|
|||||
 |
|||||
|
Single Parent Families
If you are a single parent who wants t take a family vacation with your kids, there are some all-inclusive family vacations at Myrtle Beach. There are some great cheap family vacation packages that you can look into as well as some condo rentals in Myrtle Beach that are affordable for you and your kids. If you want some fun Myrtle Beach activities, there are some great Myrtle Beach golf packages that you and your kids can enjoy. Before you embark on your family vacation destination, there are some things that you should make sure to consider and take care of. Solo parents are different than some other families because they face different obstacles. Solo parents face special issues when traveling, such as: how will a vacation be priced, given that rates are usually based on two paying adults? And how comfortable will a parent feel at a family resort, or on a cruise, if most guests are two-parent families?
The good news is that with many types of holidays, single status has little negative effect: car trips, camping, Disney theme parks, even European odysseys where hotel rooms are simply priced by number of beds there are many situations where neither price nor social ease is affected much by being a solo parent with kids.
Several families dream of a Caribbean resort or a cruise, and on these popular types of holidays, being a solo parent can price a considerable dent in your wallet.
One of the biggest shocks about single parent travel is being charged an adult rate for your 10-year-old. This occurs because most resorts base their room prices on two adults sharing one room, i.e. the resort actually expects to charge, say, $300 a night for a room, but expresses this to customers as "$150 per person based on double occupancy" -- "person" meaning an adult guest. Kids can then stay for free or pay a discount rate.
Unfortunately, if you're a single parent the resort still wants its $300. So your child will be charged an adult rate. The other nuisance of single parent travel is the "single's supplement fee" charged by many resorts. Again, this is way to bring the price up to the $300 that's the actual price for the room. The single traveler is charged the "per person" rate of $150, but is also charged a supplement of 50% to 100%.
Along with the single supplement, the single parent gets a second blow: his or her child is charged full price, because two paying adults are needed before a hotel will allow a child to get a discount rate.
How nice it would be if the adult were charged only the regular adult rate per night, and the child paid only the regular kids' fare. And a few resorts are offering single travelers this kind of break, during special promotions at low-volume times of year.
But more likely, the adult will be charged a single supplement, and can consider him/herself lucky if the child gets a discounted children's rate. But as Sally Black notes, "many resorts insist on the two-adult rate, even if you're traveling with a three-year-old who doesn't eat much or water-ski."
Add another child to the equation, and the extra child should get the discount child's rate. If, for example, a mom were traveling with a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, she'd probably pay two adult prices and the 3-year-old would pay the kids' rate.
|