I never really got into, nor did I understand, the whole Christmas in July phenomenon; That is until I became a travel advisor. Just like any industry, the leisure travel business can be quite cyclical in nature. Seasonal, in fact. And summertime, specifically July, is when I recommend clients begin to plan their Festive Season travel if they haven’t done so already. It is a hard and fast deadline in my practice as booking for the holidays becomes more challenging and travel planning more expensive the latter half of the year. About this time each summer, my clients can expect to get their annual festive season booking reminder from RH Travel Design in conjunction with Hallmark’s Christmas in July movie marathon.
Technically speaking, the travel industry generally classifies Festive Season as the dates falling between December 20th through January 3rd, but in truth, it actually spans from late November all the way through the first week of January. It is hands down the most challenging time of the year to find availability. Far busier than Spring Break, families have more time off from work and school to spend together. Plus, it tends to be a time for year-end splurges, celebrations, and extended family gatherings.
Have you ever wished for, or perhaps even received, a surprise ski trip to Courchevel under the Christmas tree with a December 26th departure date? Or maybe like me, you’re more of a New Year’s Eve in Nevis kind of gal (or guy). Either way, you will run into availability issues for the most desirable properties and locations if you wait until August or later.
This year, I anticipate things to be no different. In fact, it very well could be busier BECAUSE of the virus. We aren’t quite sure where we will be allowed to go in the world or when we will be allowed to do so. Every season, a large swath of leisure travelers makes plans to visit the Christmas markets and experience the charming coziness of holiday time in Europe. Now, all of a sudden, a European vacation with the fam a la “Home Alone” seems a bit too uncertain to hang your Santa hat on.
It’s as simple as Econ 101: The law of supply and demand. Travel demand this holiday season will be about the same or perhaps less, however, the supply of favorable destinations has shrunk dramatically. Basically, we have a finite pool of travelers with far fewer destinations to choose from than normal. Think about it. All those folks I personally know who had planned to experience Christmas Eve at The Vatican this year are instead setting their sights on an easier, more reliable, Caribbean getaway instead. Multiply that across dozens of destinations around the world and hundreds of thousands of Americans.
There are only so many rooms at the Cheval Blanc, St. Barth’s and believe me, they’re probably already sold!
The St. Regis, Aspen
You can count on a trickle-down effect as well, wherein the most conservative of travelers will stick to US soil, and the usual domestic winter hotspots like Hawaii, Aspen, and Vail will be tough tickets to get, and so on and so forth until this thing gets contained.
So, let’s hope and pray we get a better handle on this whole pandemic sooner rather than later. Time is definitely on our side and we WILL find a way to safely move about as we all once did just a mere few months ago. But in the meantime, rest assured that some things will always be the same, and you can count on peak travel season to remain just that.
Rachel
