Single Supplement on Rick Steves Tours.

Your example of the two travelers paying single supplement rather than sharing a room is an extra $100 per night rather than $50, since the travelers are each paying it. And I suspect RS pays a lot less for hotel rooms, block booking them far in advance and guaranteeing the hotelier they will be used, than you can as an individual traveler. It is a fairly low supplement, but I would think mostly that attracts single travelers who would not otherwise go on the tour at all, rather than couples choosing not to share a room, and I’m sure overall RS makes a profit on all their travelers, as they should. A company I travel with, Overseas Adventure Travel, doesn’t charge single supplements at all, although they have a relatively limited number of single spaces available on their tours.

The single supplement was lowered starting with 2025 tours. As a solo traveler I am very happy about that and appreciate the policy change.
Previously each tour seemed to have a different single rate and could be several hundred $$$ higher than now.
I’ve take 5 RS tours, 4 of which were solo. Some rooms have been small singles. Some have been large doubles. All have been en-suite. Only one was awful and the guide changed me to a better room.
I don’t think the single room is “procured” at $50; the cost is built into the tour price and the supplement covers the additional the hotel charges.
Which tour are you signing up for?

The single supplement policy change for 2026 is explained here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/policy-updates

Two things.
First, setting a fixed per day price as the single supplement is new this year. I greatly appreciate this approach. Some tours the actual costs may be higher, some tours it may be lower. This fixed price is definitely a move to increase how solo friendly the tours are.

Second, the assumption that solo travelers always get the worst or smallest rooms is false. Sometimes there might be a room with a twin bed, but other times it is the exact same room as the other guests. The smaller room is the exception rather than the rule.

Finally, I can’t help but remember an occasion on a Rick Steves Tour in Mostar. Somehow the Rick Steves office and the hotel miscommunicated and instead of cancelling the room for a last minute cancellation by a tour member, the hotel cancelled all the rooms. By the time the error was caught, there were no longer enough rooms at the tour hotel. The 5 solos and guide were walked to a small hotel a few blocks away with some rooms situated above a coffee shop and told to come back to the main hotel for breakfast. The rooms were fine with the best air conditioning we had had on the entire trip. We all slept well and returned to the main hotel in the morning for breakfast. We heard a cacophony of complaints that the main hotel’s air conditioning had gone down and the other guests were loud enough that some were kept awake. My fellow solos and I found ourselves with a much better situation than the others. Being a solo traveler doesn’t make you a “second class” tour member at all.

Don't assume that the RS tours pay the same for a room as you would if you make a private booking. They are paying a lot less.

Tour companies negotiate the price of rooms since they guarantee a certain number of room nights. In fact, they negotiate the price of everything.

Not sure what is driving your question, as traveling couples don't have to pay anything extra. But like others, I appreciate the change as single supplements could be quite expensive on some tours. A corresponding change in policy is that you no longer can volunteer to room share with another solo traveler to save paying the single supplement. So for some solo travelers, the $50 per day supplement makes a tour more expensive than it once was. As noted, a single room isn't necessarily the smallest and cheapest - though I have stayed in some small ones, I've also had spacious beautiful rooms.

@LIZinPA:

The single supplement policy change for 2026 is explained here: - https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/policy-updates

A big thanks for posting that! Interestingly, it says in the update: “We’re calculating the Single Supplement fee at a flat $50 per day and subsidizing the actual cost to make it more affordable.”

So as I imagined, they are subsidizing the cost of single travelers (or making less money off them, if you want to look at it that way).

@Carol:

Second, the assumption that solo travelers always get the worst or smallest rooms is false. Sometimes there might be a room with a twin bed, but other times it is the exact same room as the other guests. The smaller room is the exception rather than the rule.

I overheard conversations last month between the tour guide and one of our 'single' members that 'coming soon' was to be another change to the single traveler situation; basically, better rooms. He said it hasn't rolled out yet but would be an improvement for solo travelers.

@Slate:

Your example of the two travelers paying single supplement rather than sharing a room is an extra $100 per night rather than $50, since the travelers are each paying it.

It’s an extra $100 for the two, but then, two rooms have to be rented from the hotel. So it’s still only $50 extra per room.

Overseas Adventure Travel, doesn’t charge single supplements at all

Wow – that’s very interesting to note. We love RS tours, but we also want to go to China, and other ‘beyond Europe’ destinations, and OAT has come up many times as a good company with similar ‘quality level’ as RS tours.

@Horsewoofie:

Which tour are you signing up for?

The question was hypothetical. My partner and I are both light sleepers and sleep in separate beds at home to help both of us have a better chance of getting some sleep. On RS tours, we request a room with two twin beds, which so far has been ‘honored’, albeit with some difficulty (many times, we arrive to find the two beds joined, but so far we’ve always managed to get them separated). With (separated) twin beds, you end up with less space in the room (as they simply drag the two beds apart in most cases) so this often leads to challenges with our luggage. So with the ‘single supplement’ being only $50/night/person, it occurred to me that we could simply sign up as two ‘solo travelers’, and each have an entire room to ourselves. I just can’t imagine how RS Tours can afford to offer this option – two rooms instead of one for a total extra cost of only $1,000. We think RS tours are well priced so paying an extra $1,000 is well within our means.

@Frank:

Don't assume that the RS tours pay the same for a room as you would if you make a private booking. They are paying a lot less. Tour companies negotiate the price of rooms since they guarantee a certain number of room nights. In fact, they negotiate the price of everything.

Of course that is true. But regardless, getting two rooms for the extra cost of $100 is pretty amazing. As noted above in my comment about the new policies, RS are using the term ‘subsidized’ and I think that is pretty accurate.

I'll throw out the same caveat about OAT that I posted on another thread. Although they have no single supplement, they do expect you to tip your guide handsomely: on one tour I looked at, they suggested 10-20% of the cost of the tour. I so appreciate that Rick Steves' tours have a no tipping policy.

I just traveled as a solo traveler on a Rick Steves tour and I did not feel that I was given a lesser room at every hotel, in fact several of my rooms had balconies and large bathrooms. I would bet that the relationships Rick has made with many of his vendors, hotels included, over the years, ensures that he is able to procure rooms at negotiated prices.

OAT’s recommended tip amounts are $10-15 per person per day. While I think most of their travelers are a bit more generous than that, it’s not a lot in terms of overall trip cost. And since that’s per person, so a solo will tip half of what a couple will, that further reinforces that their trips are a good deal for solo travelers.

@Janet. You are paying those tips one way or another. Either it is included in the overall price of the tour or paid separately and the tour price is often lower due to this. I really enjoy the Rick Steves approach as well, but needing to tip separately has never kept me from going on a tour if the price was right and the itinerary was where I wanted to go. I simply prefill two envelopes at start of tour and give them to the guide and driver on the last day.

Very sorry to see this us vs. them mentality developing on this thread. I’ve always found RS tour groups to be welcoming and inclusive of all types of travelers.

Industry wide, solo travelers have consistently paid more for travel. They are still paying more for travel, it has just been standardized to $50 per day. I am sorry that seems to offend some people.

The very sad truth is that each person here has the potential to be a solo traveler at any time. I am very happy for those who still have their spouses and can travel together. Enjoy every moment you can! A day will come when there is just one of you left to travel. I hope you will have the courage to continue on and “keep on traveling.”

Chris, as someone who has worked in the tour industry, I can tell you that you are never going to know the cost of any tour. Companies don't share that.

RS Tours, like all other tour companies, are run by professionals who know what they are doing. Rick does not run the tour company any longer. He has people who do that for him. He has said so. He oversees the company but is not responsible for day to day operations.

RS Tours, like others, changes with time and especially with feedback.

When I first became aware of RS over 30 years ago, there were no single supplements on his tours. You had to share a room. Some of his hotels still had shared bathrooms down the hall.

But over time, things changed. Most stops included hotels with ensuite facilities. The availability of single supplements.

Feedback from customers as well as keeping an eye on the competition forces tour companies to change.

Everything when it comes to tour planning is negotiable. Let's say a Rick Steves tour visits a hotel 20 times a year. He needs 12 rooms. Each stay is two nights. That's 480 room nights I'm offering the hotel. I run the hotel. I want that business. It doesn't matter if it's Rick Steves or OAT or Odysseys Unlimited. I'm willing to negotiate to get that guaranteed business. For a small hotel, that's a lot of money in the cash register.

The tour companies can also negotiate freebies. It used to be standard, and it may have changed, that for every 10 rooms booked, you got a free room. That would cover the cost of the room for the guide. The same thing with meals. For a certain number of covers, you got one free.

So, don't try to figure out how they do it. You won't. Just assume this--they aren't losing money.

I don’t quite understand why someone travelling by themselves would need to pay a single supplement, which I presume, is for their hotel room. The majority of hotel rooms are the same cost, whether for one person or two, unless breakfast is included. I know cruise ships charge a single supplement, but wasn’t aware this applied to land based tours. Can anyone clarify this for me please?

Susie, it’s a good question. Math’s not my strong point, but I’m always thinking how this is similar to condo fees. I’m paying the same fee as the couple next door yet they’re probably using twice the amount of water I am. I doubt that two people use that much more electricity than a single person in a hotel room, so indeed, what is the extra cost for solo travelers based on?

When traveling in the UK, I find it easy to locate and book single rooms at a less expensive rate. Thinking of the countries I’ve visited in Europe, I can’t recall as many single room options in other countries but could be wrong. Just musing this over. Frank II, thanks for your insight on the unknowns of pricing. Happy Thanksgiving!

(by way of comparison, I've been on several cruises where the single price is basically double the 'per person double occupancy' rate; so the 'supplement' is basically 100% of base price).

A big part of that is because the cabins are a limited resource. So a single person, taking up a cabin intended for two, means half the revenue for the cruise. Imagine if they had an entire cruise of "singles" (It would be great for you, not so much for the cruise line).

Pretty much why some cruise lines deeply discount last minute bookings, to fill the ship.

On a tour, those dynamics are not as prevalent.

Let's say a room cost the tour company $100. They price it for double occupancy so the cost to each guest is $50. If a single takes the room, they pay more to cover the extra $50. That's why there is a single supplement.

What Frank said.
I think the annoyance with single supplements is because people aren't understanding that a couple is paying twice as much for a room as a single would, often for a similar room.
And yes, when single rooms are available they can be less expensive, but not half the price of a double.

Interesting discussion. I played with some numbers (imaginary and simplified) to see how this might work out. Suppose RS contracts with hotel for 15 rooms each sleeping two, at $100 per room. To get that price he will pay for them whether he can fill them or not, but RS plans that they will sell the tour to enough people (up to 30) for enough money that they will use most or all of them and make a profit. His revenue from base tour price is $100 per person to cover that hotel night (of course it isn’t itemized that way to the traveler, but let’s say). So if he fills each room with double occupancy (tour of 30), that’s $3,000, twice his cost of $1,500. Great if he can, but it’s not realistic to expect only demand from couples to fill all his tours completely. If he fills 10 rooms with doubles and the other 5 with singles, with extra $50 per single, his revenue from the 25 travelers is $100 each, plus 5 x 50, equals $2,750, not quite as much profit off his same $1,500 cost but still pretty good ($1,250). He could get it all back by charging $100 extra for singles, great if the 5 would still pay it, but with the supplement that high he might not get enough to fill all the rooms, maybe 2 singles sign up instead of 5, cost still $1,500, revenue $100 for each of 22 travelers plus $100 x 2, total $2,400, profit down to $900 despite higher supplement. With a $50 supplement RS could go as unrealistically low as just 10 singles on his tour leaving 5 rooms empty and still break even (10 x $150, same revenue as cost), whereas he’d lose money on only 10 travelers sharing 5 rooms (10 empty) with no single supplement (revenue $1,000, cost still $1,500, $500 loss). And there are others factors RS and the hotel can take into consideration in making their deal, such as that a single means just one breakfast per room rather than two, and that having some singles increases flexibility to manage room inventory whether or not the hotel has any of the feared tiny single rooms (since a king or a twin room is equally fine for a single traveler, but couples will not be happy if their preference for one or the other isn’t met).

@FrankII - earlier, you said:

Chris, as someone who has worked in the tour industry, I can tell you that you are never going to know the cost of any tour.
…
So, don't try to figure out how they do it. You won't.

@FrankII - but then you said:

Let's say a room cost the tour company $100. They price it for double occupancy so the cost to each guest is $50. If a single takes the room, they pay more to cover the extra $50. That's why there is a single supplement.

Your latter example is a great, simplified, explanation of why a single supplement exists. It also contradicts your earlier post - of course we will never know the details, but as intelligent people, it's interesting to speculate and discuss how it probably works, to gain a better understanding of the process.

Re-stating your fine example a little differently, let's say the room costs the tour company $100. They could advertise the price as '$100 for 2', but it sounds more enticing to say '$50 per person (with "assuming double-occupancy" - in the small print). But that then requires them to have a different approach to the single traveler, by way of a supplement, so they can still get that $100 per room.

After reading all these more recent posts, what is clear to me is - for a tour company like RST which seems to sell out all tours, there's really no financial incentive to them to offer low single-supplements. So they truly are subsidizing single travelers. For companies like OAT, which apparently don't impose a single supplement, they do severely restrict their single offerings; in other words, yes, singles don't pay a supplement, but - they may only have 1 or 2 openings per tour. If they charged a more realistic single supplement, they could then offer many more single openings per tour (which therefore benefits the single traveler in other ways - better availability).

@Chris. Here is what some of the other tour companies do.

1. No single supplement. They work their pricing around in other ways and limit number of solos.
2. Single supplement based on what they feel is right for each tour.
3. Single supplement fixed rate (Rick Steves approach)
4. Have a single supplement, but then have periodic sales where it is waived. Gate 1 does this twice a year. You can bet that is when I book their River cruises!

You seem a bit fixated that somehow a fixed rate single supplement takes advantage of you. I find this odd. I can guarantee you as someone who has been traveling solo for 12 years, we do not pay less. We just accept it and go on.

@Carol -

You seem a bit fixated that somehow a fixed rate single supplement takes advantage of you. I find this odd. I can guarantee you as someone who has been traveling solo for 12 years, we do not pay less. We just accept it and go on.

I'm not at all fixated on being 'taken advantage of'. I'm actually considering taking advantage of 'single supplement' pricing and having my partner and myself sign up for two spots, each with 'single supplement' pricing, as a way to get two rooms on a tour for not much more than the price of one room. It is clear, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that single supplement pricing is a 'great deal' - for about $1,000 ($100 per day) you can get essentially two rooms for the price of one, and that's a bargain.

However, for a solo traveler like yourself, I would NOT be so sure that having a low or non-existent single-supplement is an entirely good thing. Take the case of Overseas Adventure Travel, who apparently don't charge any single supplement. I can imagine they severely limit the number of single spots on their tours because they simply don't want to incur the financial impact that single travelers impose. If they instead charged a realistic supplement, they could offer more single spaces.

Chris, I didn't contradict anything. I'm just trying to show that some of the thinking on this thread is not going to make sense because....YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO KNOW HOW A TOUR COMPANY PRICES ITS TOURS.

As for your idea of booking two rooms for little extra...well...you will pay more for two rooms, and RST may limit the number of singles per tour. We don't know as they don't advertise this.

Also remember this...anything "included" or "not charged extra" means it's already been built into the overall price.

I can guarantee that RST is not losing money with single rooms. They may make more profit on some tours, and less than others. They know what percentage of couples and singles take each tour and budget accordingly. I'm sure that $50 figure was not come to lightly. This is a multi million dollar business and I can guarantee the people running it know what they are doing financially.

You will also never see "pricing for two" as the example "$100 for 2 people." First, you won't see a tour company break down its tour price. Second, marketing wise, you never give the cost for two people. You always give a lower price if possible. But, if you do look, whether it be tours or cruises or anything similar, somewhere in the small print it will probably say "based on double occupancy." Meaning...it's based on two people sharing a room.

and RST may limit the number of singles per tour.

They do limit the number of singles. For example, on this page they state they offer “a limited number of single supplements on each departure”
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/tour-conditions

My last 3 RS tours have had between 2 and 4 solo travelers.

@Frank -

YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO KNOW HOW A TOUR COMPANY PRICES ITS TOURS.

You are stating the obvious. It's precisely because we will never know for sure 'how' they price it that we are having this discussion. If it were spelled out in gory detail, all would be known and there'd be nothing to discuss. The whole point of this discussion thread is to speculate about the factors that may go into the pricing calculation, so we can better understand it. Along the way, useful insights emerge that lead to a better understanding.

I've learned here that OAT don't charge a single supplement. And I've learned that a new single supplement policy was introduced by RST for 2026, and that RST use the word ‘subsidy’ in their own explanation. I've gained insight from single travelers about their experiences and opinions. So while we will never know all the details, I feel better informed about the process.

This discussion has reinforced my earlier instinct that single supplements are appropriate, and I'm glad to see RST applies them. I personally think they should be variable based on the tour (eg, a single supplement would be higher in Switzerland than in Poland, due to much higher hotel prices), but I can see that a uniform amount may be easier to administer and understand.

And of course a tour company is never going to advertise a tour as '$xxx for 2'; that was just a way to illustrate a point.

@Laura

They do limit the number of singles. For example, on this page they state they offer “a limited number of single supplements on each departure”
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/tour-conditions

Exactly – and if they charged a bigger single supplement, there’s a possibility that they could offer more single supplement spaces. They need to limit them at the moment because they don’t make as much money on them (I speculate).

@Susie

I don’t quite understand why someone travelling by themselves would need to pay a single supplement, which I presume, is for their hotel room. The majority of hotel rooms are the same cost, whether for one person or two, unless breakfast is included. I know cruise ships charge a single supplement, but wasn’t aware this applied to land based tours. Can anyone clarify this for me please?

Susie – when RST plans a tour, they have a target amount of money they need to make in order to cover costs and make a profit. They currently offer tour sizes ‘up to 28 people’. If all 28 were singles (using an extreme example to illustrate the point), that would require 28 hotel rooms. If, instead, they had 14 couples (the same 28 people on the bus), then they would require 14 hotel rooms. Obviously, they are going to pay more for 28 rooms vs 14 rooms, so they would make less money if it were all singles. Obviously, it’s in the financial interest of RST to sell to couples rather than singles. However, they may not sell out every seat if they had that as a hard restriction, so they offer a limited number of ‘single spots’ to make their offerings more appealing to a wider audience. Further – it would be more difficult for RST to ‘block book’ 28 rooms vs 14 rooms, especially since they target smaller, more eclectic hotels that are often quite small. My guess is they block book 16 rooms well in advance, and assume 12 couples and 4 singles (28 travelers in total). Once the tour is fully sold, they could fine-tune the reservation details with the hotel, possibly releasing a room or two if fewer singles have signed up.

One final consideration is that many of the smaller, eclectic hotels in Europe do have some unusually small rooms that are truly only capable of accommodating one person (I’ve stayed in a few of them along the way!). So in many cases, the hotels and RST can probably come to a happy arrangement on these rooms, assuming a handful of single travelers in the group.

How can Rick Steves procure an extra room for just $50 more?

He doesn't.

*The single supplement policy change for 2026 is explained here: - https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/policy-updates
Interestingly, it says in the update: “We’re calculating the Single Supplement fee at a flat $50 per day and subsidizing the actual cost to make it more affordable.”

A nice way of saying the cost is being added to 'overhead' and prices on ( most) everything will be going up to 'subsidize' the gap between what the $50 per day covers and the real cost.

RS is an astute businessman, so the money isn't coming out of his pocket

There ain't no free lunch.

The RS tours' single supplement seems more than fair. I am not sure of the tours' value for couples, who are together paying perhaps $750 per night (though the company seemingly has few problems selling its tours). But the value for solo travelers seems outstanding. This is especially true compared to the cruise companies, which penalize solo travelers because they want two people gambling in the ship casino and drinking in the ship's bars.

Given that the last day is always nothing more than a hotel breakfast (and the first day begins in the afternoon), I think for pricing purposes to think of the tours in number of nights rather than number of days. With the recent price increases, the cost for couples often exceeds $800 per night--let's say $850 per night (sometimes less, sometimes even more). But the price for a solo travelers is often less than $500 per night--let's say $485 per night.

With hotel room the biggest price item on trips, couples are making a healthy premium for the transportation, guidance, guides, and comradery provided by a RS tour--certainly more than solo travelers, who often have to pay as much or nearly as much for a hotel room.

Here's the real question. Solo travelers, if you were traveling independently, how much would you spend if you tried to replicate what a RS tour offers? I suspect the answer would be relatively close to what you pay on a RS tour. For that reason, the single supplement seems more than reasonable.

Solo travelers, if you were traveling independently, how much would you spend if you tried to replicate what a RS tour offers? I suspect the answer would be relatively close to what you pay on a RS tour.

You could do it a lot cheaper. You're paying a premium for the tour--letting someone else do all the work plus the profit. What are the expenses...hotel, transportation, tours. With proper planning a budget minded traveler could do all of that for less than you would pay on a tour. Guidance could be gotten for free if you are willing to ask others. Comradery is the same. There are a lot of solo travelers out there looking to meet other solo travelers.

Another plus of traveling solo...you design your own itinerary and how much time you spend at each place.

But for many, a tour is just right because of what it offers.

As a solo who travels both independently and on tours, I would like to point out that each mode has its pluses and minuses. Beyond dollar and cents, I also look at the value component. Sometimes the greatest value comes from doing it on my own with complete freedom to choose everything. Sometimes the greatest value comes from well planned logistics, experiences and easy transportation.

I am a bargain hunter to the core, but I never let that keep me from spending if I see the value of a particular travel choice. I’ve had some great trips that way.

I'd say there is no question that you could put together your own tour for significantly less than what you pay for an RS tour, but - as someone who has always 'Done It Myself' until recently - there are intangible benefits to going on an organized tour. The biggest single advantage, to me, is the tour guide. Yes, you can 'do your own research' and read up on all the various sights/destinations, but there's no substitute for having a discussion with a well-informed guide.

I view it the same as formal education; with today's internet, you could read up on just about any topic (art, science, etc) and get the same information you would get from a lecture at University. But at University, you get to interact with the lecturer - ask questions, propose alternative theories, discuss the class with your fellow students, etc - it's far more than just 'getting the information'.

You could replicate this somewhat by hiring individual guides in each destination, but I really appreciated the fact that our guide was available to us all day, every day for 2 weeks.

The biggest downside to me of the organized tour is the group meals. The meals are, at best, 'adequate'. Preparing 28 meals at once is never going to be the same as individually prepared meals, and of course you never get to choose. On our last visit to Germany, one group meal was roasted chicken for everyone ... in the land of Pork Knuckle, Weiner-Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, and Bratwurst ... (it was the best roast chicken I've ever had, though!)

Actually, another big advantage of the group tour is the hotel choice. No matter how much advanced research you do, it's always a crap-shoot as to whether you get a good hotel or not. With an RS tour, you know you are going to get at least a certain basic level, and we've generally been impressed so far - by quality of room, and location - especially location.

When we travel 'DIY', we typically spend about $700/day (for 2) - $200-300 hotel, $100-$150 meals, $250 transport / misc (incl. airfare amortized over the trip). When we travel on a group tour, it typically costs about $1,000/day (for 2) (basic tour cost plus 'own meals' and air fare). We are happy to pay that $300/day premium for the added convenience of no car/train hassles (permanent driver), and continuous access to a guide.