Travel Discounts: Airfares, Gas Prices, Hotels, and Timeshare Resales

Over 43 million Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving holiday week, going 50 miles or more from their home. While this is only a .7 percent increase over Thanksgiving travel last year, it marks a gain in the number of travelers for each of the last four years. The last decline in Thanksgiving travel occurred in 2008, when the number of Americans traveling plummeted by 25 percent. Although travel is increasing, median spending for Thanksgiving travel is dropping by 10 percent from $498, compared to $554 last year, with timeshare resales and timeshare rentals offering one way for consumers to save money on travel.

Airfares according to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index are lower this Thanksgiving than they were only a year ago, dropping by 11 percent for lowest round-trip rates, which will average $188 for the top 40 US air routes. Projections show air travel will be down by 1.7 percent this year from last year.

Gasoline prices are holding steady with prices between $3.25-3.40 a gallon, which compares to the 2011 average price of $3.32, the highest price Americans have ever paid for fuel on a Thanksgiving weekend. Despite this, 39.1 million people will be on the roads this holiday, which is a .6 percent increase over last year.

And approximately 1.3 million travelers will travel by some means other than plane or car, including trains, buses, and boats. However, none of us will be going as far as in the past, as the average distance traveled shrinks to 588 miles from last year’s 706 miles, reflecting traveler’s attempts to trim their budgets.

Renting Timeshare Resales for Holiday Travel

For hotels rated as “Three Diamond lodging,” rates are down this year, but only by an average of 1 percent, compared to rates in 2011. For hotels with a AAA rating of “Two Diamonds,” rates are up this year, but the increase is also only 1 percent, at an average cost of $104 per night.

Renting timeshare from an inventory of timeshare resales, regardless of the holiday or season, remains one of the most affordable options for accommodations. Rates vary based on date, resort, and often, a timeshare owner’s degree of motivation to rent his or her timeshare. Yet timeshare rental savings for Thanksgiving travel and travel anytime throughout the year consistently reflect deep discounts and the desire of owners to rent timeshare they are not using themselves.

Typically, the closer you get to a timeshare unit’s scheduled used date, the more negotiable the rental rate becomes. Adding to the savings of timeshare resales and rentals, is the fact that their spaciousness and capacity to sleep even large families, means a dramatic savings as compared to the cost of renting multiple hotel rooms to accommodate all family members.