Solo vacationers don't have to get burned by single supplements

Imagine walking up to a hotel registration desk and being told that you will get a discount because you're only one person in a double room. Ha! Yes, imagine it, because you won't often experience it.

But...

In researching a travel story on single supplements for the Kansas City Star, I learned about places that are a little kinder to the solo vacationer than others.

One Caribbean resort built a whole wing of rooms for solo travelers, eliminating the single supplement. Many companies offer to pair you with a roommate to save you extra charges, if you don't mind sharing.

Some companies try hard to keep the single supplement as low as possible, passing along only the extra costs hotels charge for single occupancy, but with no further mark-up.

I'm not saying that single travelers are on par with couples and families when it comes to travel deals. They're not. Not even close.

But it's interesting to see that some travel and tour companies are taking them into consideration. Is this the way of the future? Can we dare hope?

Comments

[placeswegopeoplewesee]

You don't have to imagine it if you go to Europe, because that's how room rates are set at many if not most hotels there. On the flip side, it feels annoying when you have to pay *extra* for two people!

[boldlygosolo]

To play devil's advocate, how do you mean you're paying "extra?" In Europe, as two people booking, you have a larger room; you use twice as much water and twice as many towels as one person; and since breakfast usually is included, you eat, on average, twice as much food. From what I've learned, single rooms in Europe are smaller than doubles, so it's not a fair comparison.
The "unfair" version of things is hotels that put single people in double rooms because they don't have any single rooms; they offer no free breakfast; and still expect one person to pay what two people pay...two people, again, who are using more water and more towels, and possibly mussing up two different beds, if they are friends sharing a room with two doubles...which equals higher labor costs for the hotel. So you COULD say, single travelers might actually SAVE hotels money...