“For every single category in travel, prices are up with the exception of international airfare,” said Adit Damodaran, economist at the travel booking app Hopper.
While the year-over-year swing is notable, he said, hotel and domestic airfare costs are comparable to pre-pandemic levels. The U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Price Index for May similarly shows a 12 percent increase over 2020 but a slight drop compared to 2019.
“I think it feels a little unnatural because of how quickly it increased from the pandemic,” Damodaran said.
In some especially busy markets, hotel prices are averaging more than they did even before the pandemic. According to travel research firm STR, some of the costliest hotel markets in the United States — Maui and Key West, Fla. — had average daily rates that were more than $100 higher for the four weeks ending June 26 than at the same time in 2019.
