Few of us enjoy traveling alone; one in four North Americans has taken
a vacation alone during the last three years, and, on average, will spend
more of their life between 15-85 single than with a partner. For those of
us who do travel or vacation alone, we dread the 'single supplement' that
is often imposed.
The good news is that these days, single travelers have plenty of
options to make travel as pleasant (and affordable) as possible, and/or to
match them up with other like minded travelers so that they can enjoy the
company of a second person. With the growing number of single adults,
specialized travel companies are now catering to this important market.
Single Supplements
Depending on your point of view, single supplements are unavoidable and
fair, or possibly the worst act of deceit in the travel universe. To view
it from the positive perspective, most hotels these days do not charge
extra for two people sharing one room (calling this a double-occupancy
rate). If you’re travelling with your spouse, this is great! But, from the
single traveler's point of view, that $150/night hotel room, which splits
to $75 each for two people traveling together, becomes, all of a sudden,
twice as much for the single traveler. There is more to a single
supplement calculation than just doubling the per person room costs. If
that same hotel also included a free breakfast, then it should charge less
for a single person (in total) than for two people, because it is only
providing one breakfast. Some hotels that have various 'per person' type
inclusions within their rates will recognize this fact and adjust their
single supplement accordingly, but others will not. If you are on a
multi-day tour that includes accommodation, then you will find these
single supplements appearing in the tour price as well, because obviously
the hotel passes such costs on to the tour operator. But because some of
the tour inclusions are 'per person' items like event tickets, the seat on
the coach, air fares, etc, the single supplement on a tour is not (or at
least should not be) a doubling of the 'per person share twin' rate.
However, some (very greedy!) tour operators will say 'because you have
deprived me of the chance to sell a companion onto my tour, I'm going to
make you (the single traveler) give me all the profit I would have made
from two people traveling'! Stay well clear of operators that take this
attitude to single travel. However, no matter how it is calculated, and
how much it is, the cost of a single person traveling alone should always
be no more than the cost of two people traveling together.
Saving on Single Supplements
Some hotels and some cruise lines have special 'single' rooms at rates
substantially below twin room rates. These rooms are sometimes much
smaller than a twin room, with only one single bed in them, but sometimes
the 'single room' is purely a marketing concept, and single people will
get exactly the same room, for much less money, than a couple would get if
traveling together. These enlightened hotels and cruise operators
understand that if they have a definite number of empty unsold rooms or
cabins, they are better advised to sell them at a lower price to single
travelers than they are to leave them empty and unsold. How do you find
such hotels and cruise lines? The best approach is to use the services of
your experienced travel agency, who knows of suppliers that specialize in
‘single travel’.
If you're traveling alone, you should use the 'single supplement' issue
ask for a 'single discount' off hotel rates. These seem to be more
prevalent in Europe than in North America, but it never hurts to ask,
wherever you are, and it might encourage the hotel to give you some type
of discount, even if it isn't officially a 'single' discount.
Singles Touring - Share Twin Programs on Regular Tours
Some regular tour operators have a 'twin share' program where a person
that is traveling alone pays only the regular 'per person share twin' rate
. The tour company then undertakes to match that person up with another
person of the same gender who will share the room. If it is a guaranteed
program, and the tour operator fails to find another single traveler on
the same tour of the same sex, you get to have a room to yourself without
having to pay the single supplement - a great deal. Some tour operators
will only offer to match you with a person of the same sex. Others will
also match you with a person that is either a smoker or nonsmoker, based
on your own preference. But in such cases, you are still a single person
on a tour that is mainly couples. Hopefully your room-mate turns out to be
a good companion, so that you can enjoy both someone's company and also
the lower cost of the twin share rate.
Singles Touring - Share Twin Programs on Singles Tours
Many of the specialized singles tour operators operate dedicated
singles-only tours (or block a large number of cabins on cruises and maybe
even have their own dining area), and in such cases, most people choose to
share with another traveler, and single rooms may be available as an
extra-cost option. Singles touring is sometimes offered to specified age
groups (eg 18-35, or 30+) and sometimes the tour operator tends to
generally get a defined demographic of attendees. You should ask about the
likely type of people that you're probably going to be traveling with in
terms of age and even nationality. Most companies are coy about detailing
the mix between men and women on these tours, but it seems that it is more
common for there to be slightly more women than men in most cases.
Singles Touring - a Romantic Opportunity?
Some of the singles tour operators concentrate on the travel experience
alone. But some of them add the possibility of a romantic element, by
pitching their travel more clearly to single people that are looking for
partners, not just for a short vacation, but for their future life as a
whole!
