I understand why tour operators and cruise lines have traditionally based their pricing on two people sharing a room or cabin. The hotel room costs about the same whether one person occupies it or two. A cruise cabin doesn't become less expensive because only one person is sleeping in it. And many of the costs of operating a tour don't change simply because someone is traveling alone.
But there's a difference between understanding why the pricing model exists and accepting that solo travelers should automatically have to pay substantially more.
Today, traveling alone is hardly unusual for older Americans. Road Scholar reports that roughly 20% to 30% of its 80,000 to 100,000 annual travelers go solo, and about 85% of those solo travelers are women. That's approximately 19,000 senior women traveling solo with Road Scholar each year.
So why should traveling alone come with what many solo travelers think of as a “solo traveler tax”?
The extra charge can be hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of dollars. And while a single supplement isn't always avoidable, it is often possible to eliminate it, reduce it or offset it with other savings and benefits.
I've traveled internationally more than 30 times, including many trips on my own, and I've spent years looking at the pricing policies of tour operators, cruise lines and other travel providers. I've learned that the smartest solo traveler doesn't simply ask, “How much is the single supplement?”
The better question is: “What will I actually pay to travel alone — and what can I do to lower that cost?”
That's what we're going to explore.
