WEBVTT - As States Reopen, Vacations Become More Expensive 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:04.519 It's Friday. I'm Oscar Ramirez from the Daily Dive podcast 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:08.640 in Los Angeles, and this is reopening America for all 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:11.559 those that are out traveling this Memorial Day weekend, getting 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:14.480 ready for high costs and lots of people. As the 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:17.960 economy continues to rebound from the pandemic, we're seeing vacations 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:22.000 get more expensive with rising airfare and hotel rates. The 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:24.480 price of gas is even making road trips more expensive. 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:30.000 To Leslie, Joseph's airline reporter at CNBC joins us for 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:33.000 why costs are quickly going up. Thanks for joining us, Leslie, 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:36.720 Thanks for having Memorial Day weekend is here, and it's 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.680 time to talk about travel. I don't want to bust 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.960 anybody's bubble, but it's gonna be busy. Wherever you're going, 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:46.600 there's gonna be a lot of other people out there. 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:48.480 You know. It's kind of this double edged sword. We're 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:51.720 recovering from the pandemic, and this is exactly what we want. 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.640 We want people to start traveling again, start visiting other locations, 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:59.200 domestic travels, leisure travel, spending that money. We want that. 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:01.600 But on the other side of things, we've been locked 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.120 up away for so long it's tough to get out 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:06.360 in a lot of crowded places with a lot of people. 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:08.960 So Leslie tell us a little bit about what we're 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:12.240 seeing out there. We're seeing rising airfares and hotel rates 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:14.840 as well. I think we've got a little bit used 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.280 to those bargains fairs we were seeing in many of us. 0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:19.720 Most of us were not booking them last year and 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:23.280 even into the beginning of one. Then all of a sudden, 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.200 a bunch of people who in America did get vaccinated 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:30.240 and encourage this huge uptick in demand for travel. People 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:33.319 have been closed up in their homes for the better 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:35.399 part of fifteen months and they're ready to go out 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:38.720 and travel, whether you're vaccinated or not. Attractions are starting 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:42.000 to open up. Your Disneyland that opens very recently, then 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.720 other places. Restaurants are opening in cities and even in 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:47.160 New York. We're starting to see things return a little 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:50.040 bit more to normal. Yeah, you know, it's not just 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:52.440 the air fare as well, road trips, the cost of 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:55.080 gases going up, and for a time during the pandemic, 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.640 that's what a lot of people resorted to. Let's do 0:01:57.680 --> 0:01:59.480 a quick road trip something just to get out of 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.160 the house. And even gas prices are going up so 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.320 all around. You know, it's kind of funny too, because 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:08.200 you know, some of these increases and everything, you know, 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:11.160 they're not that pre pandemic levels just yet. They're getting 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.520 towards it. But even still, it's just kind of coming 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:15.920 out of this year, we're looking at these prices and 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:18.679 just saying, man, that's expensive already. I think we got 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.240 used to those really cheap prices during the pandemic. And 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:24.560 you mentioned road trips. We've seen gasoline prices national average 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.720 is the highest that we've seen since. So it was 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.320 the sort of alternative during the pandemic. Okay, I'm gonna 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:32.000 go out and avoid other people. I don't feel like 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:34.240 going to an airport. I don't feel safe for you know, 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:36.440 whatever the reason might be. But a lot of other 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:38.760 people had a similar idea. Of course, we're all getting 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:41.239 out of our houses and driving up demands for gasoline, 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:43.560 and what we're seeing in the airports, I think travelers 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.480 can acpect a lot of full flights. Airlines do not 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.880 have the capacity that they had in nineteen. They retired 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.280 a lot of aircraft, a lot of their own employees 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.520 retired or left the company, so they're not operating the 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:57.880 same number of flights that they used to, but what 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.240 they are all doing is trying to focus on this 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.400 domestic us leisure demands and that's where everybody is traveling, 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:06.079 and that's where we're seeing some of the fairs. A 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:08.359 lot of the executives are starting to say they're at 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:12.320 or near levels, So the chances of getting a really 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:15.760 good bargain are pretty much shading as we speak, right 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:18.160 and you mentioned that, you know that domestic leisure travel, 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:22.400 that's an important point of distinction because business and international 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.760 travel hasn't ramped up just yet. That's still going to 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:27.920 take a little bit more time, and that's kind of 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:31.080 what helps offset these lower fairs for for all the 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.480 regular flights basically, so until those pick up will be 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:37.360 in this kind of mode as well. That's helping the 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:41.080 consumer somewhat vacation or i should say in the near term, 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.160 because it will keep a lid on prices. You know, 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:45.880 you don't have those business travelers during the middle of 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.160 the week. If you as a vacation or can travel 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:49.720 in the middle of the week and take those seats 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.280 at a better price, take it. And then also if 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:54.120 you have a chance to travel in the off season. 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.760 The airlines are hopeful that business travel, which is already 0:03:57.760 --> 0:03:59.920 starting to come back, we'll come back and earnest. Maybe 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:02.360 the fall, kids are back in school and more people 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:05.040 are vaccinated, and companies start to loosen up their travel 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:07.960 restrictions for their own people, and maybe offices open up 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:10.880 to receive visitors. But it's not clear how quickly that's 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:12.720 going to happen. I mean, you have legal departments and 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:15.800 compliance that are dictating a lot of these policies, and 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:17.720 they don't want to send anyone out too early or 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:20.840 or risk lawsuit. So if you can travel in the 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:23.640 fall or maybe outside of the peak season, I would 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:26.440 go for it. You made mention in your article that 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:29.920 a lot of airlines are reinstating strict rules that they 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:33.479 had on basic economy flights. What were those rules? What's 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.839 changing there? So one thing that happened during the pandemic 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:40.080 is that airlines started to lift or they have lifted 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.400 change fees, and the fees that everybody hates two fifty 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:46.840 dollars or more sometimes to change your flight, and everybody 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.919 knows the frustration of even if you have like a 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:51.000 family of four and you need to change for an 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:54.200 emergency or something along those lines, or maybe you really 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:56.240 like your destination you want to stay a little bit longer, 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.240 come back sooner. For whatever reason. It's very costly and 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:01.960 airlines were deaf sprit to get people on board last year, 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:05.440 so they all Delta, American and United lifted change fees, 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.919 including for international flights. Great news for consumers, but it 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:13.080 doesn't apply to the cheapest tickets, which is called basic economy. 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.320 They're the most restrictive, and one of the pillars of 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.000 that for most airlines is that they don't allow change fees. 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:22.800 So those fares exist and they'll be in buckets on 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.359 the website when you book your flight on the airline website, 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:28.520 they're there, and executives are not shy about this, so 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:30.760 that you book the next highest that will give you 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.320 a little bit more flexibility that will allow you to bring. 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:35.560 For certain airlines to carry on bag on board let's 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:37.920 say not board last, it comes with a seat assignment 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:41.159 for what that's worth for you, So it's not free 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:45.080 changes for all. Some airlines, like Southwest, for example, they 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:47.400 haven't had change fees, so it wasn't much of a 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:49.720 change for them. But for the major airlines. They are 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.719 keeping that, but it is for standard economy tickets. And 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:54.799 then you know, just kind of in keeping in line 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:56.800 with this whole thing of the you know, the airline travel, 0:05:56.839 --> 0:06:00.200 the other pieces you're lodging. So hotel rates are going up. 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:02.560 I found a great place throughout the pandemic that I 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.600 used for a few getaways, just because you needed to 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.919 get out of the house. Uh, you know, I checked 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:10.800 rates there just for something else again, and boom, the 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.760 prices are a sky high again, to the point where 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:15.599 you know, I don't know if I'm gonna go back there. 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:17.360 So that's the other piece of this too, is that 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:19.920 you know, with the airlines going up, the hotel rates 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:23.920 are also rising. The hotel rates are rising. It's more 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:27.080 difficult to get a rental car if you're not staying 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:29.000 at a hotel. Even some of the home rentals. The 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:32.640 competition is sky high. And this spring and summer. Late 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:35.200 spring and summer are always the peak seasons for travel 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:37.360 in the US. I mean, kids are off from school. 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.360 People generally take their vacations when the weather is nicer. 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:42.600 But you have all this pent up demands for over 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:45.080 a year, and maybe people like you said, took those 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.360 road trips last year. But this is just kind of 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.280 like a bottleneck of leisure and everyone's trying to take 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.280 a vacation at the same time, so the competition is there. 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:56.120 My advice would just be as flexible as possible. If 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:57.680 you can travel in the off season, if you can 0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:00.000 travel in the middle of the week, take those opportunit 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.360 Unity is where you can and maybe even your work 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.279 allows you to work remotely and you could extend your 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:05.919 vacation and you don't have to come back on a 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.159 set date if you have that luxury. Yeah, we all 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.080 need that time off and it's just more important than 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.480 ever to plan ahead, plan accordingly. So we'll keep watching 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:18.840 out for all of this. Leslie Joseph's airline reporter at CNBC, 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:24.280 Thank you very much for joining us. Thank you. I'm 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:27.880 Oscar Ramirez and this has been reopening America. Don't forget 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:29.960 the effort. Today's big news. You can check me out 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.960 in the Daily Dive podcast every Monday to Friday, So 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.040 follow us on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcast.