Last October, when three families started planning a group vacation to Cuba for the March Break, we learned that it was already too late to get the best price and many destinations were already fully booked.
“Most people book in July and August,” says Tina Beaulieu, the owner of NT Air Inc., a travel agency in Pointe-aux-Trembles that we consulted for help. “The flights fill up for March Break very quickly.”
“It’s one of the busiest travel times of the year and the space is not going to be there.” said Lara Noack, media and sales promotion manager for TripCentral.ca, one of Canada’s largest on-line travel agency. “Many parents began booking trips in the first week of September as soon as kids went back to school,” Traffic jumped by 50% the first week of September.
Prices keep increasing as flights fill. For our trip last year, the prices per person for Santa Maria, Cuba increased from $744 per person in early October to $1,200 per person when we finally booked a month later. Worse than that, many of the destinations we initially considered sold out.
“We do get calls two weeks ahead of time, and they have to be very flexible,” added Noack. “Every year it’s the same thing. You can’t get five seats on a flight by then.”
This year could be even worse.
Tour operators encouraged earlier booking than usual by publishing their winter brochures in May, as opposed to the typical distribution in August or September. Others offered product giveaways or special offers for early booking.
Even after a trip is booked, pitfalls can occur. Travellers who want to take advantage of special deals have to really read the fine print to see whether there are conditions to the better price. One tour operator requires web registration after booking, for example.
Spring break travellers need to plan to be flexible within 24 hours of their departure and return. Airlines are constantly trying to optimize space and sometimes they change flight times.
“A flight might be initially booked for 4 p.m. and the airline might change it to nine in the morning,” says Beaulieu. “If the timing is within 24 hours of the original flight, the traveller has to accept the change. I have a lot of clients who are teachers, and that can really inconvenience them.”
Despite the frustrations, March Break remains the busiest time for Canadian travel to sunny destinations. Cuba and the Dominican remain the best budget options, but many Montreal travellers are also booking Jamaica, Mexico, and ecotours in Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras.
“Jamaica is really, really hot right now because there’s tons of airlift, so it’s easy to get there,” says Noack. “It was always considered luxury and upscale and people would dream of going there someday. Now that all the Spanish chains have gone into Jamaica, there’s a lot more hotels and the price has gone way down.”
“People like beautiful beaches and quality hotels,” said Beaulieu. “And they like to get out of the cold in the winter.”
Note: This story appeared in the features section of the West Island version of the Suburban, p25, October 17.
