Now that we’re one quarter into 2023, we’ve been seeing a few changes within the family travel industry. From the changes that airlines are making, to new technological advancements, it’s likely that your next family trip may look a little different this year. Here are 5 ways in which family travel is changing in 2023. Let us know if you’re personally experienced some of these changes already!
Flying Changes
There are some flying changes happening this year that will affect family travel, in good and bad ways. First with the good news! Aside from Southwest, which lets families board together in between groups, more airlines are making booking seats together easier. Instead of having to pay to make sure you get seats together, some airlines are allowing families to book adult/children seats next to each other. For example, Frontier will now make sure that any passenger traveling with a child under 14 will be seated together if a seat isn’t manually picked. United is another airline that now has a “dynamic seating map” that will detect parent/child travelers and seat them together even if traveling on basic economy.
Another set of good news: free WiFi on airplanes is coming! JetBlue and Delta are the first airlines to implement free WiFi on flights, which is a great step towards keeping you connected even while flying. It’s unclear if this will be high-speed enough for the kiddos to watch YouTube or play online games like Roblox, though. No other airlines have announced plans for free WiFi at this point, but it feels like it’s just a matter of time until it’s considered a common included offering.
Now, for the bad news. This isn’t as much a change, but more of an enforcement of current policies. It’s been reported that airlines are getting more strict with enforcing their carry on/personal item sizing policies. This means that if you’re expecting to be able to breeze by with a rollaway luggage as a “personal item,” it’s likely that you may get stopped and asked to purchase the carry-on allowance (if it’s a budget airline). There’s also airlines (like Frontier) that now consider check-in luggage weight limits at 40 lbs, probably because they want you to buy multiple checked bags. Thankfully, we haven’t been yet been questioned about our baggage sizes, but just make sure you’re aware that there’s a chance it might happen to you.
Generative AI
Generative AI has been all the rage this year! If you haven’t heard about ChatGPT or Google Bard yet, it’s basically a trained AI language model that can provide some very detailed knowledge and explanations of all types of topics. On the travel front, a lot of content creators are using it to source blog material from. We also use it to brainstorm ideas for our blog content. However, as the technology continues to mature, more and more uses for family travel are inevitable. Currently, ChatGPT can’t provide real-time travel prices or deals. However, it seems like once companies and developers get a better sense of how their interface works, we’ll have travel use cases. I can definitely see a “virtual travel agent” type of service that takes your prompt (“find me deals to fly to Rome”), and make the booking on your behalf in the matter of seconds. At this point, yes, there’s a risk of getting misinformation from a generative AI bot, but it appears that this technology is paving the way for an easier way to access information and a true successor to web search.
Crowded Summer Travel
It’s fair to say that we’ve reached the post-pandemic phase where most travel bans and COVID policies have been lifted. Because of this, the travel industry this year is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels of growth. According to the US Travel Association, travel spending in February is 5% above 2019 levels. And, despite the current economic conditions, travel is still forecasted to reach record-breaking levels this year. Knowing this, what can you do to make sure you have the best possible travel experience? Here are a few recommendations:
- If there’s a specific destination that you really want to visit, make sure you book as early as possible to get the best rates
- Consider traveling before Memorial Day or after Labor Day if you want to avoid crowds
- How about a road trip? Flying is going to be absolutely bananas this summer, so think about destinations you can visit that are a few hours’ drive away. We’re doing an East Coast road trip (Florida to Massachusetts) for a few week this summer to reduce air travel
- Flipped seasonality. Beaches will be crowded this summer. But how about mountains? Places like Park City Utah and Breckenridge Colorado have fantastic hiking, kayaking, and whitewater rafting that you could experience instead of fighting for a beach spot.
Nontraditional Travel Experiences
After spending years quarantining and avoiding public activities, this really feels like the year that travel is fully unlocked. And aside from traditional resort and all-inclusive type of vacations, there’s going to be a big focus on experiential travel. The pandemic was a big moment for staycations and RV travel, but now it’s looking like world exploration will take center stage. So instead of first thinking of where you want to go, you can try thinking of what you want to do. New companies like Tinggly are making experiences more accessible and affordable. Tinggly is a gift box company where instead of gifting physical products, you’re gifting travel experiences. They curate all types of experiences at different budgets, and is a great new gift idea to consider.
Additionally, destinations are highlighting the experiences at their locations more heavily. Hotels are bundling experiences with their stays (see below). Tourism boards are focused on showing the experiences that make their destination unique. There’s a big surge in eco-tourism, sustainable travel experiences, and educational travel as well. This all benefits us as family travelers because it allows for more variety of options when booking a trip, and more resources for those that want to plan things themselves or find the right packages for their family.
A Hotel Resurgence
Hotels have been taking quite a beating over the past few years. First, the rise of Airbnb and short-term rentals in the past decade made it more affordable and flexible to choose alternate accommodations instead of hotel rooms (at least for families). Then, the pandemic halted travel and many hotels struggled to convince the few travelers that were still around that they were a safe option. Unfortunately, many hotels didn’t make it past this point. However, times are changing! As Airbnb prices have been steadily rising, it’s hard to argue that they are a more affordable option as opposed to hotels now. Many hotels have also improved their amenities, making it easier for families to get more space or stay close together. Some hotels are also bundling experiences into their rates (some of which we described above). Ultimately, this very much feels like the year where hotels get their groove back, and establish a compelling offer for family travelers.
