| | | | | | | Presented By Google Cloud | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Jennifer A. Kingson, Joann Muller and Erica Pandey ·Oct 11, 2021 | | Those of us who feel brave enough to travel again for the holidays may already find ourselves out of luck, as Joann Muller reports. - Today's What's Next reader photo comes from Jim Gray, who reminds us of the gratitude we should embrace during the protracted labor shortage.
- Don't be shy about sending your own photos — make them nice ones, please, and/or interesting, surprising and delightful! Whatsnext@axios.com.
Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,072 words ... 4 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Pent-up travel demand could lead to holiday headaches |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios | | | | Significantly more people plan to travel during the holidays this year than in previous years, according to a new PWC survey — but that pent-up demand will strain airlines still trying to recover from last year, Joann Muller writes. Why it matters: While many airlines are adding flights to popular destinations, consumers are likely to find higher prices and limited availability. Airlines could also face staffing shortages over newly issued vaccine mandates. By the numbers: Roughly a third of the population typically travels during the holidays, most to visit family and friends, previous PWC data showed. - That was true even last year, when many travelers took road trips instead of flying.
- This year, however, 52% of respondents said they plan to travel — far more than the typical one-third. Most will travel by car (72%), although 57% of those with household incomes above $150,000 said they plan to travel by air.
They're going to spend more getting there too. - Holiday travel spending is projected to increase by 69% in 2021 compared with 2020, per PWC.
- Even compared with pre-pandemic 2019, average travel spending is set to increase 24%, to $461 from $372.
The catch: Travel demand is likely to outstrip supply of available airline seats and rental cars. - "Airlines can't add capacity fast enough," said Jonathan Kletzel, leader of PWC's airline and travel practice.
- Unless you book your trip early, "there will literally be no seats available to get to your destination," he said.
- A shortage of rental cars means you could pay the same amount to rent a Ford Fiesta from a rental agency as you would to rent some guy's Maserati on a car-sharing site like Turo.
- There's even a shortage of luggage.
What's happening: Some airlines are scrambling to add more flights and larger planes to meet the expected surge. - United Airlines said last week it would fly its busiest schedule since the start of the pandemic, adding December flights to cities like Las Vegas and Orlando, Florida, and ski resorts like Aspen, Colorado.
- "We're seeing a lot of pent-up demand in our data and are offering a December schedule that centers on the two things people want most for the holidays: warm sunshine and fresh snow," said Ankit Gupta, vice president of network planning and scheduling at United.
Read the full story. |     | | | | | | 2. Bonus: International air travel carries extra risk |  Data: Our World in Data; Chart: Jared Whalen/Axios If you're traveling internationally this holiday season, make sure you know all the COVID-related requirements at your destination, Joann also writes. Why it matters: International travel poses an increased risk of infection even for fully vaccinated travelers. If you don't follow local rules on masks, testing or quarantine, you could be forced to return to the U.S. What's happening: While domestic air travel has bounced back strongly, international trips are still 56% below pre-pandemic levels, according to data compiled by Airlines for America. - Mexico and the Dominican Republic are by far the most popular destinations from the U.S. In September, air traffic to those destinations even surpassed 2019 levels.
Be smart: Travel restrictions continue to evolve. Check frequently with your airline and destination for the latest requirements. - In any case, you will be required to get a COVID-19 test before your return to the U.S., even if you are fully vaccinated.
Share this story. | | | | | | | | 3. Canceling Columbus Day |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | The Columbus Day sale — a longtime ritual for car dealers and department stores — is dead, as Jennifer A. Kingson writes. The big picture: Retailers are moving away from big sales events in general and are especially eager to distance themselves from today's particularly disputatious federal holiday. The intrigue: For years, states and municipalities have started renaming "Columbus Day" as "Indigenous Peoples' Day" to protest the legacy of colonialism that hangs over Christopher Columbus' so-called "discovery" of America. - The last thing retailers want is to get caught in the culture wars.
- "I think this one is an easy one that they can just say, 'Hey, I'm just going to rename the sale or cancel the sale' and not worry about it," says Katie Thomas, leader of the Kearney Consumer Institute, a think tank within the management consulting firm Kearney.
- Plus, fewer people get a day off of work for Columbus Day than in the past, so they don't have a long weekend to go shopping.
Driving the news: Canceling or scaling back big sales events this year would be an especially easy call. This season's well-documented "Everything Shortage" means that retailers don't know what inventory they'll have in a few weeks, and thus can't plan marketing campaigns ahead of time. - "If you make a big deal about this weekend and say you're going to have a lot of great products, you're going to basically set yourself up for a stockout and disappoint a bunch of people," Marc Rousset, a partner in the retail and consumer goods practice at the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, tells Axios.
What's next: Expect to see fewer department and big-box stores pegging big sales to federal holidays. - "I wouldn't be surprised to see Memorial Day [sales] go next," Rousset said.
Share this story. | | | | | | | | A message from Google Cloud | | Explore what's now and what's next at Google Cloud Next | | |  | | | | From live Q&As with experts to hands-on demos and real-world applications of the latest Google Cloud tech, explore the possibilities at Next '21. Get informed, be inspired and expand your expertise. Register now to build a customized experience. | | | | | | 4. Fine wine? Pass me a can. |  | | | Bottle-free vino in Des Moines, Iowa. Photos courtesy of Jasper Winery | | | | Canned wine sales skyrocketed in 2020, and there's no looking back, according to the Los Angeles Times. State of play: As we said goodbye to white-linen dinners and hello to hikes and picnics last year, our wine habits followed. - In March 2020, canned wine accounted for 0.7% of off-premise wine sales. It nearly doubled to 1.2% of wine dollars this last summer.
- The biggest fans? Young drinkers from ages 21 to 34 represent 15% of bottled wine buyers, but 26% of canned wine buyers, the Times reports.
For Jasper Winery in Des Moines, Iowa. that jump is real, reports Axios Des Moines correspondent Linh Ta. It launched a line of canned wines last spring to meet the demand. - Jasper Winery found success and more recently released lower ABV canned wine spritzers.
- "As a younger generation comes along, they don't want to have these snooty kind of wine experiences," said Mason Grober, winemaker at Jasper. "There [are] times when you want to have an expensive bottle with a nice meal, but for a lot of people this is about convenience."
Share this story. | | | | | | | | 5. Reader photo of the day |  | | | Photo: Jim Gray | | | | What's Next: Civility amid the labor shortage Jim Gray writes: "After meeting with clients, I stopped at the Buckhorn Grille at the Nut Tree in Vacaville, California. There was a long line to place orders for a sandwich, salad or beverage. "I saw this sign and it brought a smile to my lips. I wanted to share it with you and your readers." | | | | | | | | A message from Google Cloud | | Looking for your next cloud insights? Join Google Cloud Next | | |  | | | | Join Next '21 to experience live Q&As with leading experts and hands-on demos with the latest Google Cloud tech. This no-cost digital event lets you explore new possibilities, get informed, be inspired, and expand your expertise. Register now. | | | | Thanks for reading! If this email was forwarded to you, feel free sign up for Axios What's Next here. |  | | It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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