Single travellers are marginalised, even discriminated against. For example, a room is a room. Why should a single traveller pay a supplement? It has been the
supplement which has deterred me from going on many trips to places I would have enjoyed, and as I write about travel, I would have also likely to have written about. I wonder whether the situation will ever change. Presumably only when destinations are over saturated with hotel rooms. The supplement for single cabin occupancy on cruise lines is equally outrageous. Some people, self included, actually like the privacy of a private room/cabin and we should not be penalised for it. It would be useful to have a tour operator’s comment on the economics of the matter.

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Always a lively topic – I’ll try to put across the industry side of the argument.

The reality is if a hotel or tour operator is putting something on for two people, then it will cost them close to the same to organise something for one person. The cost of the guide, the room (assuming there aren’t single rooms available at a reduced rate) etc. are fixed, only the food costs will reduce for one person.

In reality most tour operators I know barely break even on single person bookings, despite any single person surcharges they might charge.

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[...] Rants’ Darren Cronian does what he does best—ranting—about why vacations for singles are so damned expensive.  Darren responds to a widower who wants to travel alone but is finding the single supplement [...]

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Thanks for yr input. However, may I say there are many single travellers who would like to take advantage of “packages” – where flight & hotel are combined – but the dreaded PP appears beside the offer.. I have never come across single room availability and if, as you say, it costs close to the same for one, as for two, then perhaps the charge for two sharing should be increased. All I want is a comfortable bed, probably breakfast & an evening meal (if the hotel food is good – rarely the case) and to be free of all the sheep on the same trip. But this is a dream which will never happen in my lifetime because as you have kindly explained, it is simply not cost effective for operators.

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As a solo traveler this is definitely my biggest gripe. I know there are some tour operators who don’t charge a single supplement. But I’ve found that usually it’s cheaper if I just book my own hotel and airfare rather than paying a tour. It’s really too bad. If the industry offered better options for solo travelers, then more people would be likely to use them.

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Always a great rant, this one.

Christine, how is it discriminatory for a hotel to sell identical rooms for the same price regardless of the number of occupants?

As you say, a room’s a room.

It costs X whether it’s got one, two, three or even four bodies in it.

The only issue really, if there is one, is with the advertising. The industry standard (globally, I imagine) is to publish pricing as per person, twin share.

Ie. 2 people splitting the costs of rooms/cabins etc.

The solution to the imagined “single supplement” conundrum is simple:

Force suppliers to advertise prices based on one person travelling alone, then hey-presto, the single supplement no longer exists.

Gone, just like that.

I’m not sure that’d make you any happier because you’ll still pay more than your mates who choose to share but, you know, at least you won’t be subjected to advertised pricing discrimination because you travel solo.

Happy travels.

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Let me get this straight…you’re proposing a twin share supplement?

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Christine, how is it discriminatory for a hotel to sell identical rooms for the same price regardless of the number of occupants?

But they are not. They are making a single traveller pay the price of two persons, or to pay MORE, to occupy said room.

Thank you.

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Hello Mr. Darren!
First of all, it always a great pleasure to read your posts.
I may be in Portugal but i never forget following your RSS. Thank you.
I manage a small hotel and i do understand your pont of view. Short, it’s revenue management. We – hotels – have to take maximum advantage from each room so we discourage the individual guest with price. I do not have many experience, but i think that’s market segment quite interesting and a little valued.
In my case, sometimes, i book hotels for 2 people. Sometimes it’s cheaper.
Best regards fro Portugal!

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With all due respect, I don’t think you get the economics of it.

If you want the whole icecream, you pay for the whole thing.

But if you split it with a mate…

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Nice to see this brought up. i feel the pain everytime i see myself dishing out the same amount of money for a hotel room that otherwise would be paid by 2 people, but i forget to complain about it, because, well, because it’s the way it is, this one, isnt it?

I feel there should be an instant discount on giving away a double room to a single person (provided there are no cheaper, single rooms as is often the case)

If anyone can think of a solution to this problem, i am dying to hear it!

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Christine.. seriously? Your point has been adequately addressed by Ben N
and others above. It is very simple Economics..

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Thanks @Sam.

I have been thinking some more about it and, perhaps, there’s an argument around reducing the price of a single room by the cost of a breakfast, if the room rate includes it for two guests.

But that, for mine, is all the economics justify.

But then, how far do you take this principle? Should women pay a small surcharge because, let’s face it, they use more toilet paper, water and supplied bathroom products?

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“What annoys me more than the tour operators who try to rip off single people are companies who specialise in single holidays and charge just as much because they “offer a service for single people” – in other words they think single people are a sad bunch who cannot make friends and want to hang around with other single people.”

Darren, I think you’re seeing things that are not there. You watch the industry, you know that there aren’t many tour operators raking it in from the solo traveller market, if anything companies are in this area seem to cease trading disproportionately.

We have a part of our business which does group tours for solo travellers, no single supplement and no room sharing (but obviously it would cost less pp if we did group tours for couples as they’d be sharing rooms, but we don’t), and it is very challenging. We have cut back to a few dates. If any third party professional looked at it completely financially, they would advise cutting this part of the business out completely.

This is just looking at the pure margins on the trip, not taking into account the fact that the marketing cost for a solo traveller or a couple paying for 2 is the same. And vagaries we have with the solo traveller market which we don’t in the others.

We only run these departures to give solo travellers the chance to experience our trips. Being ‘nice’. We certainly wouldn’t be able to afford to do them if not for the rest of our business.

I must say when I see rants like this, it does make me consider whether it’s worth it at all!

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Maybe your not looking in the right areas… Traveling alone can be the cheapest way to travel. Hostiles, buddy passes, shared housing … Ooo the best part is when a plane is overbooked and they give you a stipend to board another plane.

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I too hate the single supplement but, if you look at the maths this way. Tour operators block book hotel rooms and ‘buy’ them at a discounted price negotiated with the hotel, then they make up the price of the holiday with flights etc. plus their profit. Holidays are then sold at say £200 per person based on two sharing, therefore the holiday operator gets back £400 per couple per room (leave the flights etc out of it for now) £800 for two couples and two rooms etc. etc. maximising their profit for each hotel room, so if a single person wants the holiday, the operator is only getting £200 for that room, £400 for two rooms etc., less profit, so to make up the loss they sell the holiday to singlies with a supplement. If you want to go somewhere thru a holiday company and they charge a single supplement, then get the name of the hotel from their brochure, the contact details off the internet and book it direct with the hotel (they ususally charge for the room no matter how many people are using it) and fix your own flights.

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If people charge the same for singles then they are ripping off people who share, simple as that. Apart from the fact that a double means two breakfasts instead of one, the cost of the room is the same so its completely understandable that one person in a room pays more per person than two people in the same room. why can’t single travellers grasp this VERY simple concept? Get over it!

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[...] BuzzFacebookTwitterEs un hecho: viajar solo es más caro. Pareciera que la industria turística no favorece a los que deciden ir de vacaciones o a recorrer el mundo sin acompañante.Muchas [...]

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When I started working in travel some many years ago now, the single supplement was explained to us in a very simple but effective way. Imagine you are taking a taxi into town, that taxi costs £20. If 2 people go its, £10pp if for go its £5pp but if there is only one person then its still £20 and you have to pay it on your own!

Alot of accomm only providers now charge a per person rate anyway and certain hotels where there are single rooms will only charge one person rates and no supp. They are easy to find if you just look. If you book into a self catering apart or a hotel chain etc then yes there is a set price for the room and not a per person rate.

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Definitely agree with the sentiment here. It seems that booking alone makes everything more pricey which sucks because traveling alone gives you all the freedom and less of the hassle of meeting other people’s deadlines (or preferences).

There’s something nice about the responsibility and freedom of traveling alone and the additional costs probably limit a lot of people from doing so.

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This is extremely frustrating. Whenever I am travelling solo I play around with number of people for hotel rooms, and sometimes it is actually cheaper to pretend you are a couple than travelling alone!

The sooner the travel industry can figure out how to improve the lives of solo travellers the better!

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Suppose it does cost a lot more to host just a single person in the end. Great post. Something I have been questioned on a few times.

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I agree that it seems as though single travelers are discriminated against, and I can relate as a single traveler myself. However it’s really just basic economics, The more you purchase the lower the price. 1 hotel room costs the same amount to clean, and maintain whether there are 1 or 2 people staying there. The same for the guide, it doesn’t matter how many ppl are on the tour, the guide has to be paid a fixed price. Therefore you take the price of the hotel/guide and divide by two you have a cheaper price for double occupancy. If a tour company is ever able to offer lower prices to single travelers that will be the day. Until then, plan it yourself or just prepare to pay more.

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I have worked in the travel industry for a long time and have never seen a single room rate that’s more expensive than the equivalent twin/double.

This whole argument is ridiculous.

A great rant, indeed.

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As a tour operator, allow me to clarify what a single supplement is and is not. It is first and foremost NOT a punishment or means of discrimination for singles. What it is largely is the costs associated with one buying a hotel room versus two persons buying the same room. For example, a room might cost $400 a night at the local Hilton. Pricing for double occupancy (2 persons in the room), the $400 is divided in to two and each person is paying $200 a night. If only 1 person is buying that same room, it is still costs $400 so the cost for a single traveler is $400 a night. So the “supplement” (which is not a good word for it) is really just the additional 1/2 of the cost. Most tour operators keep the cost of everything else (bus, guide, tours, profit etc.) the same for a single traveler as for 2 people.
If you buy a car, you might share that cost with your spouse and it will cost you 50% of the ticket price. But if you buy it by yourself, you are paying 100%. Travel is no different.

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Thank you Jim Smith. I don’t think there is any more to say on this subject.
If a single traveller wishes to pay less, he/she must find a companion to split costs.

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Not having read every single post in this thread, bear with me if I repeat a couple of points please . . .
a) Singles ~ consider travelling out of season ~ instead of expecting your hosts to accept the loss incurred in having a single person in a room intended to earn twice what you’re willing to pay … some places are so small they only make a living during the peak holiday periods. We’re happy to discount accommodation for out of season travellers, and throw in extras like meals and excursions at reduced tariffs too, just not in the busiest season of the year!
b) Singles ~ consider the “supplement” worth its weight in gold for the freedom you have travelling without another person who may or may not be a pain in the neck

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