Summer travel is up, but hotel occupancy is down. What gives? – Marketplace

A lot of folks are flying these days. Daily Transportation Security Administration screenings at airports nationwide have repeatedly hit record highs this summer travel season. But at the same time, occupancy levels at hotels and short-term rentals in many parts of the U.S. are down compared to recent summers, according to data from AirDNA.

So where exactly are all those members of the flying public jetting off to?

Well, for one, this has been a banner year for luxury travel.

“Business is great. We’re just about to surpass our total sales for last year,” said Sarah Fazendin, founder of Videre Travel, which makes custom itineraries.

She said her clients are opting for far-flung destinations: “This year was all about Japan and Southeast Asia.”

And on the global currency markets, this year was also all about a strong U.S. dollar, which is prompting Americans to go abroad, said Joseph James, co-owner of Tillie James Travel.

“When you go to that exchange office, people are finding out that that money goes a lot further,” he said.

Still, fancy, long-haul travel isn’t for everyone, said Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics at CoStar. “So the headline for summer travel for us is this term ‘bifurcation,’” he said.

Meaning there’s healthy demand for that splurge trip to Asia, but at the same time, “we’ve definitely seen some cracks for the lower end for what we call economy-class hotels,” he said.

Freitag said lower-income travelers are making different choices right now, “saying, ‘Well, my car insurance is up, my rent is up, my food cost is up,’” he said. So that short-term rental might have to wait until next year.

But one mode of cheap travel that has kept up strong demand: canoe camping.

“Two-person canoe rents for, you know, $44 per day,” said Dan Shirley. He owns Sawbill Canoe Outfitters at Minnesota’s Boundary Waters wilderness.

Shirley said most of his clients come from within driving range, so there’s no airfare.

“And there’s nowhere to spend your money while you’re on the trip, right? You can’t access the internet and there are no stores,” he added.

So nowhere to impulse-buy that souvenir shot glass you’ll never use.