Cost of single supplement for single-dad family vacations
Did you know that if you are travelling as a single-parent with children under 12 years of age, you can actually get a discount? Yeah! I found out the hard way after booking a regular resort vacation only to discover that other hotel guests got their kids in for free!
Typically, when you go online or talk to a travel agent about vacations, rooms are priced at double occupancy. Since you are charged as two paying adults, kids can stay and eat for free. But as a single dad, you don’t have the requisite number of paying adults and so miss out on all the free kids stuff. To add insult to injury, most places may add a charge called, ‘single supplement’ to compensate for losses because only one adult is staying in the room. This is very common on cruise ships, too.
For some tour operators, 15 to 20% of their clients are single-parents so this is big business. Vacation providers are recognizing that the traditional families are changing and they accommodate single-parents, same-sex parents, extended and multi-generational families.
Increasingly, many resorts are waiving the single supplement for single dads like me who want to take their kid on holidays, especially as travel opens up again, post pandemic. But you have to tell them upfront. The web sites are still a bit elusive in offering the discount so it’s best to call an agent to manage it for you. There are some restrictions though. Single supplement fee waivers are not available at adult or couple only resorts. (It’s to accommodate tired single parents, not for single guys out trolling). Your kids have to be under 12 and there’s usually a limit of two. Some resorts may charge for multiple children, but they would be heavily discounted. Kids from 13-17 won’t be free, but there could be a teen rate. Not all resorts can accommodate families or offer single supplement discounts. Like an airline, only some seats are reserved for points so family resorts may have only a certain allocation of rooms for single supplement fees waivers. So call ahead. The moment you tell them that you are a single-parent looking to have the single-supplement waived, the agent will know what you’re looking for and search through family friendly vacation packages that only charge for the airfare, but not the resort/food portion for the child.
The one thing I realized at these family resorts is that they make less of an attempt to separate the adult activities from the kids. There are games, video and pools that welcome all ages so it doesn’t feel like the adult has entered Disneyland and your kids don’t feel like they just entered a Sandals resort. Children can even swim up to the pool side bar and order virgin cocktails while sitting next to adults sipping margaritas! And guests who stay at family resorts are the least judging since most have a child or a grandchild with them.
While the two-parent/two-children family is still the advertised profile for many tour operators, increasingly, vacations are booked by single-parent households. For some operators, 15 to 20% of their clients are single-parents so this is big business. Vacation providers are recognizing that the traditional families are changing and they accommodate single-parents, same-sex parents, extended and multi-generational families who all have one goal in mind: to allow the resort to take care of them for a week.
