As owner of the award-winning, Hadley-based travel agency Escapes for Everyone, Diane Kieras-Ciolkos is intimately aware of the issues plaguing the post-COVID-19 travel landscape. With “getting back out there” the theme of this year’s summer vacation season, Prime reached out to Kieras-Ciolkos for her tips on navigating any travel bumps. Here’s what she shared:
Q: Air travel has proved a big headache this summer. How can travelers best prepare to cope with delays and cancellations?
“The most important thing to keep in mind while traveling this summer is to ‘pack your patience!’ For the past two years, travel professionals have been dealing with so many of the issues that are now so evident to everyone, as there has been more media coverage of the constant flight delays and cancellations. As the ‘world is opening back up,’ the demand to get back out there and explore the world is extremely high.
“To try to avoid possible flight delays or cancellations, we guide our valued clients to book non-stop flights to their destination whenever possible. We also advise travelers to upload the app for the particular airline that they are flying on to enable them to get notifications of any changes. This helps with avoiding a horrible ‘surprise’ upon arriving at the airport!
“If you are flying to a destination for a specific event, like a wedding, we also highly recommend booking a flight that will arrive a day or two earlier than you need to be there to ensure your attendance!
“Although this is certainly a challenge for me personally, it is also great if you can pack light and if you booked your flight in a class of service that allows you to store your carry on in an overhead bin, this also alleviates the potential headaches of ‘lost luggage’ or luggage that did not make it onto the plane or to your destination.”
Q: Accommodations and rental cars seem in short supply as well. Do you see these trends continuing for fall and winter vacation planning?
“The summer months, holidays, and school vacation weeks have all proven to be very heavily demanded and busy travel times of the year. We have noticed resorts and even specific room types at resorts are selling out much quicker than they have in the past due to people’s desire to travel.
“We also noticed our clients think twice about traveling during ‘hurricane season,’ which extends from June 1 to Nov. 30. Although this time of year usually tends to have better pricing, everyone wants that perfect vacation and risking inclement weather after the past two years of unprecedented times just doesn’t seem worth it to many. So, we still do see some availability, especially in the fall, when students are back to school.
“I do believe that we will see a decline in the shortage of rental cars in the fall and winter due to the increasing fuel costs. If a client is able to obtain a flight for a decent airfare pricing, I do foresee someone opting to purchase air vs. drive now.”
Q: If you haven’t gotten away yet, and are on a budget, are there affordable destinations for a late summer/early fall vacation?
“I do believe that in the early fall, there are still destinations that are affordable for travelers. Besides resort locations, there are also cruise options that tend to be priced better during this period of time as well. Flexibility is the key. If a client comes to us with flexibility on their dates, airports that they would consider flying in/out of and even desired destinations of travel, we are sure to please them. Travel is back!”
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