Travel Industry Offers Incentives to Offset High Gas Prices
With gas prices continuing to climb nervous travel companies and drive-to destinations are offering earlier –than-normal incentives to hit the road, from $20 ethanol vouchers in South Dakota to discounts of $10 per car-engine cylinder at bed-and-breakfast inns in Maine, according to an article in USA TODAY by Laura Bly.
The article reports that new surveys showed that Americans have curbed their gas use in apparent response the higher process at the pumps. In a poll done last month by the motorist group AAA, 68% of vacationers said that they would consider reducing the number of driving trips if the average price of unleaded gas topped $2.85 a gallon—with that number climbing to 83% if the price reaches $3.35 a gallon.
Our own view is that it is too early for vacation rentals owners to panic. Certainly, our own experience has not yet reflected any downturn in occupancy this year. Moreover, we have noticed that these price spikes have a way of correcting, If, in fact drivers all over the US do cut consumption as much as three percent, it could have quite a moderating impact on fuel prices.
Moreover, "Fuel costs are still a small part of vacation budgets," says AAA's Mantill Williams, who notes that a family taking a 1,000-mile trip in a car averaging 20 miles a gallon will spend about $150 for gas this spring, an increase of $50 from last year. "For most people, that's not a deal breaker."
In addition the vacation rental industry needs to continue to remind our customers that vacation rentals are the best value for a family vacation. The savings in serving a few more meals at the vacation rental’s kitchen facilities could easily offset any increase in gas prices this year.
