Macy’s, New York (© PCL)
Short breaks to the US are a growing phenomena for operators and agents alike. But heavy demand for the number one city, New York, has made rooms scarce for pre-Christmas breaks and is driving up hotel rates for autumn 2006.
Virgin Holidays USA and Canada product manager Angus Bond said: “The pressure on beds in the run up to Christmas is extreme. New York is so popular, and it’s not like Las Vegas where you can just build a 6,000-room hotel. We still have availability, but it will be tough on certain weekends, and customers might not get the hotel they want. There is more available closer to Christmas.”
Thomson has just launched its latest US and Canada brochure. US and Canada product manager Matthew Cameron said: “We have some availability in New York pre-Christmas. Capacity is an issue, but it’s a demand and supply problem.”
Operators warned that heavy price increases would be the norm for New York next year.
Funway Holidays US product manager Steven Silver said: “Hotel prices are up 25% year on year. Room allocations are being cut and some hotels are seeking pre-payment.”
North America Travel Service sales and marketing director Ruby Briggs agreed increases of 20% were common.
“Add that to the fuel surcharge and what used to be available for under £390 is now more than £500,” she said.
Cameron gave the example of one four-star hotel which has raised its weekend rate from £122 per person per night this November to £151 for the same time next year. But he said: “Hoteliers are confident demand will be there. We’ll soon see if there is resistance.”
The pressure on prices is good news for other cities in the US northeast. Thomas Cook Signature USA and Florida product manager Julian Stockdale said: “There are some very good offers for Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and Chicago. Some of these are half the price of New York.”
Briggs said: “We have a lot of people going to Boston for New Year’s Eve – also Philadelphia, where there is no tax on shopping for clothes, and Chicago.”
Cameron added: “There is still good availability in Boston, which we’re pushing. A lot of the hotels offer a fourth night free.”
With New Orleans off-limits until the new year following Hurricane Katrina, Cameron suggested an alternative Deep South break for music-lovers combining Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee.
Elsewhere there are always alternatives to the most popular choices – check out our suggestions if you want to try something different.
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Boston (© PCL)
Shopping and culture
New York
Appeal: pre-Christmas shopping, pre-bookable Broadway shows, art, music, architecture, romantic breaks, including ice-skating below the Rockefeller Centre. It’s the number-one short-break destination.
Flight time: seven and a half hours.
Sample product: Thomson has three nights’ room-only from £469 per person twin-share in a two-and-a-half star hotel, bookable from November 1 to December 16, flying with American Airlines.
Virgin Holidays’ Broadway Break leads in at £569 per person twin-share for three nights in January at the
three-star Best Western President Hotel in the theatre district, including flights and seats at a choice of shows.
Boston
Appeal: great for shopping and culture; cheaper than New York (many hotels offer fourth night free) and with greater availability.
Flight time: seven hours.
Sample product: Thomas Cook Signature offers four nights in Boston in November and early December at the four-star Sheraton for £519 per person, twin-share, flying with Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow.
The Cosmos Tourama America and Beyond 2006 brochure offers a six-night break combining Boston and New York, with three nights in each city. Prices start at £779 for room-only accommodation and transfers.
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Las Vegas (© PCL)
Nightlife
Las Vegas
Appeal: year-round sunshine, glitzy hotels, bright lights, 24-hour gambling, shows, the Grand Canyon and direct flights from Gatwick and Manchester (with Virgin Atlantic). It has strong appeal for couples and is great value – the four-star, 4,400-room Luxor offers rooms from £19 a night per person.
Flight time: 11 hours.
Sample product: Gold Medal Travel offers five nights from £539 room-only in January at the three-star Circus Circus. It includes return flights with Virgin Atlantic and tax. A Grand Canyon trip costs an extra £195.
Miami
Appeal: offers year-round sunshine, great people-watching on South Beach, the Art Deco district, shopping in Bal Harbour, fine dining and nightlife.
Flight time: 10 hours.
Sample product: Gold Medal Travel offers four nights at the three-star Riande Bayside Downtown from £449, available January-March, flying with Virgin Atlantic.
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Nashville (© PCL)
Music
Memphis/Nashville, Tennessee
Appeal: an alternative music-themed short-break while New Orleans recovers from Hurricane Katrina. Visit Memphis, former home of Elvis, for a tour of Graceland and the Sun Studios, where he recorded his first hits. Also Beale Street, historic centre of the city’s Blues scene. Visit Nashville, home of traditional country music, for the Grand Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame.
Flight time: 12.5 hours (to Memphis, flying via Atlanta).
Sample product: Thomson America and Canada offers a five-night package, with three nights in Memphis and two in Nashville, from £512 per person twin-share, including flights (with Northwest via Detroit) and accommodation. Five-day car hire starts at £145.
Jetsave offers an escorted tour, Music Trails of Tennessee, with three nights in Memphis and three in Nashville. Prices are from £689, including flights, tour director and excursions.
Austin, Texas
Appeal: ‘the San Francisco of the Lone Star state’ has hundreds of live music venues and draws musicians from all over the US, playing country, folk, blues, rock and R&B. Known as the outlaw alternative to Nashville, through its association with country rebels such as Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Austin is also the place where the legendary rock singer Janis Joplin started.
Flight time: 10 hours (via Houston).
Sample product: Travelpack features the Crowne Plaza Austin from £75 per night.
Thomson offers three nights at the three-star La Quinta Inn Austin Capitol from £499 per person, twin-share, including United Airlines flights from Heathrow and transfers.
