I’ve been travelling solo on and off for a while, and the thing that hits me every time I book a trip is how much I’m paying in solo travel tax.
A huge chunk of the travel industry still prices as if everyone travels in a pair. (Or that solo travellers are on business, and so someone else is picking up the tab). That means if you book a room, a train sleeper cabin or even a hire car or taxi, not having someone else to share the costs with mean you end up paying all of it. On you own. That’s the solo traveller tax, and once you know to look for it, you’ll see it lurking everywhere.
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What is the solo traveller tax?
Most hotel rooms and ship cabins are priced per room (or cabin) then split two ways. This is basic economics, because if you book alone the operator still has to cover the same fixed costs (the same housekeeping, the same square footage, the same cabin) so they claw it back from the one person actually paying, either in full or in part. It looks like cruises are often the worst offenders for this: supplements of 150–200% of the per-person twin-share rate aren’t unusual on some lines, mostly because the economics of cruise lines means they make a tonne of money through upselling things like excursions, meals & drinks – so every empty bed represents a significant lost sales opportunity.
It’s not necessarily unscrupulous exactly. It’s just a pricing model that originated in a market that, historically, wasn’t paying attention to people travelling on their own. But as we all get older, and/or more independent, that market has changed. Sadly the legacy pricing mostly hasn’t caught up
How to avoid paying the single supplement solo traveller tax
OK, you won’t be able to split the costs of airline tickets or taxis with anyone if you’re travelling alone. But there ways to minimise how much extra you have to pay elsewhere on your trip if you’re going solo.
Hotels and B&B
This can be the easiest one to dodge, because most hotels don’t advertise a “single supplement” at booking; they simply have single rooms, or they’ll happily sell you a double room solo at around the same room rate. A few things worth doing every time:
- Filter for single occupancy directly on Booking.com or the hotel’s own site rather than assuming the “per person” price on a comparison site applies to you
- Contact small independent hotels directly. Boutique properties are often far more flexible on solo pricing than chains, because they’re not locked into corporate office’s rigid rate structure
- Watch for run of house single rates. These can can be a bit of a gamble (and not always widely advertised) but you can often get one of the hotel’s empty smaller rooms at a genuinely fair price. OK, that room might be next to the bar toilet on the ground floor, but look how cheap it is! Yay you. (“I”m not sure getting a room next to the bar is such a good idea, you lush”)
- Use AirBnB to book a room in shared/owner-occupied accommodation
- You can also check MrB&B for rooms run by LGBTQ+ hosts The site is very solo-traveller forward
Cruises
Cruises are not my thing. For a variety of reasons. But I get that others love them, and solo cruisers (“steady…”) are where the supplement tax bites the hardest. But there are a couple of possible workarounds:
- Solo cabins. A growing number of lines (particularly the newer builds) now have dedicated single cabins at a fair, un-supplemented rate. Worth checking before booking a regular cabin and weeping at the cost.
- Reduced or waived supplement sailings. Lines regularly run promotions specifically waiving or reducing the supplement on quieter sailings; timing your booking around these is the single biggest lever. Mundy Cruising is a good place to start your research.
Top tip: Be careful of “solo only” cruises. These seem to be a thing on European river cruises in particular. Although all passengers on the voyage may be travelling alone, I’ve noticed not only that the price doesn’t vary much from the “single occupancy” rates on similar ones on the same boat (or ship or whatever…); but that they may be on less popular routes or dates.
Tours and group trips
I’ve never done a guided tour, and like taking a cruise, not something that particularly appeals to me right now. So I have no idea. Literally none. But that’s never been a barrier to me having an opinion, so here goes:
- Be prepared to share with a stranger (“excuse me, madam. This is a Nando’s!”). Be careful though, because you’re likely stuck with this person and their annoying habits for the entire tour.
- Book with a specialist. They often a variety of different options for organised or group trips away. (solo-only, solo-in-a-group etc) Solos Holidays is a good place to look.
A few questions about the single supplement
- Is it ever worth just paying the supplement? Sometimes, yes, and I usually do TBH. Particularly if the only alternative is not going at all. Some trips are just worth the cost.
- Do solo supplements apply to all-inclusive resorts too? Often, yes, and sometimes worse than at regular hotels, because the “all-inclusive” price is built around per-person dining and drinks that a couple would split differently in practice. And unless you can eat and drink for two (“like you can, you mean? Look, we’ve read your other posts and they’re all about booze”) Always check the solo rate specifically rather than assuming half the couple’s rate, you might be in for a nasty shock.
- Will this get better over time? Slowly. The over-50 solo travel market is growing, and many operators are now building solo-first pricing rather than retrofitting it. But until this gets more normal, shop around before every booking.