US travel costs surge as vacation demand ramps up from pandemic lows

U.S. travel costs are soaring as demand reaches some of its highest points since the global pandemic began, a trend that shows little sign of stopping as summertime travel heats up.

Airline bookings in February hit their highest point since COVID-19 decimated flying in the U.S. in early 2020, while hotel occupancy is higher than it has been for most of the last two years. Combined with rising costs for labor and energy and short supplies, these factors are driving travel prices to jump by leaps and bounds, contributing to the fastest rise in broad consumer prices since the 1980s. Hotel prices, for example, rose at the fastest rate on record in February compared to a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.