VACATION or STAYCATION this summer?

[marylander1940]

Soaring travel costs forcing some Americans to change summer vacation plans, survey says | FOX 13 Seattle

 

From different article:

 

In national surveys, 55% of Americans are planning to take a summer vacation, while 45% are staying home. Cost is the primary deterrent for those skipping travel, with nearly two-thirds of all adults reporting that prices heavily impact their summer plans. [1]

Key Survey Findings

• Vacationers: Of those traveling, 48% plan long getaways, 43% are taking weekend trips, and 9% are taking staycations. [1]
• Non-Vacationers: Among those staying home, 49% cite cost as the main reason, followed by 22% who simply don't want to travel, and 10% who vacation at other times of the year. [1]
• Demographics: Gen Z (72%) are the most likely to travel, compared to Millennials (62%), Gen X (52%), and Baby Boomers (41%). Families with children under 18 (68%) are also much more likely to take a trip than those without children (50%). [1]

Edited Thursday at 09:42 PM by marylander1940

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

Vacation abroad this summer!

In 2 months, I travel to Lisbon, 3 nights in Lisbon, 14 nights cruise on an all-Gay charter on Azamara Quest, then 2 nights in Barcelona.

I booked my business class flights the week Iran started its current war, just one day before flight prices jumped.  My cruise and hotel prices were locked in last year.

[marylander1940]

55 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

Vacation abroad this summer!

In 2 months, I travel to Lisbon, 3 nights in Lisbon, 14 nights cruise on an all-Gay charter on Azamara Quest, then 2 nights in Barcelona.

I booked my business class flights the week Iran started its current war, just one day before flight prices jumped.  My cruise and hotel prices were locked in last year.

[nomad]

Flight costs have definitely gone up; especially for long haul flights.  Airlines have also cut the # of flights so the flights left are fuller and are more likely to make money.  A friend in Warsaw is having to fly 26 hours with all the connections to go to Asia.  Woof.  The drop in demand is creating lower hotel costs for those that do make the trip.  The weak dollar isn't helping at all. 

[cany10011]

I'm staying as I have a lot of conferences, but looking forward to the fall when I'll be heading to the Galapagos and Paris. And later in the winter, Shanghai and Hokkaido. 

[nomad]

Love the smell of roasting chestnuts in the parks of Paris.  Might be too early when you're there.  The hot springs in Hokkaido are supposed to be sublime.  Jealous.  

[mtaabq]

18 hours ago, nomad said:

Love the smell of roasting chestnuts

Oddly enough “roasting chestnuts” made me think it might be the right time to head to Palm Springs to roast my chestnuts in the desert for a coupla days and enjoy nude swimming. Summer hotel prices are often ridiculously low. As for the heat? Well, everyone has A/C (air conditioning AND Andrew Christian) and misters. 

Edited Saturday at 02:29 PM by mtaabq

[+ Charlie]

1 hour ago, mtaabq said:

Oddly enough “roasting chestnuts” made me think it might be the right time to head to Palm Springs to roast my chestnuts in the desert for a coupla days and enjoy nude swimming. Summer hotel prices are often ridiculously low. As for the heat? Well, everyone has A/C (air conditioning AND Andrew Christian) and misters. 

If you don't mind heat, you might like to come here this week: the high is supposed to be 113.

[nomad]

3 hours ago, mtaabq said:

head to Palm Springs to roast my chestnuts in the desert for a coupla days and enjoy nude swimming.

Odd question.  Do you apply sunblock?  Curious since it would seem they are more prone to burn being sheltered usually. 

[mtaabq]

24 minutes ago, nomad said:

Odd question.  Do you apply sunblock?  Curious since it would seem they are more prone to burn being sheltered usually. 

That question is not so odd and yes, I DO apply sunblock. In my youth I ignored the advice to slather sunblock on my nuts and I got a sunburn. And sunburned nuts HURT. 

[mtaabq]

2 hours ago, Charlie said:

If you don't mind heat, you might like to come here this week: the high is supposed to be 113.

Where is "here"? PS? 

[+ Charlie]

1 hour ago, mtaabq said:

Where is "here"? PS? 

Yes.

[+ purplekow]

5 hours ago, mtaabq said:

Oddly enough “roasting chestnuts” made me think it might be the right time to head to Palm Springs to roast my chestnuts in the desert for a coupla days and enjoy nude swimming. Summer hotel prices are often ridiculously low. As for the heat? Well, everyone has A/C (air conditioning AND Andrew Christian) and misters. 

Come to Palm Springs.  The heat is actually nice and the pool water is warm without anyone pissing in it.   PM me if you want a meal companion.  

[nomad]

1 hour ago, purplekow said:

the pool water is warm without anyone pissing in it.  

Ick!  People do this?  🤯

[mike carey]

2 hours ago, nomad said:

Ick!  People do this?  🤯

It's been happening since pools were invented. Everywhere. I've even heard of people putting in a chemical that turns red when in contact with urine to discourage it. Probably an apocryphal story.

45° is a little warm, but 'it's a dry heat'. All you really need is a ceiling fan and good ventilation. And a hat if you go walking (and walk on the shady side of the street).

[+ PhileasFogg]

14 hours ago, Charlie said:

If you don't mind heat, you might like to come here this week: the high is supposed to be 113.

At least it’s a dry heat…🤣

NOLA hit a heat index this week of 113.   Then a tropical storm came through and brought it to 106!

I imagine the high prices will push the airlines to raise their medallion thresholds.  I already made Diamond with Delta, so maybe I’ll focus on American for the balance of the year (since I detest United)

Or maybe I could save money getting a hot air balloon for my travels 

[ShortCutie7]

On 6/18/2026 at 6:24 PM, Vegas_Millennial said:

Vacation abroad this summer!

In 2 months, I travel to Lisbon, 3 nights in Lisbon, 14 nights cruise on an all-Gay charter on Azamara Quest, then 2 nights in Barcelona.

I booked my business class flights the week Iran started its current war, just one day before flight prices jumped.  My cruise and hotel prices were locked in last year.

What kind of job do you have that you get so much PTO?? I get 15 days a year including sick days, holidays, vacations, etc…

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

24 minutes ago, ShortCutie7 said:

What kind of job do you have that you get so much PTO?? I get 15 days a year including sick days, holidays, vacations, etc…

My union contact rewards company loyalty with increased paid time off (PTO) for employees who remain at the company for longer than 20 years (which I have done).  At 20 years, one earns 44 days PTO including holidays (13), sick (10) and vacation (21), plus an extra 1 day vacation bonus if one calls in sick no more than 3 days in a year.  Plus, instead of getting paid the standard 1.5x for working overtime (OT) when I'm needed to meet a deadline, I can (and do) choose to get paid in TILO (Time In Lieu of Overtime) which credits me 1.5 hours of additional PTO for every hour of overtime I work, to use at a later time in the year when we are less busy.  Right now, only government employees are allowed to choose TILO instead of OT pay.  Congress proposed allowing private employers to offer that option to employees a few years ago, but it was aggressively opposed by one political party 😢.

The typical employee at my organization doesn't use all of his earned PTO and chooses to sell back his unused PTO at the end of the year.  I am one of the few who never sell but always use my PTO.

Edited 12 hours ago by Vegas_Millennial
Pronouns

[+ purplekow]

When I retired, I had 400 hours of unused PTO.  I received a hefty check and made sure to receive as ithe only income for that tax year so as to minimize the tax damage.  Many of those hours resulted from working in a hospital during Covid time and the hospital limiting time off to sick time only.   

[ShortCutie7]

9 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

My union contact rewards company loyalty with increased paid time off (PTO) for employees who remain at the company for longer than 20 years (which I have done).  At 20 years, one earns 44 days PTO including holidays (13), sick (10) and vacation (21), plus an extra 1 day vacation bonus if one calls in sick no more than 3 days in a year.  Plus, instead of getting paid the standard 1.5x for working overtime (OT) when I'm needed to meet a deadline, I can (and do) choose to get paid in TILO (Time In Lieu of Overtime) which credits me 1.5 hours of additional PTO for every hour of overtime I work, to use at a later time in the year when we are less busy.  Right now, only government employees are allowed to choose TILO instead of OT pay.  Congress proposed allowing private employers to offer that option to employees a few years ago, but it was aggressively opposed by one political party 😢.

The typical employee at my organization doesn't use all of his earned PTO and chooses to sell back his unused PTO at the end of the year.  I am one of the few who never sell but always use my PTO.

Wow, that’s incredible!!