The 20 Most Expensive Destinations In The U.S. (Spring, 2022)

by SharonKurheg

You’ve probably heard about it and I KNOW you’ve experienced it – EVERYTHING is more expensive nowadays. Whatever the reasons – COVID, the Great Resignation, some employers finally offering living wages, difficulties with importing things from China due to their continued lockdowns, even the war in Ukraine…it’s all made for prices going higher and higher. Plus, don’t forget “whatever the market will bear!” I’m sure some things are priced the way they are simply because “they can.”

Travel hasn’t been excluded from the list of things that cost significantly more than it used to. Car rental prices are still through the roof, and airline prices keep going higher and higher. Hotels rates are also REALLY up right now.

OTA cheaphotels.org did some research to see what the most expensive vacation destinations were in Spring 2022. Here’s their methodology:

The survey considered every destination in the USA with at least 20 hotels and inns. Only well-located hotels (in the city centre or close to the beach) rated at least 3 stars and with generally positive gust reviews were considered. For each destination, the price for the cheapest available double room was established for the following periods: May 4–7, May 13–16, May 19–22 & May 24–27. The average nightly rates were then used to reveal the top 20 most expensive destinations. The survey was conducted in mid-April, based on rates shown on hotel comparison website Booking.

If you’ve traveled enough, you may have an idea in your head of where the most expensive cities in the U.S. were. If you thought those places were in Hawaii, you would be right – 5 of the top 20 (in fact, of the Top 10!) most expensive spring destinations are indeed in Hawaii. But Florida also had 5 of the top 20. California had 3 cities, Georgia had 2, and South Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Arizona and Texas had 1 each.

Here are the 20 priciest destinations for hotels in Spring 2022, along with the average price for each destination’s most affordable double room available between May 1st and 31st:

  1. Poipu (HI) $397
  2. Charleston (SC) $374
  3. Wailea (HI) $354
  4. Lahaina (HI) $346
  5. Key West (FL) $340
  6. Calistoga (CA) $335
  7. Kihei (HI) $331
  8. Napa (CA) $325
  9. Anna Maria Isl. (FL) $321
  10. Waikoloa (HI) $312
  11. Nashville (TN) $289
  12. Boston (MA) $287
  13. Tybee Island (GA) $276
  14. Islamorada (FL) $275
  15. St. Pete Beach (FL) $262
  16. Sedona (AZ) $256
  17. Austin (TX) $255
  18. Santa Monica (CA) $255
  19. Sarasota (FL) $243
  20. Savannah (GA) $235

Joe and I have been to several of those places over the years (overnight in Key West, Napa, Boston, Sedona, Austin, Santa Monica and Savannah, and day trips to Lahaina and Sarasota) but the only one we can vouch for, for 2022 prices, is Austin. We’re going to be on the outskirts of Austin, in New Braunfels, this summer and can say we’ve seen that prices for hotels there are INCREDIBLY higher than usual…and reviews are mixed, at best, to boot.

If you compare the prices to 2021, you can really get to see how much things have changed. Here are cheaprentals.org’s most expensive destinations for hotels for spring 2021, and how much they’ve changed when you compare them to this year:

  1. Key West (FL) $299 (down to #5, & $41 more expensive in 2022)
  2. Islamorada (FL) $295 (down to #14 & $20 cheaper in 2022)
  3. Marathon (FL) $285 (not in 2022 top 20)
  4. Poipu (HI) $245 (up to #1 & nearly $150 more expensive in 2022)
  5. Sanibel Isl. (FL) $243 (not in 2022 top 20)
  6. Sedona (AZ) $235 (down to #16 & $21 more expensive than 2022)
  7. Tybee Isl.(GA) $224 (down to $13 & over $50 more expensive in 2022)
  8. Wailea (HI) $212 (up to #3 & nearly $150 more expensive in 2022)
  9. Lahaina (HI) $194 (up to #4 & over $150 more expensive in 2022)
  10. Waikoloa (HI) $192 (still #10 but $130 more expensive in 2022)
  11. Anna Maria Isl. (FL) $187 (up to #9 and nearly $150 more expensive in 2022)
  12. Napa (CA) $185 (up to #8 & $150 more expensive in 2022)
  13. Calistoga (CA) $175 (up to #6 & costs almost twice as much as 2022)
  14. Sarasota (CA) $172 (down to #19 but over $70 more expensive in 2022)
  15. Santa Monica (CA) $170 (down to #18 but $85 more expensive in 2022)
  16. Newport (RI) $165 (not in 2022 top 20)
  17. Fort Myers Beach (FL) $165 (not in 2022 top 20)
  18. Key Largo (FL) $164 (not in 2022 top 20)
  19. St. Pete Beach (FL) $157 (up to #15 & $85 more expensive in 2022)
  20. Charleston (SC) $156 (up to #2 and more than twice as much in 2022)

Here are cheaphotel.org’s lists for 2021 and 2022.

Feature Image: Micky / Wikimedia

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

 

1 comment

DaninMCI May 10, 2022 - 5:52 am

I would think hotels withing Disney World (city), Florida would be as high as any of these during May 2022.

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