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We normally travel late May or early June….. both for schedule reasons but also pricing is normally good. This year the pricing seems quite high. At least for the Holguin area…. Anyone else notice this?
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I have as well. Our resort is higher than I have ever seen it. Seems like all places are that way from what I have seen. Normally I’m booked as soon as I return, not this time ![]("http://images.proboards.com/v5/smiley/sad.png") Taking a wait and see at this point.
I did get a good price(Breezes Jibacoa) for a friend who had me on watch while she was in Cuba just in case which it did. When she comes home today and finds out she is booked again she will be a happy camper considering yet another big blast is about to hit NS.
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I have been watching for even late April, early May as I have gotten some amazing deals during that time. Some of those rates are higher than the March break rates??!I am sure they will come down a little once it gets closer, but not a good sign.
Oil prices going back up and the CAD continuining to fall will equal higher travel costs for us outside of Canada for the foreseeable future
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I’ve been watching prices from the West Coast and can’t find any good deals. Prices at Jibacoa (where we love to go) haven’t come down at all and seem higher than what I’ve ever paid.
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I guess agencies confused abut Canadian dollar and oil price so they play safe and keep prices up. I am sure that they will have some last minute deals especially for April and May!
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We paid far more for our trip on March 28 than I would have liked. I will have to savor each day there that much more! |
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I was so lucky in August of 2014. We had booked a trip for Nov 26 – Dec 9/14. Two days after we booked the trip, found another deal for April 2015 at more than half price. Travel agent didn’t believe me on the cost, looked at Trip Central and sure enough the price still on line. If we did it now, the price is 3 times higher. I guess the goddess up above was looking after us. The dollar has tanked and we can only hope that is good for our economy and get more investments in our country.
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Problem with the dollar tanking now is that all our manufacturing is gone and we have to buy everything in US$. Wait a few months you’re going to see the price of everything rise.
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Yup…so much for a low CAD being good for our economy. It certianly doesn’t help the little guy or the everyday person like myself.Almost EVEYTHING is imported into Canada that we buy, so we are gonna pay more. And travel is gonna cost more as alot of things are based on or use the USD for pricing when travelling.
I am still holding out some hope for some last min deals come end of season but..
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Well we just booked Blau costa Verde for $995 pp taxes in from Halifax for a week. that is very good pricing for me considering we are on the East Coast. That is for april 11
Susan
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I have started to notice some deals here and there…..out of Halifax anyways there are quite a few options around the $1000 mark tax in, even some to Mexico and DR for that range now…fingers crossed now that everyone who has a March/Spring break comming up has probably mostly booked and made vacation plans, we will see the demand start to go down a little and some seats start to show up at a little lower price….
Still looking here….
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Looking beyond the canadian dollar for a second, I think everyone should be prepared for all prices within tourism to only go one way from now on in Cuba. And that’s up.There almost hasn’t been a single hotel room available in central Havana from December to March. Loads of Americans coming in and tourism from Europe, South America and Canada still rising, why would Cuba lower prices? Havana spills onto Varadero and on to the rest of Cuba.I know you are all talking about Canadian flight+resort deals, but those are of course a result of the price the Cuban state dictate on hotels and resorts. And the Cuban state will take all they can possible get of course. They may well officially be socialists, but they love money as much as any government.The only way prices will start going down is if a million Canadians are scared away and Cuba realizes 2-3 years down the road that the reason for this is the price. Unless of course the one million Canadians are replaced by two million USA’ers, then – sorry to say – the Cuban government won’t hold a soft spot for the nationality that more or less single-handledly filled up Varadero for a decade or two until the yankees took over.
That’s not to say that canadian agencies won’t panic and lower prices if too few people book Cuba, but the result will probably be that they buy less spots next year, and that will keep the good deals away then. I’m no expert on Canadian flight+hotels deals though, but it is of course basic supply and demand both from their side and that of the Cuban government.
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Prices are high and the tour operators are using some interesting algorithms to track sales and adjust pricing this year. Prices that were changed once a week are changed every day now. With a winter like this in eastern Canada, there’s no sign of a drop in demand till June.The lessees of the Cuban resorts still price and market their properties based on their expertise. The Cuban owners want to see warm bums in beds but the ultimate decision on pricing comes from the front end management, Iberostar, Melia, Blau and so on.The biggest change in the past few years is the market penetration of Blue Diamond and the pressure the Cuban owners can now put on their lessees because they have a player in the wings, ready to take advantage of a dispute.I’m watching the start up of the Valentin in CSM to get a feel of what happens when the Cuban owner, Gaviotta, hands over a property to the new managers with 60% of the staff untrained, water supply, provisions and services lacking and lots of complaints. Do Valentin stay the course and work out their differences with Gaviotta or do the Cubans break the lease in favour of the client who already supplies half of the bookings, Sunwing/Selloff (Blue Diamond)If you lease a property from Gran Caribe, Gaviotta or the other two, you’ll be watching. |
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I am still paying less for trips than I did on my first in 2003, back when a $0.63 Canadian dollar was fresh in memory. I’m not going to worry a lot until things get substantially more expensive.
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![]("http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/eeeefarm/Roatan/photographer.jpg") I am still paying less for trips than I did on my first in 2003, back when a $0.63 Canadian dollar was fresh in memory. I’m not going to worry a lot until things get substantially more expensive.
I know exactly what you’re saying. AI trips have gotten so cheap the last 6 or 7 years any price we’ve paid lately has been considered a bargain. We paid way more in 2000 for our family of 4 to Tryp then we would today. To me if I’m looking for a decent price, anything under $1,500 is a fair price.
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It will also be interesting to see if there is a trend away from all inclusives because I don’t think this is as big a thing for Americans. Also, if the prices rise, then we and others will look at other Countries if there becomes much less of a differential. The Cubans will have to step it up, in terms of accomodations/service/food quality because a 3.5* in Cuba isn’t the same as a 3.5* on other islands. If your gonna price yourself like the competition you better be prepared to be as good if not better.Interesting read in the Globe the other day on the Canadian banks being impacted by Carribean loan losses etc. They mentioned how basically there is only so many tourists, so one island cannibalizes the supply of tourists at the expense of another island.
www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/perils-of-the-caribbean/article23199267/
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Spunky,"With a winter like this in eastern Canada, there’s no sign of a drop in demand till June."Remember last winter? It started in November and was cold as well.Prices dropped in March for late March and April. The year before there were really good deals in April but last minute.Just gotta be patient and ready to pull the trigger.
brew
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I hope you are right Brew24. I have gotten some amazing last min deals the past 2 years during those times, so really hoping it happens again this year!!
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My understanding is that the Canadian tour operators buy their rooms from the Cuban hotels early in the year. Therefore any increase in American tourism shouldn’t have any effect on Canadian prices this year. Yes it should have an impact next year when the Canadian operators try to buy their rooms and the Cubans know they can play hardball because of the increase in US tourism next year. Of course, it might be worthwhile this year for Americans to go through Canadian operators because they have better deals than they can get through the US.
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![]("http://s29438.storage.proboards.com/2099438/a/vO_wKPm9qgRWR0v2TWkF.gif") It will also be interesting to see if there is a trend away from all inclusives because I don’t think this is as big a thing for Americans. I haven’t noticed a shortage of Americans at Mexican AIs; I think they like AI plenty. I don’t think they’ll be too smitten with Cuban 3*s though, seeing what they think of Mexican ones! |
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Yeah, I agree with Desmei. I think that Americans are used to a pretty high end and luxury when then go to the Caribbean….places like MExico, Punta Cana, Bahamas etc.So I cant imagine they will be lined up to book the average resort in Cuba. Or once a few do and news gets back home about some of the conditions etc they won’t be repeat guests.
That being said, the new resorts being built in Cuba can defn compete and there seems to be quite a few lately.
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![]("http://s29438.storage.proboards.com/2099438/a/0Ys_fDAdI0G_7rJpMi9I.jpg") I think that Americans are used to a pretty high end and luxury when then go to the Caribbean….places like MExico, Punta Cana, Bahamas etc.
That being said, the new resorts being built in Cuba can defn compete and there seems to be quite a few lately.
Based on our recent experiences, I have to disagree somewhat with the first statement. There are just as many Americans who enjoy 3 star vacation experiences as there are Canadians who enjoy the same. We’ve met many wonderful, laid-back Americans over the past few years of vacations other than in Cuba. The opposite also holds true given how many Canadians book 5 star resorts only and wouldn’t be caught dead at anything rated lower. What everyone likes is a good deal! There seems to be a totally different mentality amongst guests when it’s not an all-inclusive vacation. What Americans do seem to like are excursions because it’s all organized for them. We were constantly shaking our heads wondering why people were paying a rather large sum of money to snorkel in places where direct beach access was so easy & convenient. If anything were to impact Americans not going back to Cuba, it would be the lack of "familiar" food.Along with the new resorts, Cuba will also have to step up to the plate in creating a more "theme park" type of atmosphere which many Americans seem to enjoy.Back to the original topic of pricing, I’m seeing some decent deals for Cuba from Vancouver right now, even for Spring Break which is not sold out. According to local travel agents this is most unusual and something they haven’t seen since 2009. We’re having a very mild winter this year unlike the rest of Canada who are freezing their butts off. Despite the low prices, I honestly have no desire or urge to go away right now because I’m enjoying my own beach! I’ll go out on a limb and say that the high pricing this year is because of the weather. |
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No going out on a limb there – that’s the truth. That and our sagging dollar…
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