Hayley Berg, Lead Economist at Hopper breaks down her best tips for navigating holiday travel and how to score the hottest deals on Dec. 3 - Travel Deal Tuesday
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00:00As the holiday season approaches millions of Americans are preparing to hit the skies for Thanksgiving 2024 last year over 31 million Americans flew for the holiday with a 4.8% increase compared to what was scheduled at this time last year.
00:14So for the holiday, airports and travelers alike are really bracing for all the busyness.
00:19Haley Berg, lead economist at Hopper, joins me now to break down the key trends and tips for navigating Thanksgiving travel this year, including how to score the best deals during the post Thanksgiving travel deal Tuesday.
00:31Great to have you on Cheddar this morning, Haley.
00:34Great to be with you.
00:35Excited to talk holidays.
00:36Yeah, a lot of people are flying out.
00:38So what are the busiest days for travel during the Thanksgiving period?
00:41And how can travelers best prepare for the busiest travel days?
00:45We're expecting the next couple of days leading into Thanksgiving to be incredibly busy.
00:50Anywhere from 3.5 to 3.6 million seats will be departing from U.S.
00:55airports. But the biggest day for Thanksgiving travel is this coming Sunday.
01:00December 1st will be the biggest single day of travel this year, with as many as 3.7 million seats departing from airports.
01:09Travelers should expect longer lines, maybe some of those snowball effect delays on the tarmac as airports are busier than ever.
01:17So it's probably best to maybe leave a day later after Sunday or maybe come back the following Thursday if that's the case.
01:24If you have any flexibility, skipping that Sunday after Thanksgiving return is your best way to save on headaches and save money.
01:32You typically pay a significant premium to fly back on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, as much as $175 per ticket.
01:40So come back Monday morning, take the 6 a.m.
01:43flight if you have to get back for school or work, but skip that Sunday return.
01:47That's a better deal. So what domestic and international destinations are seeing the most traffic this year?
01:51And why do you think these cities are so popular during the holidays?
01:56You know, we're seeing a lot of demand for domestic cities this Thanksgiving season, which is what we typically see at this time of year.
02:03Folks are headed home for the holidays around Thanksgiving time.
02:07Think Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, some of the top destinations domestically.
02:12Internationally, we see a lot of demand for warm weather vacation.
02:16So think about a four or five day trip over the Thanksgiving long weekend to Cancun, Puerto Rico, Mexico City.
02:24Those are some of the top destinations.
02:28All right, so about the delays, so how can people avoid delays in those cities you just mentioned internationally as well as domestically?
02:37The biggest thing you can do is plan ahead for potential disruption.
02:41Airlines are in a great position headed into this holiday season.
02:45We've seen huge improvements in capacity planning and disruption management.
02:50The one thing that no one can control is bad weather.
02:54If you are flying this holiday season, make sure you get to the airport a little bit early if possible.
03:00Download your airlines app and sign up for proactive notifications.
03:04More often than not, you might get a text message or notification from the app of anything from a gate change to an unexpected delay.
03:13You'll get that information right to your hand on your smartphone and it will give you the opportunity to look at options.
03:19If you need to change your flight, often you can do that in the airlines app.
03:24Skip the long line at customer service.
03:26So the biggest thing this season is expect that there might be some delays, maybe some cancellations if we see any bad weather.
03:34But more than anything, being prepared is important to making sure that you can still get to your destination on time.
03:39And as they always say, you've got to pack your patience during the holidays because you never know what can happen, right?
03:44Pack your patience.
03:45Remember that the customer service agents at the airport are not responsible for any of your disruptions.
03:51We have to remember that.
03:52So there is some good news, though.
03:54So flights for this Thanksgiving are down 4% compared to last year, but sadly, they are up 10% from 2019.
04:01So what factors do you think are driving these price fluctuations?
04:06The holiday season is always a little bit pricey, but I am happy to see that prices are down from this time last year.
04:13A roundtrip domestic ticket for Thanksgiving cost about $295 on average for those Americans who planned ahead and booked at the right time.
04:23So even though prices are still a little bit higher than pre-pandemic, I'm really glad to see lower prices than last year.
04:30And a lot of that is coming from normalization of demand post-pandemic.
04:34Seeing more supply from carriers, even though they've started to taper down that growth, and more favorable jet fuel prices, more stabilization and lower prices than what we had been seeing in the last couple of years.
04:47All right, for those who are flying out and not staying with their loved ones at their house or maybe a family member, hotel prices for Thanksgiving, they're averaging about $213 a night, which is kind of high.
04:56So are there any strategies or tips for travelers looking to save on accommodations as they go out and travel and see those that they care about for the holiday?
05:04We do see a huge surge in stays at hotels and rental homes around the holiday season, especially as folks head home for the holidays.
05:12Prices are high, you know, they've remained high post-pandemic, so accommodations are pricier than what some people paid five, six years ago.
05:21Your best bet is if you are flexible, book at the last minute.
05:25It's a little counterintuitive, but if you're headed to a big city that has many hotels and accommodation options,
05:32booking at the last minute when those hotels are dropping prices, trying to drum up some last minute bookings, is actually the best way to get a price.
05:40So if you're flexible on maybe which specific hotel you stay at or the type of room that you need in that property, book at the last minute, last 48 hours before check-in, and you should get a little bit of a better deal.
05:54It does seem scary, but that is a good tip there.
05:56Last minute may help out.
05:58OK, so we all heard of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, but what is Travel Deal Tuesday?
06:02I'm so interested in this.
06:04And why is it considered such an important day for booking holiday travel?
06:08Travel Deal Tuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
06:11It's really the bookend of that post-Thanksgiving shopping period.
06:15And it's the day in that post-Thanksgiving shopping period where we see the highest volume and the deepest discounts on travel, everything from flights to hotels to rental cars.
06:26So it's a really good day, whether you're thinking about last minute Christmas, New Year's trips, or if you're already thinking about 2025 travel, you can get incredible deals on both those last minute trips and next year's trips.
06:40Perfect. So I'm a Hopper user.
06:41I love shopping around for flights, seeing what the best price is.
06:44So you have that price watch feature.
06:46What's the best way for users to make the most of that tool?
06:49Because it really is helpful.
06:51If you are even thinking about booking travel in the next six to eight months, download the Hopper app and set up a flight watch.
06:59We will proactively monitor the price of your specific trip.
07:03We'll give you recommendations on the best time to book.
07:06And on Travel Deal Tuesday, if we see a drop in the price of your flight or if we see a discount on the property you're hoping to stay at, we'll send you a proactive notification.
07:17So it's a more personalized price monitoring service.
07:19It's completely free.
07:21And it's one of the best ways you can prepare ahead for Travel Deal Tuesday to make sure that you're getting real time information about the deals that are available.
07:28And it is totally worth it.
07:30Very, very helpful.
07:31So, of course, the holiday season is just ramping up.
07:33We have Christmas coming, the new year.
07:35So what are some of the most notable Christmas deals that we can get right now?
07:38And how can travelers take advantage of some upcoming discounts?
07:43If you haven't booked your Christmas travel yet, your best bet is to book on Travel Deal Tuesday, this year, Tuesday, December 3rd.
07:50It's the last day we're expecting to see discounts and lower than average prices on accommodations and flights for the Christmas season.
07:59Be a little bit flexible.
08:01You might need to fly on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day itself to get the best deal, but you should be able to find some low prices.
08:09We are still seeing great deals available internationally.
08:12There's still roundtrip airfare to Europe under $500 roundtrip.
08:18Some of our favorite Caribbean destinations under $400 roundtrip.
08:22You do need to be a little bit flexible.
08:24But Travel Deal Tuesday is a great way to activate on your Christmas travel at some lower prices.
08:30400 roundtrip for the Caribbean.
08:32That's going to be my deal right there, Haley.
08:34So the last question I have for you, what is the one piece of advice for travelers looking to save money this year?
08:40Planning ahead is key to saving money.
08:42So whether you planned ahead and you booked your holiday travel a few months ago, or you're a procrastinator and you're booking it now, at the very least, plan ahead for Travel Deal Tuesday.
08:52Set up those flight watches, check out the properties you're most interested in, and be prepared to book on Travel Deal Tuesday, Tuesday, December 3rd, so you don't miss out on the deals.
09:03The worst thing you can do is see a great deal, but not be ready to book it on Travel Deal Tuesday.
09:07Love that. Mark your calendars, everyone.
09:09Haley Berg with Hopper.
09:11Thank you so much for joining us here on Cheddar.
09:13Great to be with you.