Grounded in ’07

Christopher Elliott Travel columnist • Profile • E-mail

When you look back at the most important travel news of 2007, you might be tempted to start — and end — with the passenger rights revolution. Remember all those planes stranded on the tarmac on Valentine’s Day, the media feeding frenzy that followed and the ensuing, but as-yet unsuccessful, push to regulate U.S. airlines?

But you’d be wrong.

Maybe, then, you’d think the summer of airline delays and cancellations would qualify as the top travel story. Or the continuing sad but inevitable devaluation of frequent flier miles.

Wrong again.

Those stories, while significant, only affected a privileged few passengers. Think about it. For every mile they travel by airline, Americans go about 452 miles by car. So let’s get our heads out of the clouds for a moment and talk about what happened last year that actually affected us, the real travelers.

Unaffordable hotel rates get even more unaffordable
The important stories took place on the ground, in places like your hotel. Room rates continued to soar — they were expected to average about $100 a night for 2007 — which forced a lot of travelers to either take shorter vacations or find a lodging alternative. (Seven years ago, the average room rate was just $85 night). I wrote about the inevitable shift away from traditional lodging in a recent column. Well, there’s bad news and good news for people who were sleeping on their cousin’s sofa in 2007. Next year won’t get much better — in fact, room rates are expected to rise by about four percent. But on the upside, the lodging industry is cyclical, which means rates could fall back down to earth soon. It’s possible that we may even see some bargains later in 2008, which would be welcome to those of us who just skipped a vacation altogether.

More by Christopher Elliott 5 creative new car rental fees to avoid Now that’s a change fee 3 things travelers will lose and gain in recession Spring broke: 6 secrets for no-cost travels Deal or no deal? Spotting a real bargain Navigating the new world of airline tickets Post-fee carry-on bags you've gotta have 7 tips for blogging your way to a better trip Changing travel one tweet at a time Be a YouTube star on your next vacation The fall of green travel More Christopher Elliott columns

Look out for clogged roads and collapsing bridges
Many of the nation’s urban roads resembled parking lots, to the point where traffic hotspots were competing for the dubious title of “Most Gridlocked City.” Could it get any worse? Oh, yes. You could have been one of the unlucky motorists on the I-35W bridge, which fell into the Mississippi on Aug. 1, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100. Much of the travel press treated this disaster like a local story, but I bet if Jihadists had commandeered two passenger jets and steered them into the span, they probably wouldn’t have. (Does it have to have wings in order to be big news? Alas, the answer is often “yes.”) Let’s put this into some perspective. About 40,000 people are killed every year on U.S. roads, vs. only a few hundred (if that) in commercial airline accidents. No solution is in sight to the intolerable traffic and unacceptable rate of road fatalities. Throwing more money at them doesn’t even seem to make us more aware of the problem. It just leaves us all a little poorer.

MORE FROM CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Christopher Elliott Section Front

7 ways to avoid checked baggage fees How to leverage social media for a better vacation What you should know when dealing with collection agency Why the travel industry should end its war on smokers 4 secrets for avoiding long taxi-in times Doggone airlines! 4 reasons pets shouldn’t fly Children in first class? Kids on a plane! A good summer mystery: What about travel? Vacation-phobia: Top 5 travel fears Christopher Elliott Section Front   Add Christopher Elliott headlines to your news reader: