According to a recent survey from American Express, nearly 20 percent of people who traveled last year plan to stay home this year, and 7 percent plan to drive instead of fly. Another 3 percent plan to shorten their time away over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Close-in bookings have been the industry standard this year, and with just a month to go before Thanksgiving, this is about as late as you can get for booking your clients for the long holiday weekend.
Still, there are some selling points you can make to your clients: Reduced consumer demand has been a boon for those consumers who still want to take the trip, and seat selection has improved and prices are roughly 10 percent cheaper than booking made this time last year, according to numbers from FareCompare.com.
So you may want to hit the phones this weekend and reach out to those clients who have booked Thanksgiving travel in the past and let them know what kind of deals you can put together for them. And even if you don’t sell them on a last-minute Thanksgiving getaway or family get-together, it’s a good time to reach out and make contact: after all, Christmas and New Year’s are right around the corner.