Featured image: Solo travellers are pushing back against the single supplement | Photo by vadymvdrobot on Envato

At Solos, there is never a single supplement charge

by Carolyn Ray

Growing up in Scotland, Janie Burt had plans to be a teacher. But then the travel bug hit her when she travelled to the US after university. Much to her family’s surprise, she took time out to travel and changed careers, joining TUI, a European travel operator, in 1999. She spent 14 years there, starting as a regional manager in Spain. In 2019, she joined Hidden Travel Group, which had just purchased Solos Holidays, as Managing Director.

“Solo travel was really close to my heart,” she recalls. “I knew from my own experience that when you travel on your own, it gives you extra confidence that brings you alive in every sense.

Under Burt’s leadership, Solos came out of the pandemic with a burning purpose — to build community, empowerment, safety and offer independent women trips with no single supplement. Industry studies have shown that Boomers and Gen X women in the US and Canada are the fastest-growing demographic over the next 10 years. Among these women, 61% say that they prefer to travel solo and 98 per cent are the travel decision maker in their households, according to JourneyWoman’s recent “Invisible No More” research.  The Woman 50+ solo travel market is estimated at US$152 billion in the US and Canada, growing to US $363 bn or 25.2 million women by 2035. This represents a 138% spending increase in solo travel from 2025 to 2035.

Solely focused on the solo traveller

Founded in the 1980s, Solos is seen as a pioneer in solo travel. Today, the company offers more than 400 itineraries to over 45 countries. With ambitious goals to expand into North America, Burt says they’ve seen increased demand for solo travel, as well as a gap in the market.

“There are a lot of tour operators or travel businesses that ‘do’ solo travel as an add-on,” she says. “But for us, everything we do is for the solo traveller.”

For Burt, that starts with having no single supplement on all Solos trips. JourneyWoman’s research shows that 78% of women over 50 see the single supplement fee as a barrier to solo travel, something that Burt intends to remove.

“We’ve got a specification that is all about the solo traveller — it’s very black and white for us,” she says. “Our partners know that we want no single supplement from day one. We want to pay the same as a double room. My team is really committed to keeping the price low for the consumer. Sometimes there has to be a negotiation and we’ll go on slightly different dates to accommodate that.”

Sometimes, Burt says, to accommodate her specifications, hotels may suggest a sister hotel that’s more remote. Burt says that may be an option for other companies, but it doesn’t work for her, particularly hotels that make women feel uneasy. Safety, she says, is non-negotiable.

“Unfortunately, we have to walk away from certain relationships or partnerships if it isn’t right,” she says. “When you look at it through the eyes of a solo traveller, it wouldn’t be good for us as a business, or for the customer if we take second best. That isn’t what we do.”

A mix of ages, designed for older women

The average age of Solos customers is 58, but Burt says there are many women in their 70s. When it comes to finding the right trips for the older female solo traveller, Burt says they prefer to speak to each woman individually to determine preferences and help them choose the right trip.

“We will never be a tour company that is all online, because we don’t want to be,” she says. “We want someone on the phones who will speak with the customer and say, ‘Tell me everything that you want, and I’ll tell you the tours that will be good for you’. I would never want them to go on a tour that wouldn’t be right for them.”

With a 70 per cent repeat rate, Burt says that she has seen many women step back into travel, particularly after the loss of a spouse. Here, she says, the Solos community is supportive, encouraging women to find the courage to travel independently, either locally or further afield.

“I’ve been in the travel industry for over 30 years and used to travel on my own as a female, when it was frowned upon,” she says. “Then, people looked at you slightly differently. But today, there isn’t the stigma of women being on their own in a restaurant. Women are leading the way in travel.”

What’s on the horizon for Solos

Even in the midst of the political uncertainty created by the US administration, Burt says that women in North America believe travel is important and they still plan to travel. This is consistent with JourneyWoman’s recent pulse study, which shows that most women 50+ (48%) are keeping their budget the same as 2024, but are seeking more affordable options.

Compared to UK travellers, who prefer sun destinations, one of the differences she’s noticed is that North American women travellers are seeking special interest trips catered to foodies, history buffs, music enthusiasts, nature and wildlife seekers, or sports. While Europe is definitely at the top of the list, including Greece, Italy, and Portugal, Burt says that New Zealand, Costa Rica and Japan are also popular. For the winter, she’s looking at shorter trips for North American travellers to help keep travel costs down.    

“Travel is about changing people’s lives,” she says. “We aren’t just a travel business. Yes, we organize travel and experiences. But it’s really about how we change people’s lives. That’s what keeps me motivated, along with giving women the confidence that you can do this.”

Disclaimer: We’re proud to feature women-led businesses in our Women’s Travel Directory, including this feature, which is sponsored by Solos. To learn more and get exclusive discounts visit Solos here. 

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