A growing number of clients travel alone on our self-guided packages, and most of our tour portfolio is designed for solo travellers and clients travelling together. The rewards of travelling alone are plentiful, allowing you to discover the world on your terms; however, there is an added cost consideration. For all our self-guided tours, there is a mandatory solo traveller supplement. Whereas other operators may embed the supplement into the total tour cost for solo travellers, we explicitly detail the supplement amount on the tour's online booking form for transparency.
We understand this supplement may be frustrating for solo travellers, and some may feel unfairly penalised for the privilege of travelling alone. We also appreciate that clients may want extra clarification on why the solo traveller supplement exists in the first place and what it goes towards. The below, therefore, explains the core factors that contribute to the solo traveller supplement directly related to our tours, so that you can book your solo trip with absolute confidence.
Accommodation:
Within any multi-day tour itinerary, the accommodation costs will make up the largest portion of the tour inclusions. Like many other tour operators, we design all our tours by contracting specific hotels, to ensure accommodations can offer us competitive and stable contracted rates. These partnerships help us avoid rate volatility found with online travel agent sites, and facilitate us to advertise tour prices much earlier in advance.
Hoteliers cost their rooms based on two-person occupancy, rather than pricing them per room. The specific reasons behind this may vary among hoteliers; however, the most common underlying justification by the hospitality industry is that the room cost is based on the average number of occupants using the room. Many hoteliers will also maintain that the operational costs in servicing rooms, providing additional facilities at the hotel, and general hotel running costs are calculated against two people using a room and staying at their establishment. Therefore, they balance this potential lost revenue against their business model by applying a supplement for solo guests, occupying a two-person room. Presently, throughout the hospitality sector, the ratio is still significantly higher for two people using a room than solo travellers, and hoteliers continue to respond to this demographic when maximizing revenue and occupancy rates to remain in business.
All our tours, therefore, are based on a twin-share basis in line with these contracted costs from hoteliers, and the solo traveller supplement is representative of the supplements applied by hoteliers. We also design our itineraries using smaller local, typically family-run establishments, that do not have the financial scale to balance the operational costs of accommodating solo guests and two people sharing rooms.
Transport and logistics:
The other core inclusion in all our tours is the transportation of luggage and in some instances passengers as well. As with accommodation, we contract with local transportation partners and these operational costs make a significant contribution to the advertised tour cost. The transportation companies provide us with costs based on a capacity model greater than one traveller, or one traveller's luggage, per vehicle. These costs are most notably related to fuel, driver wages, insurance and permits, vehicle maintenance, and general business running costs.
The rates we receive from our local transportation partners are based on allocating a vehicle to a minimum of two travellers, and they apply a supplement for solo travellers. This supplement is in turn calculated into our advertised solo traveller supplement.
For inspiration on our tours that accept solo travellers, see our Solo travel - we have your back blog, and you can view our full range of solo travellers friendly tours here.
To go straight to a summary of our most commonly asked questions, click here.
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