For some wealthy travelers, fall is the new summer

Autumn travel often goes hand-in-hand with leaf-peeping excursions. (That’s still true — AirDNA, which tracks vacation rental listings on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo, told BI that demand in October for the popular fall foliage hot spots of rural New York and the coast of Maine is up 19.7% from 2023.)

Many of these offseason vacationers are also seeking out classic overseas summer destinations like Europe.

Travel-booking company Hopper told BI that in 2023, 23% of European vacations reserved on the platform were for September and October of that year, up 5% from 2019.

Jackie Roth — a travel manager for Scott Dunn Private, the invite-only subsidiary of travel agency Scott Dunn — told BI that all its clients have been requesting fall travel. And likely not for some quick, dirt-cheap getaways — Scott Dunn Private’s members must spend a minimum of $100,000 on travel annually.

Autumn can be a great time to travel if you’re looking to avoid peak-season crowds and costs. Most children are back in school. And Airbnb said its vacation rentals are generally the cheapest from September through November.

According to data from travel booking platform Kayak, the average nightly cost of three- and four-star hotels in Italy dropped 3% from the summer to fall of 2024. In Cagliari, Sardinia, the dip was closer to 22%.

It’s easier for families who aren’t beholden to a school calendar to globetrot during the week. Or, they could just skip class.

Kelly Grumbach, senior vice president of travel for concierge service Quintessentially, told BI that about 20% to 25% of the company’s clients pull their children out of school for a weeklong shoulder-season vacation to avoid being “surrounded by American tourists” and “ripped off” by peak-season rates.

According to Belles, of Virtuoso, some seasonal resorts have been extending their operating months to accommodate the growing number of late-season visitors.

Estelle Vassallo, the general manager of Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel, told BI that occupancy levels along the region have seen a “significant shift” in recent years, dipping in July and August while increasing in the traditional offseason months of May, June, September, and October.

Before the rise of shoulder-season vacations, travelers wanted to chase the best weather, Grumbach said.

Now, she’s hearing more say: “I am fine with clouds and maybe a little rain. I just want to be able to eat at this restaurant and not have to get on a waitlist or go to this nice hotel but not have to pay double the amount.”

“We have some of the wealthiest clients in the world, and they’re still like, ‘I don’t want to be ripped off,” she added.