The nightmare of this summer’s European travel season has been well-documented: Epic airline failures, chaotic crowds, skyrocketing hotel rates, and Armageddon-style heat waves all made it a summer to remember, if (hopefully) not to repeat. And for many, it was all reason enough to postpone that long-awaited getaway altogether.
“The sticker shock of this season was very real, even for travelers who had the means to afford it,” says David Prior, founder of the membership travel club Prior. Inflation made already record rates climb even higher—to as much as 50% more than in 2019—and not even the late-summer dollar-to-euro parity could make up for it. “People were aghast,” Prior adds with a laugh.
