Summer 2023: How to Prepare for a Busy Travel Season

What’s in the summer travel forecast for 2023? Sunshine, high temperatures, and increasing rates of travel and higher prices (again).

A survey by the Vacationer found that nearly 85% of American adults plan to travel this summer, a 5% increase from their 2022 survey. And while airfare is expected to peak at an average of $350 per ticket this summer, down 11% from last year, the overall cost of travel is up 20% from April 2019 after a 2% increase from 2022 to 2023, according to research from NerdWallet. The same research showed that hotel room rates are up 3.5% from 2022, and 15.3% total from 2019.

And it gets worse. To increase their capacity and total revenue, some hotels may take advantage of this increase in travel and overbook this summer.

What is hotel overbooking, and what happens when hotels overbook?

Overbooking is when the total number of rooms that a hotel has reserved for a certain period is larger than the total number of rooms available for sale during the same period. To prevent profit losses from no-shows, cancellations, and early check-outs, hotels will overbook to maximize their capacity.

When a hotel is overbooked, a traveler with a reservation may arrive at check-in to find that the room they thought they had reserved isn’t available. While the hotel will try to find a room, the traveler might be transferred to another hotel or have to find another hotel on their own.

How to prepare for high season travel this summer

We know that workforce travel can be even more complicated in the summer. Here are a few tips to make summer travel as smooth as possible.
 

1. Book ahead. The best way to ensure that you’ll have a place to stay? Book ahead. CLC Lodging even offers a special “Online Rate” for travelers who make a reservation online before they travel.
2. Be prepared to spend more. In addition to rising occupancy rates and hotel room prices, some markets around the United States might see spikes in occupancy and prices due to tourism. Travel managers and administrators may need to raise their maximum caps for travelers to meet the higher prices in popular markets.
3. Check in early. Make travel smoother by calling the hotel the day before your planned check-in to decrease your chances of being walked. If you’re running late on the day that you’re scheduled to check in, call the hotel and let them know what time you’re planning to arrive. If the hotel overbooked, the front desk manager may be able to rebook you at another hotel nearby.
4. Look to CLC Lodging for new workforce travel features. In addition to our existing simplified reservation portal, savings at thousands of hotels around the country, and 24/7 traveler support, we’ll be releasing some exciting features soon to help combat the challenges of traveling over the summer. Follow us on social media to stay up to date on the newest features. 
    

CLC Lodging is trusted by 1.2 million travelers for full-service travel management solutions. Login now or join today to start taking advantage of these comprehensive features.