Despite a moderate 5-10% increase in hotel prices and airfares, there will still be some great deals … as long as you don’t travel in peak season (like summer).
If you see it, then book it. Fare sales (especially for airlines) are likely to be unannounced and disappear in a matter of days (or even a few hours).
Take time to twitter. Hotels and travel operators will drop deals to justify the money they’re spending on social media.
Travelers will continue to flock to daily deal sites like SniqueAway, Living Social Escapes, and Groupon Getaways by Expedia for short-term sales. Smart travelers will take advantage of local dining & activity discounts by signing up for daily Groupon-style deals in their destination cities.
Information overload will cause travelers to search for too long on too many websites to save $5 on a hotel or flight. Educated travelers will save their sanity by limiting searches to a few sites.
This is part 1 of travel educator Matthew Stone’s 2012 travel trends & predictions:
Part 2: Air Travel Predictions in 2012
Part 3: What will annoy travelers in 2012