period. But you do need to be aware that they have cut back tremendously. And one thing we're telling people - like I said, number one, to book early. Number two, to be patient, and number two - number three, to give yourself a lot of time. There's so many changes that this industry has seen within the last seven, eight months really. And due to the fact that airlines are consolidating with each other, co-chairing, there's less planes out there than there used to be. So, you need to make those plans as early as you can, and once again, I say flexibility is the key right now. Make your plans early. Call your travel agent, of course. Make your plans early.

CHIDEYA: All right. Well, Madeline, really appreciate the help. Thank you.

Ms. NUNN: It's been my pleasure, thank you.

CHIDEYA: That was Madeline Nunn, senior travel agent with the American Automobile Association in Richmond, Virginia. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.