A 15% Black Friday discount on a Christmas hotel room this year comes to about $167 a night. That is roughly what the average Christmas room cost a year ago.
Black Friday falls on Nov. 27 this year, followed by Cyber Monday on Nov. 30 and Travel Tuesday on Dec. 1, and airlines, hotels and cruise lines are expected to compete for bookings across all three. For budget-conscious travelers, the question is whether a markdown matters when starting prices have already jumped.
Fuel costs are keeping fares high
According to Hopper’s 2026 Holiday Travel Index, domestic round-trip Thanksgiving flights are averaging $402, up 31% from 2025. Christmas fares are up 23%, with round trips averaging $452. Hopper projects this will be the most expensive holiday travel season in a decade.
Elevated jet fuel prices are behind the climb, making deep holiday discounts less likely. For most carriers, fuel is the second-largest cost after labor. Delta said after its third-quarter results that its jet fuel costs rose 60%, an increase of $1.6 billion from a year earlier.
Travelers have absorbed most of that. CEO Ed Bastian said in July that he expected Delta to pass close to 100% of its higher fuel costs on to customers in the third quarter, and the airline’s revenue per seat mile rose 15%.
On the earnings call, Bastian said the market “has accepted these price points.” He also said, “Hopefully, we will see fuel recede into the next year at some point, and that’s when I think you’ll see the real earnings power of this franchise be amplified.” As Fortune reported, that suggests higher fares could stick even if fuel prices ease, as long as demand holds up.
Other carriers, including American, United and Southwest, have cut less profitable routes, tightening supply as demand peaks. U.S. airfares were up 22.4% in September from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as airlines chose higher fares over fuller planes.
Hotels are steady at Thanksgiving and pricier at Christmas
Domestic hotel prices are splitting. Hopper reports that Thanksgiving rates are running about $170 a night, comparable to 2025, while Christmas rates average $197 a night, up 18% from a year ago.
Hopper expects rates to rise and availability to fall as the holidays near, which changes the math on any sale. A promotional price may only bring a surge-priced room back to last year’s rate.
The best travel deals come bundled
With capacity tight and costs elevated, there is little room left for deep discounts. DaShawna Carpenter, owner of Skyy Travel Mavens, says the shopping holiday has lost some of its punch in travel.
“Black Friday is definitely becoming weaker,” she says. “While I think you can genuinely find legitimate savings, I have found that prices are sometimes inflated to appear cheaper during the sale periods. So it’s more of a marketing campaign than anything, especially for travel.”
She says Travel Tuesday tends to offer the best deals of the three days but cautions that most of them are bundled. “Most of the deals are attached to packages rather than flights alone, so it’s hard to say whether there are huge fare deals or not.”
That distinction matters for anyone hoping to save on airfare alone. A package price blends airfare, lodging and extras, which makes it difficult to see what the flight itself costs.
Even when a discount does apply to airfare, Carpenter says, the savings may be narrower than they look. “Some airlines apply discounts to airfare but leave fuel pricing, taxes, and other fees the same.”
Her advice is to arrive with a reference point rather than be swayed by a lower sticker price. “A traveler has to be knowledgeable in what the fare normally costs to really understand the discounts and what they are comparing it to.”
Travel sales fill a slow booking window
November and December have historically been slow booking months, and Carpenter notes that the discount-day “marketing campaigns have helped fill that gap.” The sales are less about generosity than about smoothing demand in a quiet window for trips later in the year.
That is also why missing them is not a big deal. “If you don’t buy on any of these marketed ‘discount days,’ there will definitely be other chances to catch a discount,” she says.
Carpenter’s read on traveler spending is consistent with carriers’ decision to hold prices high. “We found out during COVID that travel is somewhat recession- and virus-proof,” she says. “Travelers are going to remain committed to their vacations and I’ve found they cut back on other things in order to keep their travel plans up.”
She also credits buy now, pay later services such as Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm with making travel more attainable and consistent, even for price-sensitive travelers.
What to do before you book
For travelers eyeing next year, Carpenter’s advice centers on comparison shopping rather than chasing a single flash fare.
Compare against the normal price, not the crossed-out one. Watch a route or hotel for weeks before the sale and check its price history. Read what the discount covers. Taxes, fuel-related charges and fees may not change, and a sale that applies only to a nonrefundable fare is not the same as a cheaper trip. Look at packages, but price the parts. The strongest bundled offers tend to appear on Travel Tuesday, but a bundle can hide a weak airfare. Don’t panic if you miss the window. Other sales will come.For this holiday season, timing matters more than coupons. Hopper had advised booking holiday flights and hotels before Halloween and expects prices to keep rising as the dates approach, so waiting for a sale works against the trend.
Fares on the Sunday after Thanksgiving can top $600, Hopper notes, while flying on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday or Cyber Monday is cheaper. This year, the best Black Friday travel deal may be a seat on a plane that day.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Hence then, the article about holiday fares hit a 10 year high a black friday deal may only get you back to last year s price was published today ( ) and is available on Fortune ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Holiday fares hit a 10-year high. A Black Friday deal may only get you back to last year’s price )
Also on site :
- 7 Gripping Books That Will Destroy Any Ounce of Productivity This Week; Including a Look Inside ‘Boy Meets World’ and a ‘Star Trek’ Must-Have
- Premier League: Manchester United Host Aston Villa at Old Trafford Today
- Unrest in France looks like a ‘pretty big foreshadowing’ to economists nervously eyeing national debt at 126% of GDP