Mindfulness practice has helped keep me relatively sane throughout the pandemic so far, but no amount of living-in-the-moment can stop me from daydreaming about a time when we can travel freely again. Maybe it will be next spring, or several lifetimes from now, but someday we’ll once again cram into aluminum tubes and soar blissfully through the air together.
Some prognosticated changes to the travel industry have already come to pass. Airfare change fees are disappearing across many airlines (albeit mostly for domestic, non-basic-economy fares alone), and airlines got serious about keeping their aircraft surfaces and air clean, introducing new protocols that are unlikely to disappear even after the virus is under control.
But what other changes could we see once the pandemic clears? While the present moment remains dismal, let’s cast our minds forward to a utopic travel future.
Hotels could offer better accommodations for remote workers
One surprising byproduct of this global catastrophe is a sudden, unprecedented wave of remote workers spreading from high-cost coastal cities into the rest of the country. At first, these untethered workers were fleeing the higher rates of infection in major cities, but now many seem to be realizing they don’t ever have to go back “home” if they don’t want to.
This has created a huge demand for accommodations that support this geographically ambiguous workforce. Some hotel brands have dipped their toes into this new ecosystem, offering interesting work/live packages.
But as someone who was working remotely and living on the road since before all these Gen Z nomads were in preschool, there’s still plenty of room for improvement, especially with long-term stays. Nomads don’t want a room for a long weekend — we can stay for a month if the price is right.
Savvy hotel brands could even offer “memberships” that, for a fee, offer deep discounts across their entire portfolio of properties. Imagine:
“Where do you live?”
“The Hyatt.”
“Huh, which one?”
“All of them.”
Airbnb has already pivoted hard to long-term stays of a month or more, and some co-living ecosystems already cater to global digital nomads, but hotel brands could get into the action by effectively becoming landlords to the new nomadic generation.
We could see more dynamic award prices
You may have forgotten about those frequent flyer miles collecting dust in a long-neglected account, but I haven’t. I tracked the value of points and miles in 2020 compared with 2019 and found some interesting trends.
For the most part, these award points are worth less in 2020 than they were in 2019, but not for the reason you might think. Airlines and hotels didn’t hike the price of award tickets and nights in 2020, but they (mostly) didn’t lower the cost of these award bookings to match the dramatic shift in cash prices.
For example, a given flight on American Airlines might have cost $200 cash in 2019 but only $100 in 2020, while the award price stayed the same. This would halve the effective cent-per-mile value of the award booking, simply because it hadn’t kept pace with dropping cash prices.
The only domestic airline — United — and hotel program — IHG — that bucked this trend were those with the most “dynamic” award programs. That is, the ones that tied the cost of award bookings most closely to cash bookings.
Professional points-slingers like myself generally decry these “dynamic” award systems, as they don’t allow for the ultra-valuable redemptions we crave. But in this case, the dynamic programs were able to offer better relative value. I expect more static programs will adopt this free-market approach in the future.
Politics could stay out of travel safety
Whatever side of the political spectrum you find yourself on, you should be able to agree that public health should remain as apolitical as possible. Local health inspectors shouldn’t change their criteria for inspecting restaurants based on local politics, just as federal organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Aviation Administration should consider only health and safety when making and enforcing policies.
In April, at the height of the outbreak in New York City, I remember noticing with stunned disbelief how many daily flights were departing the city's three major airports. “Why are flights still leaving NYC?” I asked a colleague. I’m still waiting to hear a satisfactory answer.
I’m not an epidemiologist, but it doesn't seem like the airborne proliferation of New Yorkers across the country in April helped our country's fight against the virus.
Nonpartisan federal agencies should have the authority to lock down air travel in the event of a global pandemic, or at least enforce sensible safety precautions onboard. The major domestic airlines now all require masks, not because any agency required them to, but because overwhelming popular opinion demanded it.
The bottom line
I may not know what the future of travel will hold, but I have a few hopes about how it might unfold. Better long-term accommodations, more dynamic award pricing and common-sense airline safety rules top the list.
Now, mindfulness meditation teaches us to let go of thoughts of the future and return to the present moment. But forget that — the present moment is awful.
RELATED: What to know before traveling to the Caribbean this fall
GET TESTED
Most Caribbean nations accepting travelers from the U.S. have designated America as a "high risk" COVID-19 country and thus require travelers from the country to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test within as few as three to five days of arrival.
But standards can vary across the region. Some Caribbean countries, including Aruba, only "encourage" travelers to obtain proof of a negative test prior to arrival. The Dominican Republic recently implemented a Responsible Tourism Recovery Plan under which travelers are no longer required to present a negative COVID-19 test at Dominican airports to enter the country.
Regardless of regulations in the country to which your clients plan to travel, it is undeniably prudent for travelers to get tested before departing, if only to confirm their personal health status relative to COVID-19 prior to traveling. But checking the specific requirements in the country you are visiting will prevent further problems upon arrival.
CONTACT THE AUTHORITIES
Caribbean government and tourism websites offer the most updated information regarding current protocols for regional countries, which can vary significantly. Some Caribbean governments have changed protocols and requirements several times as more is learned about the illness.
Entry requirements also vary within the region. For example, high-risk visitors to the Bahamas and Barbados are required to quarantine for up to 14 days upon arrival. Anguilla requires potential visitors to pre-register online at the Anguilla Tourist Board's website and provide information including proposed travel dates. The Bahamas and U.S. Virgin Islands both changed protocols earlier this summer due to local COVID-19 spikes.
That's why it's crucial that travelers access data from official tourism authorities in the Caribbean destination they plan to visit this fall. "The most important things to know about traveling right now is to understand all the protocols that are in place in both the destination and resort you are visiting," said Varghese, owner of the Travel Tom agency.
Not surprisingly, Caribbean countries that "have shown that they have great measures in place to protect our clients as well as provide a relatively hassle-free means of entry" have been most popular with his clients, Varghese said. He cited Antigua and St. Lucia as destinations where "both the countries and resorts are taking great measures to keep our clients safe while providing a great travel experience."
Doncsecz meanwhile advises consumers to select their Caribbean vacation targets carefully. "When we have last-minute travelers, we tend to stay away from suggesting destinations that 'intend' on reopening by a certain date," said Doncsecz, "and suggest destinations that are already reopened."
She noted "Barbados, Turks & Caicos, and The Bahamas have flip-flopped on their entry requirements and reopening dates," making it imperative travelers access the latest information.
Travelers can find government ministry and tourism agency links for 24 Caribbean destinations on the Caribbean Tourism Organization's website. The Centers for Disease Control recommends Caribbean-bound travelers consult the destination's Ministry of Health or the U.S. Department of State's Country Information page. In addition, the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association maintains a Resource Center that provides regional alerts, travel advisories and airline and accommodation policies and guidelines.
BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE
Travel insurance coverage tied specifically to COVID-19 is limited according to travel insurance consolidation firm Squaremouth. Benefits may be available depending on the situation, including coverage for COVID-19-related cancellations or medical emergencies. However, travelers can also protect themselves in case an unforeseen COVID-19 scenario impacts their plans with a "cancel for any reason" policy from a leading provider.
CONSULT A TRAVEL ADVISER
The atmosphere of caution and uncertainty attached to the re-launch of Caribbean travel makes it crucial to re-confirm every aspect of their journey before departing, from airport and flight requirements to hotel bookings and transportation arrangements. Travelers risk missing key details, not to mention increasing their own stress levels to ensure they have all bases covered.
"(Travel advisers') jobs are to stay on top of all the currently available information and to educate our clients so that they are not only fully aware of what to expect," said Varghese, "but also to set their expectations as to what 'travel experience' they can expect while on vacation (including) masks may need to be worn in public places (or) not all facilities may be open and available."
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(TravelPulse is a leading travel authority on the Web, providing consumer travel news and insider tips and advice for an ever-changing travel world. Read more stories at travelpulse.com)
Feeling overwhelmed about how to use your points and miles? I’m here to help. In this column, I answer your questions about the baffling world of travel rewards, cutting through the jargon to provide clear answers to real problems. Send your questions to skemmis@nerdwallet.com.
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October 18, 2020 at 06:30AM
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