n a normal year, planning a summer vacation weeks before Memorial Day weekend would leave a traveler spoiled for choice. But as the country awakens from its Covid-19 hibernation, this season is shaping up to be anything but normal., the country’s largest national park concessions management company.
National park vacations always book up well ahead of summer, but this year it’s even more competitive. “All of our national park lodges are sold out throughout the summer as people seek domestic driving trips to wide open spaces,” says Xanterra’s O’Rourke. “Campgrounds and cabins are our most popular inventory, and [lodge] rooms as well.”
Hotels aren’t the only game in town, of course. Vrbo is seeing vacation homes getting locked up for July and August in beach destinations like Cape May and Ocean City on the Jersey Shore; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and North Carolina’s Outer Banks., the top 10 summer destination searches include a mix of beach towns, lakes, national park gateways and other remote spots.
It’s also not too late to write off that national park getaway—if you are flexible. Two of the destinations on Vacasa’s “best bets” list—Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Moab, Utah—are gateways to national parks. And you can still have that Yosemite vacation this summer. “If clients really wanted that,” said Gary Johnson, owner of the luxury travel agencyin Seattle, “I would find out if they'd be open to staying in a beautiful private home and then they would just drive into the park.
One perennial deterrent of working with travel agents is the myth that clients pay more for the privilege. Most agents, however, are paid commissions by the hotel or outfitter, not the traveler. Good travel advisors will not only save customers time and money, but they can also secure upgrades, resort credits and other amenities that travelers would not be able to access on their own.
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