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 Travel & Outdoors | February 2007 
Spring Break Is Closer Than You Think
 Michelle Higgins - NYTimes
| | (Scott Vincent) |
Planning a spring break getaway this year? Better start booking. Travel agents say reservations for spring break vacations are well ahead of those last year at this time, with the usual ski resorts and beach destinations filling up fast.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel agencies are reporting increases of 10 to 50 percent in bookings for late-February to mid-April travel; some travelers reserved as early as November. Online travel agencies like Travelocity.com and Expedia.com are also experiencing an early booking trend.
“As we get into February, people think they’re being early for spring break, but they’re really not,” said Jean Cook, assistant manager at Century Travel, a Carlson Wagonlit Travel agency in Spokane, Wash., where last month, bookings for this year’s spring break were double the number a year earlier. “People are realizing, to get the dates they really prefer and that will sync with their schedules, they have to be able to book it earlier.”
It’s still possible to secure an airline seat — if you’re flexible. While weekend flights to popular beach destinations like Mexico and to ski resorts in Colorado are tight, and airfares are running higher than last year, travelers willing to leave midweek or to adjust their stays can still find savings.
For example, Ms. Cook was able to find an April flight from Spokane to Honolulu, connecting through Seattle or Portland, for $640 with a Monday departure and a return Tuesday the following week. The cheapest comparable flight available from Saturday to Saturday in April was $1,442. A more affordable weekend flight was available for $788, but required two connections and an extra four hours of flight time.
Spring break fares for flights to South Florida cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale are up 5 to 10 percent from last year, reflecting a reduction in the number of airline seats to the region, according to Expedia.com. Fares to popular Mexican beach resorts like Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Cancún are up between 7 and 13 percent.
Hotels say the new passport rules — requiring passports for Americans traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda — aren’t dampening demand.
Cancún, which plunged down the list of destinations for spring breakers last year after being hit by Hurricane Wilma in October 2005, is climbing back to the top. “Acapulco was our primary beach destination last year,” said Christi Day, a spokeswoman for STA Travel in Lewisville, Tex., but Cancún is now near the top as well. “This year they’re running neck and neck,” she said.
Cancún isn’t the spring break bargain it used to be. A flood of insurance money after the hurricane has helped push it more upscale. After a $24 million renovation, the Club Med in Cancún, for example, reopened in November as the Club Med Cancún Yucatán, with larger rooms — many with balconies — and new amenities like a children’s program and cultural excursions to archaeological sites. The Jade Villa, an exclusive luxury building at the resort, with concierge and room service, is also new. Of course, all the upgrades come at a price. Before renovations, a seven-night all-inclusive vacation at Club Med in Cancún started at $945 a person; rates now start at $1,190 a person. For the Jade Villa, the base rate is $1,428 a week.
And many other resorts are raising room rates. The average daily rate at hotels in Mexico climbed 7.8 percent, to $108, in November, the most recent month for which statistics are available, compared with November of 2005, according to Smith Travel Research. Room rates in the Caribbean went up 3.3 percent, to $150.
One alternative: spring break at sea. Weak demand for Caribbean sailings is leading many cruise lines to slash prices in an effort to spur sales, with the best bargains on short itineraries. Prices are running about 10 percent lower than they were last year for three- and four-night Caribbean cruises, according to Expedia, with a few as much as 30 percent off.
StudentCity.com, which specializes in vacation packages for college and high school students, is offering a four-night Bahamas Party Cruise starting at $459 a person when four passengers share a room. The deal is aimed at students looking for a vacation “at a lower price point,” said Mario Ricciardelli, the company’s chief executive.
Most students “aren’t necessarily looking for dirt cheap,” he said. “They’re looking for good value.” For that, many are turning to all-inclusive packages, and the site is selling more than in previous years. Among the best values, Mr. Ricciardelli said, is a week in Acapulco at the Playa Suites hotel for about $1,000.
Of course, deals are still available at many resorts in popular spring break destinations, but the discounts generally aren’t of the cut-rate variety. CheapTickets.com is offering $100 off any flight and hotel combination for Mexico with three nights or more, booked by Feb. 11 with the promotion code CHEAPMEXICO.
In Florida, Daytona Beach promotes a Spring Family Beach Break season, which runs from March 12 to May 24, with area hotels offering discounts and resort credits. Details are expected to be posted this week at www.familybeachbreak.com.
It’s not just warm-weather destinations that are selling fast. Ski.com sales for spring break are up 11 percent from last year. STA Travel, which experienced a quadrupling in spring break ski vacation bookings in the last three months of 2006, compared with the number a year earlier, is offering five-night Colorado ski packages in March starting at $303 a person, based on four guests’ sharing a room. In an unusual inducement, travelers can get a $50 coupon for any spring break trip from STA Travel booked by Feb. 28 by taking a “virtual body shot” at www.stabodyshots.com: visitors choose virtual students and beverages and then watch videos of the characters having liquor poured into their navels. |
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