What is a single traveller supplement? Who does it apply to?
The single traveller supplement is a travel industry premium charged to solo travellers when they take a room alone.
The particular fee can range from 10 to 100 per cent of the standard accommodation charges.
Hotels ordinarily provide their services to cater to pairs of holiday guests, such as beds and food, and, as solo travellers do not fit that mould, they are charged the extra.
How can solo travellers swerve the supplement?
ABTA’s website has advised Britons: “You can also avoid the dreaded single supplement by sharing your room with a fellow traveller, though this is usually optional not obligatory.”
It added: “Since hotels charge per room, not simply the number of people staying in them, solo travellers will proportionately pay higher prices, though many hotels will offer a discounted rate to solo travellers rather than charging them the full room rate.
“Even when single rooms are available they are not generally half the size of a double and also will usually have en-suite facilities, so consequently hotels will not usually charge half the rate they would for a double.”
ABTA advised travellers should also re-look at the particular month they wanted to take a break, and added: “To keep costs down, travel out of the peak summer months as rates are much lower and hotels will be more likely to offer discounts to solo travellers.”
What holiday destinations are deemed the safest for solo travellers?
Statistics show there has been a 43 per cent increase in “solo travel” searches over the past three years.
It is female holiday-makers who are leading the surge, with women more likely to travel alone.
Recently, Wegoplaces presented its Solo Travel Safety Report 2019 highlighting the safest location for solo travel to be Singapore, with a safety index score of 97 per cent.
Meanwhile Norway, Iceland and Finland were all joint second tied on 93 per cent.
What holiday destinations are deemed the most dangerous for solo travellers?
Meanwhile, topping the list of Wegoplace’s riskiest solo holiday destinations is Venezuela.
The country recorded a score of 44 on the law and order index, with the lowest number of the population reporting to feel safe there.
The South American country is subject to a list of travel warnings from the UK Government, which ties in with the findings.
Currently, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to within 80 km (50 miles) of the Colombian border and 40 km (25 miles) of the Brazilian border.
It states: “Drug traffickers and illegal armed groups are active along the border area with Colombia and Brazil and there is a risk of kidnapping.”
