The context of the following conversation is Jan took a plane to Las Vegas so that she could go to the big trade show.:
Jan says The trade show was kind of a bust. Attendance was way, way down..
The friend responds You must have expected that, given what's going on with people being on lockdown everywhere..
Jan responds Well, I figured there would be some impact, but this was worse than I expected..
The friend responds That's too bad. I'm sure next year things will be back to normal. Or close, at least..
Jan responds Hopefully. Plus I basically wasted good money on plane tickets to get there and back..
The friend responds That's so frustrating. You should check with your CPA to see if those are deductible..