As many Americans are packing up their bags and getting ready to go home after Thanksgiving celebrations, some might be re-thinking plans to squish into other guest bedrooms throughout the holiday season. According to Cindy Richards, editor-in-chief of SheBuysTravel.com, there are other options.
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Richards joined WBBM Newsradio’s Rob Hart on the Noon Business Hour this week to talk about the real factors to consider when it comes to holiday travel lodging.
“The free stay at the in laws is only free in that you’re not forking over cash, but there’s always a cost, right? Whether it’s sharing one bathroom with twelve people or, you know, sleeping on the floor of your childhood bedroom or whatever… the cost might be,” she said.
Outside of a packed house filled with relatives, there are multiple options. For example, Richards said its now possible to find Airbnb rentals that might even be in the residential area where holiday dinner is happening.
There are also suburban hotels, which might have lower rates than people expect compared to vacation destination resorts and big city hotels.
Beyond the costs for staying somewhere else, Richards said the most important thing to consider is relatives’ feelings. She said people shouldn’t be afraid to communicate if they want to change up traditions.
“In some families, if you said, ‘I’m gonna stay in a hotel,’ you would be written out of the will, and it’s simply not done,” Richards explained. “But in other families they might say, ‘Oh, thank God she’s not gonna stay there this year.’”
Those who come from the first type of families might want to soft launch new plans early, she added. Some might even want to start preparing people this holiday season for their plan to stay at a hotel next year.