Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim
Speaker 1: Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio. All right, so we've talked a
Speaker 1: lot about retail, which gives you a great idea in
Speaker 1: terms of what's going on in the consumer world. Another
Speaker 1: thing is travel, and it also tells us kind of
Speaker 1: what's going on in the economy. So let's get to
Speaker 1: it with Haley Berg. She's lead economist at the mobile
Speaker 1: travel app Hopper, and she joins us on the phone
Speaker 1: in New York City. Hailey, good to have you here.
Speaker 1: Tell us what you are seeing when it comes to
Speaker 1: the travel industry. As we head into the summer travel season.
Speaker 2: We're headed into the busiest time of year for travel,
Speaker 2: and really we're expecting this to be the biggest summer
Speaker 2: for travel since pre pandemic. International travel has completely opened
Speaker 2: up since last year, and domestic travel remains very strong,
Speaker 2: especially as prices are down about twenty percent from this
Speaker 2: time last year. All in, it looks like it's going
Speaker 2: to be a busy summer and an extremely expensive summer
Speaker 2: for those travelers who are headed abroad, but they're not
Speaker 2: being held back by fares.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: We actually heard from Jen bartashas we were talking to
Speaker 3: our Bloomberg Intelligence retail analyst and she said, you know,
Speaker 3: middle class to wealthier people are shopping for food at
Speaker 3: cheaper stores, so they can still afford to spend money
Speaker 3: on discretionary items. I guess travel is one of those.
Speaker 3: You don't see anybody holding back. I mean, is nobody
Speaker 3: balking at the incredibly high prices.
Speaker 2: What we're really seeing Hopper is travelers are taking that
Speaker 2: same or a slightly larger travel budget and trying to
Speaker 2: stretch it further. So maybe previously they've been taking one
Speaker 2: trip a year, Now they're taking two trips on the
Speaker 2: same budget, So that means they're engaging in deal seeking behavior.
Speaker 2: You know, more than fifty percent of our Hopper customers
Speaker 2: are booking the cheapest flight that's available to them at
Speaker 2: the time they're searching. We're seeing them check prices about
Speaker 2: fifty percent more often, even as they plan trips more
Speaker 2: last minute. So though travelers are still spending and taking
Speaker 2: more trips, they are finding ways to stretch that budget
Speaker 2: quite a bit further.
Speaker 1: So talk to U about some numbers. A Bloomberg. We
Speaker 1: love to hear about numbers and percentage changes. So give
Speaker 1: me an idea if you're heading from New York over
Speaker 1: to Europe, pick your city or whatever. What are we
Speaker 1: looking for in terms of airfares?
Speaker 2: Average airfare from the US to anywhere in Europe about
Speaker 2: twelve hundred dollars right now. There are some destinations direct
Speaker 2: from New York City as low as eight or nine
Speaker 2: hundred dollars round trip, But overall that twelve hundred ticket
Speaker 2: price on average, that's about thirty seven percent from this
Speaker 2: time last year, and in twenty nineteen that's about three
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty dollars more per ticket for travelers who
Speaker 2: are headed to Europe, which is the top destination for
Speaker 2: summer vacation.
Speaker 3: AH, Where are they going in Europe? Is it just
Speaker 3: in general the continent or are people going specifically to
Speaker 3: Spain or Italy or Greece?
Speaker 2: Paris we typically see London, Paris and Rome are the
Speaker 2: top three, the ultimate trifecta. They're definite destinations for tourists
Speaker 2: who are just dipping their toe in Europe. But we
Speaker 2: do also see demand some of these smaller cities, especially
Speaker 2: in Italy. Sicily is popular coming off the success of
Speaker 2: the White Lotus, but we've also seen Venice and Milan
Speaker 2: right Lotus.
Speaker 1: It's really a thing in terms of travel.
Speaker 2: It absolutely, as we call it, set jetting. It happened
Speaker 2: with Croatia and Iceland win Game of Thrones was released,
Speaker 2: It's happening with Yellow Show and White Lotus.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying it was a little eerie.
Speaker 3: It was great, though I love both seasons. I will
Speaker 3: say pro tip to those looking to travel to Europe
Speaker 3: over the summer. It is extremely hot in southern Europe.
Speaker 3: If you want to go to Sicily in August, I
Speaker 3: don't want to be with you because you are going
Speaker 3: to be pouring with sweat. I would much rather be
Speaker 3: in Scandinavia in August because it's so hot they the
Speaker 3: Spaniards don't even go outside. They just they just sit
Speaker 3: inside and sleep all day and then at night they
Speaker 3: go in the pool.
Speaker 2: That's why September and October are actually the best bet
Speaker 2: for travel to Europe. You'll pay as much as thirty
Speaker 2: percent less than you will to go in June or July.
Speaker 2: Temperatures will be better. And keep in mind Americans are
Speaker 2: on vacation all summer. Europeans often go on multi week
Speaker 2: vacations in August, so if you're going in August, you're
Speaker 2: going to be facing crowds of tourists from around the world.
Speaker 2: September is going to be lighter crowds, less expensive for
Speaker 2: accommodations and airfare.
Speaker 1: So what's your advice for folks who want to travel?
Speaker 2: Plan ahead if possible, So right now you're booking way
Speaker 2: too late. If you want to go somewhere internationally this summer,
Speaker 2: you are going to pay quite a bit MOARM and
Speaker 2: be flexible. So if you can plan ahead to go
Speaker 2: this fall, get lower prices, flive mid week if possible,
Speaker 2: you'll save about fifty to one hundred dollars on domestic airfare,
Speaker 2: one fifty to two hundred on international and flight early
Speaker 2: in the day. Delays cancelations twice as likely to hit
Speaker 2: you if you depart after eight am, So there is
Speaker 2: something to Taking that first flight out of the day
Speaker 2: on a Monday or Tuesday will save you some stress,
Speaker 2: it will save you some money as well.
Speaker 3: What about airbnbs? What's your verdict on You know, we
Speaker 3: went to Austin for the Moto GP a couple weeks
Speaker 3: ago and hotels were like a grand We found an
Speaker 3: airbnb that was less than half the price and it
Speaker 3: was pretty good. I mean they no one comes to
Speaker 3: change your sheets every day, but it was nice and
Speaker 3: you know, with the extra money, we were able to
Speaker 3: go to more expensive restaurants for dinner.
Speaker 2: We can send you out, okay, see rental hose Yes, water.
Speaker 2: Rental homes extremely popular, especially around destinations at the beach
Speaker 2: or Disney. Disney's hugely popular for vacation homes. Often larger
Speaker 2: groups of family members are there, and it really helps
Speaker 2: bring down the cost of maybe getting multiple hotel rooms.
Speaker 2: But keep in mind that those rental homes can book
Speaker 2: out really far in advance, especially in popular destinations, and
Speaker 2: hotel rooms on the other hand, drop in price when
Speaker 2: you book at the last minute, so way your options.
Speaker 2: If you're looking for more space, rental homes can definitely
Speaker 2: be more economical, but at times, if you're booking last
Speaker 2: minute hotels, you can get a fabulous deal, especially in
Speaker 2: big cities.
Speaker 1: All Right, we're going to leave it there. We're'll let
Speaker 1: you go get some water, because I'm a little worried
Speaker 1: about you, Hailey, come on back soon. We'd love to
Speaker 1: continue with you at a future date. Haleyburg lead economist
Speaker 1: Diffred Hopper joining us on the phone in New York City,