Travel Taxes?! Not When You Home Exchange

If you need one more reason to try a home exchange for your next vacation, I’ve got it: no travel taxes. I’m talking about those hidden “fees” that appear as unexpectedly as ants at a picnic and ramp up the cost of your holiday. When lumped together, car rental, hotel and meal taxes impose an average increased cost on visitors of 57% over general sales tax! The great news for people who home exchange is that if you swap cars, as well as your home, you won’t be burdened with any of these hefty taxes. After all, when you home exchange you cook your meals at home, so except for the occasional dinner out, home swap members dodge all of these hidden fees.

According to the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the city with the highest total tax burden is Chicago, with combined single day travel taxes of $40.31. I did the math: for six nights in a Chicago hotel, plus car rental and meals in restaurants, a traveler will pay an additional $241.86, on top of actual cost of goods sold!

“If spending one night in Chicago is 81% more expensive than visiting Ft. Lauderdale, for example, it can have an effect on where businesses decide to meet, hold events, and spend their travel dollars,” said Joseph Bates, GBTA Foundation Vice President of research.

Hotels in San Diego have a variety of taxes that are tacked onto the hotel bills. A hotel room that costs $98.10 will also include the following:

$10.30 Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT)
$ 1.96 San Diego Tourism Marketing District (TMD) Assessment
$ 0.07 CA Travel & Tourism Assessment
So for six nights, a hotel visitor will pay about $75 extra, just for the hotel.

Let’s face it, pretty much wherever you travel there are hidden fees. Tips for the bellhop and the waiter and the concierge. They all add up and we don’t usually budget for them. Then we get our credit card bill a month later and we wonder why it’s so high!

It’s time to try a home exchange; never pay a hotel bill or travel taxes again.

Your Turn:

What’s your favorite benefit about home swap?

 

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