Coronavirus changed Memorial Day travel plans, but could good times roll this summer?
Joe Rhodes can’t wait to get back out on the road, but he’s also a realist.
Rhodes, 65, has spent the past 10 years living in a customized van, traveling across the United States, visiting friends along the way and showering at the nearest Anytime Fitness gym.
But the retired news and entertainment writer has been stranded the past two months. His van has been parked at a friend’s driveway in Carrollton, while he waits out the COVID-19 restrictions.
When Rhodes returns to his gloriously vagabond lifestyle, he knows it won’t be the same. But he’s ready.
“I’m not under the illusion that life will be as it was,” Rhodes said in a phone interview. “I have spent a lot of time hanging out in coffee shops and bars, and I’m not ready to do things like that.”
This Memorial Day weekend is expected to be the lowest-traveled holiday in decades, according to AAA, a company that provides travel services. Yet many Americans, like Rhodes, are itching to get on the road. Although few Americans are planning to travel by air anytime soon, lots of people are looking into where they can go in a car, van or perhaps a recreational vehicle.
Rhodes has his eye on getting out of Dallas-Fort Worth and heading toward Iowa to visit friends around June 1.
“As its gets hotter,” he says, “the driveway lifestyle looks a lot less pleasant.”
Memorial Day weekend is considered the unofficial start of summer travel season, and despite the lackluster beginning of this year’s peak vacation period there are indications that lots of Americans plan to travel later in the summer.
Although air travel is down about 95% because of the coronavirus outbreak, other parts of the industry may see a bump in revenue as Americans drive to destinations closer to their homes — especially places such as campgrounds, where they can have a good time without getting into crowded spaces.
Recreational vehicles in particular are in demand, according to RVshare, a company that provides online listings for RV buyers and sellers.
RVshare is a business that connects RV owners to prospective renters online (sort of like airbnb). The company reports that summer reservations have spiked 650% since April.
“We expect RVs to continue to gain traction as a preferred method of travel while consumers are seeking flexible options and a unique way to experience the outdoors,” Jon Gray, RVshare chief executive, said in an email.
The company surveyed customers and found that 77% plan to travel within the next three months. Of those respondents, 93% intend to avoid crowds during their travels, and 65% want to be near nature.
Plan trips carefully
Still, travelers should carefully plan any trips. Rhodes, for example, probably won’t be able to rely upon a membership to a nationwide gym company to provide showers wherever he goes.
As of now, gyms are allowed to open in many states, including Texas, but not allowed to provide public access to showers and lockers.
Rhodes may also have trouble finding open restaurants and watering holes in some locales. He will have to research each destination, to make sure he will have places to eat, which may take away some of the spontaneity of each trip.
“For me, the fun of it is to be in the midst of a new place interacting with people I don’t know,” Rhodes said.
Make reservations
A good rule of thumb is, don’t assume you can show up at a campground, state park or other attraction and get in without a reservation. Make phone calls well ahead of time, to make sure your destination is open and ready for your visit.
Many facilities that normally welcome summer guests may still be closed, or operating on a skeleton staff.
Texas state parks, for example, can only be accessed by visitors who have made a reservation online. That includes obtaining admission tickets.
“We’re not allowing any walk-ins at state parks at this time,” said Stephanie Garcia, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokeswoman.
Those restrictions could be relaxed after Memorial Day, but those decisions are still pending, she said.
Equipment rentals and interpretative programs also remain closed for now at Texas state parks, and groups larger than five people aren’t allowed, she said.
AAA Texas isn’t issuing predictions for Memorial Day, but spokesman Daniel Armbruster says that with social distancing guidelines in place “this holiday weekend’s travel volume is likely to set a record low.”
Last year, 43 million people in the U.S. traveled for Memorial Day weekend. That was the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes in 2000.
Toward the end of the Great Recession in 2009, 31 million people traveled during Memorial Day weekend, AAA says. Of those, 26.4 million people traveled by car, 2.1 million by plane and nearly 2 million by other forms of transportation including trains and cruise ships.
Online bookings have been rising for AAA’s travel services since mid-April, which suggests American’s confidence in getting out on the road is slowly improving, Armbruster said.
In Carrollton, Rhodes’ friends have told him he can stayed parked in their driveway for as long as he wants. But he’s ready to move on.
“I also can’t continue to sit in a driveway in Carrollton all summer,” Rhodes said. “I’ll melt.”
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 11:34 AM.
