7 Tips for Finding Travel Bargains Online
By September 30, 2008
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Loading ...Last week I was interviewed by Elaine Yong from Global TV about finding travel bargains on-line. Although the interview lasted almost an hour, the final clip was about two and half minutes. Of course, only a couple of my tips actually made it on air, so I thought I would pass on all the tips that I shared.
1. When searching for airline tickets I recommend using the following two websites:
a. Kayak.com is a search engine that compares ticket prices from many different websites finding you the best price from around the web. Kayak.com is not a travel agent so they have no vested interest in selling you a specific airline or flight.
b. Farecast.com uses historical ticket pricing to predict when you should buy a ticket. This is particularly useful if you haven’t chosen a date yet. For example, you if choose to fly on a specific day, you may find that a ticket booked a few days later can save you hundreds of dollars.
2. When searching for a hotel room, try a HotelsCombined.com. Like Kayak.com, this website is a comparison shopping site that provides pricing for hotel rooms from around the Internet. This can save you
hours in research. By using this site, you can save 50% on the same room when you compare the same hotel across multiple sources.
3. Consider flying out of a different airport. For example, if you are flying to a U.S. destination, you might want to try flying out of Seattle airport instead of Vancouver. A flight from Vancouver to
Orlando, Florida for example will cost about $700 CAD. An equivalent flight from Seattle to Orlando booked for the same dates will cost $415 CAD. If booking a family trip to Disney World for two adults and
two kids, flying out of Seatac would save you over $800 in airfare.
4. Look for alternative dates. If you are working with a travel agent, ask them if there are flights or hotels available on a different date. A good travel agent will know the best days to travel in order to save money. For example, did you know that on some International flights, if you stay over on the Saturday night, you can save a lot of money (even after paying for the extra room night). Westjet.com has a great tool for comparing airfares across multiple dates at the same time. In some cases, you can save hundreds of dollars simply by departing one day or earlier.
5. Consider staying at a corporate apartment instead of a hotel if you are traveling with a group. Apartments and condos are generally more expensive but they can sleep more than a regular hotel room. I found
a 2 bedroom apartment for 6 people in Berlin for €180 per night. That works out to €30 each which, for Berlin, is a steal. Apartments are definitely more popular in Europe then North America, but there are
some great deals to be had if you can find them. Take a look at sites like RentalStays.com or ApartmentsApart.com for listings of apartments in North America and Europe.
6. Consider booking your flights and hotel together. Many on-line agencies have the ability to book your hotels and airline tickets together. In most cases, this can save you 20-30% over booking them
separately. You can ask your travel agent to do this as well.
7. If you are willing to fly out on short notice, consider a last minute vacation. These are tricky because you won’t have many options, but you can get some fantastic deals. Here’s an example: an
all inclusive package to Cancun at the Imperial Laguna for January 2009 will cost you $1200 per person. If you fly out this Saturday, you can get the same package for $600 per person. I showed Escapes.ca and FlightCentre.ca as examples of Canadian travel sites that sell lastminute vacation packages. Both sites use the Softvoyage B2C booking engine which can also be found on many other travel sites in the Canadian market.
I use these tips whenever I book, so I know they work. For example, I had to fly to Orlando with a colleague and saved almost $1000 by flying out of Seatac and booking the hotels on-line. If you have any other tips, feel free to leave them in the comments.
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