This year we’ve seen that clients are waiting longer to plan their honeymoons. Whereas normally the planning horizon is 6-12 months in advance, more couples are initiating plans in the 1-5 month timeframe.
Perhaps people are waiting to better understand their full wedding costs or to see what the stock market brings to their personal financial situations before committing to honeymoon arrangements. Some couples may also be holding out for those great deals that the press keeps talking about, most of which only become evident within 2-3 months of the desired travel date.
So what advice can we offer couples who find themselves close to the wedding date without honeymoon arrangements?
§ First, have a hypothesis about where you’d like to go. While you may be waiting to actually move forward, once you decide to take action, you’ll need to do so quickly and knowing what you’d like to do will help.
§ Be flexible, once you do start the planning it’s likely you may have to modify your original ideas.
§ Have a couple of back-up plans, just in case costs or availability aren’t as you were hoping for. Have a second and third destination, or alternate hotel accommodations in mind.
§ If you are within 2 months to the big day and are holding out for better deals, it’s likely that they are here now. If you are seeing 30-40% discounts vs. regular rates on accommodations, for example, it’s less likely they will go further, although it may still be possible.
In the current economy, many people, not just honeymooners, are planning at the 11th hour. As a result, flights and hotels have been selling out last minute, even though they might have been wide open the prior week. Don’t assume that you will be able to get availability just because it was possible before.
When you do pull the trigger so to speak, be prepared to spend some very concentrated time sorting out the arrangements – be ready to make decisions quickly so you can get all the details in place in time.
We at MoonRings are prepared to help on short notice – please let us know how we can assist you!