Welcome back to Survey Says, a carefully curated collection of recent travel surveys that have piqued our interest. Translation: We found some fun tidbits and slapped them together in one easy-to-digest article because kids these days skim the headlines for listicles and clickbait, and occasionally, we give the people what they want.
First up: Cheaphotels.com looked at hotel rates in 50 cities across the country, and for the second year in a row, Boston is the most expensive on the list for an October stay. Even worse, the average hotel room price in Boston has increased by 15 percent since October 2022. Last year, the average room in Boston was $262 per night in October. This year, it’s $303 a night. The survey looked at centrally located hotels that have a rating of three stars or higher, so if a tourist is OK with being outside the city and braving the MBTA, there are lower rates to be had.
Hotel pricing is a matter of supply and demand, and October is a popular month to be in Boston. If the survey were taken in February, there’s a good chance Boston would not be the most expensive hotel city in the country.
Cheaphotel.com’s survey of the most expensive hotels in the US, October 2023
Boston $303
New York City $288
Austin $257
Cleveland $234
Albuquerque $233
Nashville $216
Sacramento $212
Detroit $205
Raleigh $205
Denver $198
There are some pretty ridiculous surveys that find their way into my inbox, but a recent study from Viator, a website that helps travelers find tours and activities, really stuck in my craw. Viator set out to find the “most all-American state.’’ Start rolling those eyes. I learned in my first-grade geography class that if a state is located in the United States, then it’s immediately all-American. However, the folks at Viator came up with a list of criteria that they determined to be all-American and ran some numbers.
Their study declared that the most all-American state is Pennsylvania. Because every state is all-American (i.e., everybody gets a trophy), it’s fine. But Viator’s definition of all-American is what’s most vexatious. They define an American state by the number of national parks, landmarks, sports venues, fast food restaurants (!), and RV Parks (!!).
I may be biased, but what in the name of Colonel Sanders makes the number of fast food restaurants, aside from the continuing growth of the average American waistline, American? I have no beef with RV parks — I’m a man who summered in a trailer as a child — but aren’t there more precise ways to judge Americana than RV parks?
Florida landed as the third most American state on the list, partially because of its high number of fast-food restaurants. Texas came in eighth thanks to its large number of RV parks. Massachusetts, which has more landmarks (per area) and national park sites (also per area) than Pennsylvania or Florida, came in at 19. At this point I’ll politely bite my tongue and share the list.
Viator’s most-All American states
Pennsylvania
California
Florida
New York
Michigan
Virginia
Ohio
Texas
North Carolina
Indiana
Let’s wrap this up on a more pleasant note. Our third survey comes from Icelandair. The airline analyzed the best US cities for a 2023 winter workcation, looking at factors such as quality of life, Wi-Fi speed, pollution, climate, health care, cost of living, safety, and quality of life. Just to clarify, a workcation is when you tell your boss you’re working from home, but you’re really on vacation and occasionally answering emails.
The airline found that Jacksonville is the best city to take a workcation. Followed by Kansas City and San Diego. Do I agree with this data? Absolutely not. But perhaps Icelandic folks are fans of strip malls. In any event, here’s Icelandair’s workcation top 10.
Icelandair’s top 10 US cities for a wellness workcation this winter
Jacksonville
San Diego
Kansas City
Portland, Ore.
Pittsburgh
Orlando
Minneapolis
Boston
Seattle
Houston