Chicago Sun-Times: Resort escapes fill fast for holidays

Wall Street Journal

There's a rude surprise awaiting many Americans just back from summer vacation: Christmas is almost booked.

In the latest sign that travel is picking up again, some popular winter destinations -- from the Caribbean and Mexico to even warm U.S. cities like San Diego -- are already sold out or have only a few rooms left. In Hawaii, the posh Mauna Lani Resort is nearly full for the weeks of Christmas and New Year's. The 275-room Park Hyatt Beaver Creek ski resort in Colorado is almost sold out for the last two weeks of December. The Beaches family-oriented resort in the Caribbean's Turks and Caicos is already booked solid.

That's a big turnaround from the past two years, when the economy and security worries kept many families hunkered down closer to home. As a result, people who have gotten accustomed to making last-minute plans may need to at least start poking around soon.

The strongest demand is for high-end properties. Despite rooms that average roughly $900 a night, the La Samanna resort in St. Martin is close to selling out, according to Dean Andrews of Orient- Express Hotels Inc., which manages the property. The company's Maroma Resort & Spa in Riviera Maya, Mexico -- which last year didn't sell out until mid-November -- is also nearly booked for the December holiday period.

"There will be an awful lot of demand in November, but by then the demand will have easily outstripped the supply in the Caribbean," Andrews says.

An additional concern is finding a flight. While a few carriers are gradually adding flights, the airline industry has sharply reduced its capacity in recent years. Wendy Martin had to compromise on her travel dates, shortening her family's vacation to Belize by almost four days, in order to get the right flights. "It would've been much easier to coordinate if we had planned earlier," says the Traverse City, Mich., teacher.

Of course, there are still rooms to be had. The options depend on the destination and how much you want to spend. For people willing to check out by Dec. 26, for instance, Hawaii's Mauna Lani has a few spots, though they require a five-night minimum stay.

Robert Eastman, managing director of Villas of Distinction, which represents roughly 1,000 vacation-home rentals in the Caribbean and Mexico, says there is still decent availability in St. Barts (minimum rental is two weeks), and scattered availability in St. Martin and the U.S. Virgin Islands. By contrast, he says, only 12 of the 100 private homes in Mexico he represents are still available around the end of December.

And while Turks and Caicos is sold out for the holidays, other Sandals and Beaches resorts are still available, including ones in the Bahamas, St. Lucia and a couple of its family resorts in Jamaica.

For skiers, while popular destinations like Aspen and Vail are sure to be crowded, travel agents say there's still good availability at other destinations like Sun Valley, Idaho, and Whistler, British Columbia. The Fairmont Chateau Whistler hotel has room, but requires a seven-night minimum stay during the holiday period beginning Dec. 26. The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Colorado is filling up but still has space, too.

There's also a new option in Jackson Hole, Wyo., that hardly sounds like a consolation prize. In December, a Four Seasons is opening in the area -- which averages 500 inches of snow a year. Room rates will start at $475 per night.

A few airlines also have added flights recently. This month, US Airways announced new or expanded service to destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, for example. Air Jamaica, which flies from 12 U.S. cities, usually adds flights for Christmas, but this year it is doing so months earlier than usual. Thomas Hall, director of air planning for the carrier, says that while advance bookings for the first half of December are lagging, the second half of the month is up 12 percent over a year ago.

Jewell Ramos, a North Carolina travel agent, says she's been playing a kind of travel "roulette" getting the dates for the air and hotel to match for some of her clients, because "everybody wants to leave on Dec. 20 and return Jan. 4."

If you can't find the flight you want, it may help to try other nearby big cities. David Frakes of San Diego booked his Christmas holiday in Mexico back in August, and was surprised to find that even then he couldn't get first-class seats on flights to Cancun on the days and times he needed. He and his wife will fly out of Los Angeles instead. "I thought we were booking early," says Frakes.