Guides and stories about travel news from Best.
Searches for underrated destinations are up 1,000 percent and the cool north now charges a premium for its 20-degree afternoons. Where the coolcation trend goes next, and five second-wave picks that still price sanely.
· 5 min read
Average hotel rates in popular international destinations fell close to 25 percent this summer while US rates climbed. The data, the reasons, and how to take the other side of the trade.
· 5 min read
Venice extended its day-trip fee. Barcelona doubled its tourist tax. Pompeii capped visitors. Here is what changed in 2026 and what it costs you.
· 6 min read
Hotel pricing in 2026 is not happening on a single curve. Luxury properties have raised average daily rates 19 percent year over year. Midscale hotels are basically flat. Economy properties are running 2 to 4 percent below last year in many markets. This is the K-shape economists keep talking about, except now you can see it in the booking data. The same week. The same city. A Ritz-Carlton up double digits. A Hampton Inn up nothing. A budget motel running a discount to fill rooms. We've been w
· 6 min read
Hilton just turned what used to be a polite ask at the front desk into a line item. Starting in 2026, every Hilton brand has a standardized late checkout fee. $40 at the value brands. $50 at the mid-tier. $60 at the high end. Plus tax. This is the kind of change that doesn't make the homepage of any major travel site. But it shifts the math on Hilton stays in a way most travelers will only notice when they're standing at the front desk asking for two extra hours and getting a price quote back.
· 7 min read
The FIFA World Cup opens in eight days. Hotel rates in the 11 US host cities are already moving, and the gap between this June and last June is going to be the largest single demand event US hotels have ever absorbed in a single month. CoStar pegs the hit at $900 million in incremental room revenue across US host markets. The room-rate impact lands somewhere between 7% and 25%, depending on the city, the night, and how close the property is to the stadium. We pulled the projections, the ma
· 6 min read
Hotel search data for Iceland is up 38% year over year for July. Norway, up 31%. Scotland, up 24%. Meanwhile, hotel searches for Greece are flat. Spain is down 4%. The summer pattern that defined the last decade of European travel just broke, and almost nobody is talking about it. The shift has a name. Coolcation. The premise is simple. As mainland European summers run hotter and longer, more travelers are picking cool-climate destinations instead of beach destinations. Booking platforms s
· 5 min read
Spain's average hotel rates climbed 7.5% in April 2026 versus the year before, faster than the EU average. Barcelona is over €215 a night this summer. Madrid sits around €175. Costa del Sol resorts are setting new records week over week. The big-name destinations are pricing themselves into a corner. What most travelers miss is that the 7.5% jump isn't uniform. It's concentrated in the cities everyone already knew about. Three hours away from any of those, prices barely moved. The Andalusian se
· 6 min read
Hotel rates in six World Cup host cities are down 18-34% from peak. The story behind the drops and how travelers can use them.
· 6 min read
Venice access fee, Rome short-term rental crackdowns, and updated tourist taxes. What Italy 2026 actually changes for hotel bookings.
· 6 min read
A record 45 million Americans traveled this Memorial Day. Hotels noticed. Here is what it means for your summer bookings.
· 7 min read
If you've stayed at a Marriott, Hyatt, or Hilton property in the last six months, you may have noticed the breakfast room is smaller. The omelet station is gone. The hot food is on a shorter timer, between 7 and 9 instead of 6 to 11. And in some properties, what used to be a included buffet is now a credit at the cafe downstairs, capped at $15 per person. This isn't a few hotels making one-off decisions. The major US and global hotel chains are quietly reshaping breakfast. The change has
· 6 min read
