I have been following along reading this thinking to myself about single supplements cruisers have to pay. It is frequently double the charge of a per person 2 in a cabin rate. Quite often all tours and meals are included in the cabin rate. I do a lot of expedition small ship cruising but this is standard with large ships also. The first time I ever did a cruise by myself there were two women previously unacquainted who were placed together. The one became ill and the other had to care for her the whole cruise. Although I would never mind caring for someone I know, I swore at that time I would not do a trip with someone I did not know. Getting back to the subject - I am happy to pay the single supplements for land travel. They are much more reasonable.

As Lynn has pointed out, the SS on mobiles often seems less than what you find at fixed camps. Having recently looked at some from WS indicated a number of them with SS rates more in the range of 15%, and some of the WS packages carry no SS for the first single to sign up.

Negotiation also seems to work, sometimes. I have cobbled together 3 weeks in Zambia using three different operators and tried to get concessions on the SS from all of them but succeeded with only one.

It would be interesting to see more input from the perspective of current or former industry insiders.

Hi Sandi

Not where I go - a child 12 and over pays the same rate as me - so if my per person rate is $500 per night, so is the child aged 12 and over!

So staying at Singita or Lion Sands for example, which is clearly a lot more than $500 per night, there is no reduction for a child between the ages of 12 to 17. And as I want them to keep their teeth, one soft drink a day would be enough and I prefer to pay for it, not have it automatically included for obvious reasons.

Kind regards

Kaye

I agree with Kaye - Safari Lodges and camps are very different from hotels around the world and can't compare the PPPN rates to the Nightly rates.

Lynn,

Your reference to statistics - single travellers probably are not the majority of travellers at lodges and camps, but, i have heard from one camp manager one time - that they certainly do make up a huge proportion of repeat clientele.

Kaye -

My example what just that an example.

Some camps, even if traveling with parents/adults (and they should be) don't allow children under 6 or 8/years. Others cut off at 12/yrs, some at 16/yrs. If you have 3/children at various ages up to 17/yrs sharing, prices maybe adjusted accordingly. Likewise, if 1/child under 12 sharing with only 1/adult, the reduction isn't as favorable as if sharing with 2/adults.

Not all properties or countries have the same rate schedule, nor beverage allowances.

Also, not surprising that the highest-end properties, as you show at Singita would have their own set of rules/regs.

Single supplements are what they are till it changes, whenever that might be. Just ask questions for answers that work for your particular kind of travel.

I always travel as a single, and so I choose a travel company that allows you the option to ask them to match you with a roommate. If they match you, there is no supplement. If they fail to match you, the supplement is cut in half anyway.
I've been lucky at having some wonderful roommates, but it is a bit of a gamble, of course.

If solos are repeaters, maybe that's the angle we can use. Give us a break and we'll come back. Maybe not a removal of the SS, but something.