>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. kristen: hey, there, you are watching "getting answers" where we talk to experts about issues affecting the bay area and get answers in real-time. today, it is and all-holiday addition to get you the best deals in christmas trees and travel. the best black friday deals, tips for smooth acts giving travel, christmas destinations and discounts, but first, this is the week many people start shopping for a christmas tree. be warned -- you may get sticker shock when you get to the tree lot.

christmas trees will be more expensive than ever, but there are ways to manage that. joining us live now to discuss why and often's for your family, the director of the real christmas tree board. >> nice to see you today. kristen: nice to see you right before thanksgiving. i did not know there was a real christmas tree board. who is in your group? >> we support the growers and product that they share. we really like to talk to consumers about what to expect to they have a great experience with a real tree and we also do a lot of research on growing and producing the best trees for consumers. kristen: speaking of the best trees, i see the headline that christmas trees will be more expensive this year. how much more expensive? >> we really cannot comment on retail prices specifically because those are set by retailers. it is really driven by their overhead cost, there rent,

labor, all those different things, so those are set at retail level, but we can tell you we knew this was going to be an issue this year. we would have a lot of questions about what to expect. two interesting pieces -- this summer, we asked consumers in our annual survey what did they expect? they told us from the beginning they assumed because of inflation that the tree would cost more and our real christmas tree buyers said they would buy anyway. in the meantime, we went and reached out to our wholesale producers. we talked to the top farms that supply probably 2/3 of christmas trees across the united states. they talk about the wholesale price, and they -- 71% of those indicated a 5% to 10% increase, but that is just the wholesale price. it is an increase but maybe not as significant as is being reported. kristen: got it. some of that could be passed

down to consumers. we don't know how much. it could be different from retailer to retailer. let's talk about finding the right retailer near you. is there a big difference in price and quality if you go to a home improvement store or seasonal lot or tree farm? >> it is all different. mostly the reason you pick a different location is what is convenient, close to home, and what kind of experience you are looking for. people will go to a tree farm if they really want to spend a day, get the kids out, walk around, but for some folks, they just want what is closest and simplest. they are all grown on arms by christmas tree producers, by professionals, so there's always some difference in the trees, but really not by location. it is really where the tree came from. you really have to look through what is there and find the one that is your favorite. kristen: i want to say there's a pretty convenient tool i found

on your website, a tree retailer locator. i just want to point that out. you can type in your zip code and designate your how far you're willing to travel, and then you see icons -- here it is, the bay area. i like that you can, based on the color of the circle, choose if you want a home improvement store, garden center, seasonal lot. i will look for one of those red circles, and there's one right there. the east bay -- where is that? that is the castro valley christmas tree farm. that is so cool. >> it is a really handy tool. it is fairly new to our industry to have this, so there's a lot of folks still missing. we try to bulk it up every day. we continue to add locations, but it is a wonderful tool. this year in particular, people are worried about price or availability. you can check out in advance exactly what they have and what

is unique about this locator as opposed to any other that you will find online -- we update it. every sunday evening, monday morning, we send a message out to everyone on the locator in case they have closed for the season, they have a chance to add a "closed for the season" message. we don't want you to drive out and be disappointed. we want you to know they will be open and available for you. kristen: right, so you can do a little research, call them up. if you want to save money, are there things you can consider with regard to tree ■heightand variety and which ones might be more economical than others? >> you found it right there. there are two really critical pieces of information -- a height of the tree and the species are really going to impact the price. if you are concerned about price or on a budget this year, go into the lot, ask if there is a different price for a different species. some are more per foot than others.

you can save that way. the biggest hand is don't buy a tree that is too big. common mistake because when you are outside, they don't look that big. you find when you bring them into the living room, you bought a little too large and you pay for that. every foot taller is more money, so really know what size you want and understand when you put it in the stand, it's going to bring it up a few inches. got to put the star or angel on top. >> i have made that mistake before where i had to end up chopping another foot off and i could have saved that money, i could have gone with a bigger star and everything would have been fine. it is a little exponential. the extra foot cost you quite a bit. >> yes, it does. kristen: how can you tell it's going to last? >> encourage people to do a simple test. just run your hand down the branch. a couple needles come off.

that's really common. if you see a lot of green needles come off in the palm of your hand, i would move on to another tree. you can tell by the feel of it. the most important thing you can do, at the retail lot they will do this for you -- you need a fresh pot -- a fresh-cut off the bottom of that tree. watering a fresh-cut is really going to make your tree last. it will keep it hydrated and safe. that's the key to a really good christmas tree experience. kristen: got it. in recent years, the artificial tree trend has been growing. with prices a little higher, right, getting closer to the $100 mark, some people are wondering if they should consider artificial. let's say you invest in one, it will last you five or six years or the money works up to be the same that way.

>> people are going to choose what they want to choose and that's how you should celebrate your holiday. we think a tree is much more than the product, it is the experience and consumers tell us that. we talk to people who have that real tree experience, and they say it is so joyful, so much fun. it is a day out with the family. each tree is unique. they are all different and fully biodegradable. they are great for the environment. we grow them on farms here and with our partner in canada. a lot come from canada as well. when you buy a real christmas tree, you're supporting your local economy, supporting agriculture. you really are doing something wonderful for the environment, but we really want consumers to pick what's right for them. kristen: i got you. you want to try to not drive a long distance because otherwise, you are causing emissions, and the point of getting a real tree is you try to prevent that.

before we go, really quickly, i want you to touch on what you do afterwards because that has a lot to do with how much it helps the environment as well. don't put it in the bonfire, right? >> exactly. most communities, most municipalities have a program for the trees. if you have them out a certain day or week, they pick them up. most trees picked up in curbside programs are chipped into mulch. honestly, they take trees at the zoo for the animals. in places where there's a lot of waterfront -- i'm in the great lakes area, we sink them in for fish habitat and also to prevent each erosion on great lakes shores. no matter where you take it, it is completely going to break down. kristen: thank you so much. have a very nice holiday season.

>> thank you and the same to you. kristen: now we are going to keep talking holidays. black friday shoppers are ready to spend the big bucks. (vo) it's a fact! two out of three americans who qualify for medicare do not receive all the benefits they deserve. you could be missing out! now anthem blue cross introduces a free medicare plan checkup to make sure you receive all the benefits you qualify for in 2023. call 1-866-336-3448 today and receive extra benefits for a zero dollar monthly premium. benefits like dental, vision, hearing and prescription drugs! and to help you stay healthy at home, you can have free prescription drug delivery,

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kristin: this thanksgiving, many major retailers will keep their brick-and-mortar stores close on thanksgiving day, but they do expect a big holiday season. the national retail survey shows americans are expected to spend 8.5% to 10.5% more this holiday than last, this despite the fact that inflation is squeezing families hard. join us with the details on where the deals might be, dan

ackerman, editorial director at cnet. welcome to the show. >> good to be here. kristen: how lucrative is this black friday expected to be? >> we're looking at a really big year considering all the economic pressures people are under. you can see stores have started to sell very early. they are getting people in the habit and giving people a lot of runway so you're not compacted into just 24 or 48 hours. kristen: i have been seeing those promo deals already, even before thanksgiving, so is black friday still a big day? >> as a day, it is something we focus on and talk about, but we have expanded it over the years. right after halloween to the middle of december is all within the shopping zone. black friday is within that, but it is not like a switch that turns on and turns off. kristen: where are the deals going to be?

>> i see a lot of good deals at bigger retailers -- amazon, walmart, target, best buy. the nice thing now is these guys are all pretty savvy and if they see someone has a lower price, they will match that pretty quickly so you don't have to do quite as much comparison-shopping as you used to, but if you are interested in something specific like an apple product or fitbit product, you may want to go to that brand's actual storefront online to see if they have something better. they probably don't, but occasionally you find something interesting online.

obviously, always stuff like televisions and laptops and holiday things, but also black friday is really well-known for mattresses and appliances. smart home is going to be big. a lot of interest we see this year is in inexpensive things, maybe under $50, under $100. i think you are going to see a lot of movement there. people are looking for things that are cute and nice but not big ticket items. kristen: are there still doorbusters, things on sale for one hour only to get you in the door? >> they will never get rid of those doorbusters and i will never stop telling people they are not worth it. a lot of times it is on cheap junk anyway and they cut another $50 off so it looks like a $79 laptop. you are never going to get what you want out of that. kristen: there are lots of services you can sign up for on google where you can track the flight want and they will tell you when the price goes down. is there anything like that for retail items you might want to get so you know the best time to buy? >> one of my favorite is camel camel camel that just as amazon price tracking. we have a cnet shopping

extension for the browser that will give you discount prices or cheaper prices at other stores that will present them to you as different options. kristen: got it. how about you play that game of chicken with retailers. the closer you get to christmas, do they get more desperate and start marking down prices? >> it is almost the opposite. the closer you get to christmas, the more desperate you are so you are not as a deal-hungry as you were. the busiest shopping days of the year are two days in mid-december. not actually black friday. i have found discounts start right after halloween and there may be some ups and downs, but it will not be radically different, so i would not sit and wait until the last second. if you see something that is a good deal for you any time after halloween, that is a pretty good bet. kristen: on that note of wisdom, we say thank you very much. i hope people will check out your site as well.

happy thanksgiving. happy christmas shopping. >> thank. >> coming up next, local airports are packed with holiday travelers. we will tell you where you can we will tell you where you can find the i had no idea how much i wamy case was worth. c call the barnes firm to find out what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪

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kristen: thanksgiving travel is back. here a live look at san francisco international airport where they expect 5 million travelers between thanksgiving and new year's day. given the crowds taking to see family or enjoying an exotic vacation, is there any hope to avoid crowds or busy airports? our next guest joins us with the scoop on cheap flights. i have heard anecdotally that this year's thanksgiving flights are anything but cheap. is that true? >> certainly compared to the past couple of years.

airfare is up about 32% compared to where it was a year ago, but that belies the fact that 2020 and 2020 one work certainly not normal years. we saw demand way down, so this thanksgiving is really starting to look something new, and that is normal. you are seeing airfare that looks pretty similar, pretty in line with what we saw pre-pandemic. kristen: i know it is kind of on the late side because it is already the day before thanksgiving, but anyone deciding on a last-minute trip to fly out to see grandma, how do you avoid that $1000 one-way madness? >> hoo, boy, you're talking about the absolute last minute of last-minute flights. rather than decide in advance where you're going to go and hope and pray there's going to be a good deal, i would keep my options open. google flights has a great explorer tool where you can put

in your home airport and just go open, wherever. your destination, you can set as united states, europe, canada, and see where are the cheap flights that depart tomorrow and decide based on that. maybe it costs $500 to fly to miami but only $200 to fly down to houston and you can decide, maybe houston sounds kind of nice, i will go check it out, rather than decide in advance where you are going to go and hope for a good flight. kristen: got it. if you must go to one destination because that is where grandma happens to be, you can play around with destinations, right? >> one of the best things about living in the bay area is the fact that there are three major airports right there, and that doesn't even count sacramento, santa rosa and other places nearby, and those three major airports provide a lot of competition, and it's one of the reasons why the bay area ranks highest in terms of affordability if you are traveling to mystically or international.

that is important to consider not just where you're flying out of but also where you're flying into. flying to chicago, don't just check o'hare, check midway as well. flying to miami, check fort lauderdale, even west palm beach. it might be worth a little inconvenience to take the train to your final destination rather than playing an inflated airfare to get closer to where you are going. kristen: now that we took care of you last-minute thanksgiving travelers, let's look ahead to christmas. how is that looking? >> i think it's going to be basically one of the busiest travel periods of the entire year. i think you will see crowds similar to what we saw in 2019. this thanksgiving, we are seeing about the same number of travelers as we saw three years ago. labor day this year, we saw higher travel numbers then we saw in 2019. i think the leisure travel market has fully rebounded, if not higher. i would expect christmas we will

see similar. if you are hoping for a good deal for christmas and have not booked yet, time is running out. what you want to do is circle the date of 21 days before when you're hoping to travel as the sort of dropdead deadline to get your flight booked. if you are hoping to travel on december 22, circle december 1 as when you have to get that flight by no matter what. the reason i say 21 days, many fares have advance purchase requirement of, say, 21 days. on day 20, that previously cheapest fare expires and is no longer available and the new one will be a couple hundred dollars more expensive. even if it is higher, if you need that flight, circle 21 days and get it booked then. kristen: always? isn't there a case sometimes where if you wait until the end, let's say tomorrow, and they have excess capacity that they mark it down drastically? does that ever happen? >> think about this.

if steph curry is getting into a three-point shooting contest, most of the time, he's going to win that. he is highly favored win that contest. the good news is that airlines have made it far easier to change your flights after you book, and it is lots easier to get that back in the formal -- the form of a travel credit. if you book a flight and find out the price has dropped, you can cancel your ticket, get a travel voucher, turnaround to book same flight for a cheaper price and be left with the same ticket and travel credit. if are in a better position today than you used to be pre-pandemic where it can be heads you win, tails the airlines lose. kristen: are there additional things travelers can do to protect themselves? >> one thing i always like to do, especially if you are

traveling to mystically, is compare the round-trip price compared to what it would cost to book 21-way flights. you cannot book that as a single round-trip if one is on united and one is on delta, they don't sell one another's tickets, so instead by booking your own kind of round-trip as two one-way flights, you can sometimes get a better deal than if you just search as one round-trip. it's not going to work every time, but it's always worth taking that extra 5, 10 seconds to check. kristen: is that with the brits call open job? >> open jaw is slightly different. that would be if you flew into chicago and you had some in-laws in milwaukee, you take the bus up to milwaukee and fly home

from milwaukee. you're flying into one airport and back from another. from what we needed to talkessed about. i understand you, too, are jumping in on the black friday deals. >> that's right. we are looking at our holiday mega sale, this black friday discount of half off of our subscription tears, if it's premium, if it's something we would love for you to sign up for and get great deals on your home airport. in the last couple of weeks alone, we found flights out of san francisco, over to milan for 381 bucks round-trip. flights to spain, valencia, or bill bal, under $400. those are the types of deals we like to find and send to our members. >> before we go, what is your

forecast for 2023? if i'm planning a spring break trip hour summer trip, do i want to but now? >> booking now is not a bad idea. you don't have to overpay, but now is the time to start paying attention to those spring flights and if you see something different, certainly book, but now is the best time to start looking at next summer flights. this is when those cheap fares are popping up in a way they will not come april or may. just last week, flights to italy, 400 $69 round-trip for next summer. that same ticket will cost (vo) a medicare advantage plan should come with all the benefits you want and zero compromises. with anthem blue cross, it can.

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tonight, on the eve of thanksgiving, authorities are on the scene of yet another deadly mass shooting in america. the terror inside a walmart in chesapeake, virginia. a store manager accused of killing at least six people, then taking his own life. a survivor describes in chilling detail how the suspect walked into the break room, opening fire without saying a word, shooting at everything that moved. a bullet whizzing right by her. what we're now learning about the killer and his victims. and the first court appearance for the suspect accused of shooting and killing five people at an lgbtq nightclub in colorado springs. the suspect slumped in a chair with injuries to the face and head. and what we're now learning about a disturbing facebook post from the suspect's mother just hours before the shooting. matt gutman in colorado. the thanksgiving travel rush, as we come on the