Travel Letdown
ARE YOU EXCITED FOR YOUR NEXT VACATION OR BUSINESS TRIP?
Be Prepared for Travel Letdown in 2022.
In yet another example of how the coronavirus pandemic will impact our lives well past the latest variant surge, travelers should be ready for at least some level of disappointment in 2022.
This was made quite clear over a 4-day trip in early March to Miami Beach, Florida. Yes, the sun, the sand, the international flair, the beats, the nightlife and the amazing art deco architecture are all still there representing everything that is Miami. But many of the hospitality details that connect you to this exotic city have changed. I believe most everyone traveling in 2022 will see this letdown trend played out no matter where you travel, and, most likely, no matter how much or how little you pay. In fact, from what I’ve now seen on several trips, EVERYONE will pay more and have a lower quality experience while traveling for business or leisure.
Most of the impact you will feel comes from the massive changes in labor force and supply chains that have been discussed ad nauseam in the media. But it’s not just the front lines of the service industry where these losses in human capital are having an impact on the travel experience.
Let’s start with getting to the airport. Fewer Uber/Lyft drivers are available and the apps have responded to the new normal with app features that flatten the curve. Features like Lyft’s “wait and save” for those not in a rush serve to help set expectations and lessen the pressure on increases in demand.
But your ride to the airport will be impacted beyond the mode of transportation you select. Shortages in road construction crews and construction materials are resulting in slower than expected maintenance and expansion projects creating significant increases in traffic and delays. Of course, gas prices will be higher, too, given Russia’s increasing aggression in Ukraine and the impacts on all energy costs, especially oil.
And then there are the airports themselves. Again, shortages in construction crews, maintenance teams, airline staff will all contribute to the letdown trend in travel. Be ready for slower movement into and out of terminals, disturbingly unkempt airport grounds — overgrown weeds, unattended landscaping, dirty and streaked windows, and chipped, faded and stained terminal building exteriors. The joy (or at least confident ease) I’ve often felt when arriving to an airport was completely absent on this recent trip.
And I get it. Labor shortages, supply chain interruptions and decreased revenue over the past year(s) resulting from lower levels of air travel have forced administrators to make choices. My point here is not to find fault, but to paint a picture of some of the the changes we can all expect while traveling in 2022.
The hotel and restaurant experiences are where the letdowns were most apparent during our recent trip. We intentionally booked our stay at pricier hotel ($500 per night average) to hopefully avoid some impact of the service industry exodus over the past few years. While our hotel experience may have been unique, I believe the disappointments are actually more widespread across the industry.
And it’s hard to blame the hospitality industry for these letdown trends that may simply reflect our new normal in travel. The uncertainty felt by hotel and restaurant owners since 2020 may likely deter them from going “all in” on updating facilities, adding extra staff or making significant changes to their pared down, covid-level services.
Here are a few travel letdown trends to be aware of:
Hotel grounds and facilities may present you with incomplete works in progress and may appear overall less polished than you might expect.
Some hotels you probably remember as functioning flawlessly may experience outages in basic amenities like elevators, sound systems, electric doors or even pool/spa/fitness centers. Given the likely lapse of preventative spending in these areas and the now critically low service mechanisms in place … these normally short inconveniences may last longer and create disappointing levels of service compared to pre-covid experience.
Special features/amenities that require extra staff or expertise may not be available this season — or may take to come back once hospitality industry administrators feel more bullish about the travel forecast.
Staffing shortages will not only impact the direct experience you may have hotels and restaurants, but also in areas like marketing. We discovered multiple restaurants with outdated and otherwise incorrect information on their websites or their google business pages.
All of the above will result in higher levels of traveler frustration on the roads, in airports, on airplanes and in hotels and restaurants. So take a breath, realize your travel experiences will NOT be same as they were in the past. Service will often be of lower quality. Prices will likely be higher. Facilities will be noticeably less perfect.
Finally, the one bright spot in travel this year may be the airlines and airplanes themselves; at least on the major carriers. After 2+ years of covid life, most airlines have streamlined the boarding and masking procedures and have (thanks to FAA regulations) not had a lapse in maintenance or upkeep.
Please do get out and travel. It’s time. Higher demand will bring confidence to the industry and force greater attention improving customer service and preventing travel letdown.