osakarob's blog

Here in the U.S., the unofficial start of summer began this past weekend. We are enjoying strong vaccination rates and many aspects of life have returned to normal.

And that means a deluge of pent-up, pandemic weary, travelers all hitting the airports and roads just get the hell out of the house.
Probably a number of us on this site will be traveling looking for matches.

I was listening to a business news radio program earlier this week. They explained that historically, most travelers book their reservations in this order: airplane tickets first, hotel second, rental car third.

This year, we are warned to take the EXACT OPPOSITE approach. Verify your rental car first. You might be shocked to see how expensive it's going to be. In some popular metro areas, the cost of your rental car could be more than that of your airline tickets.

I wondered about this, but confirmed it! I was gonna take a quick getaway to Minneapolis for a few days around the Independence Day holiday. A Hertz rental will be $786/wk. The flight there - even a business class ticket - is less than that! And the prices didn't appear to decline for dates later in the summer.

So, vaccinated Americans....travel. Enjoy yourselves. Set up matches. But recognize that depending on where you are going - it might cost you!