How to shop for the best travel deals
Posted on June 4, 2013
Whether it’s William Shatner in all his shining glory pushing Priceline or a freaky little lawn gnome selling you on Travelocity, more people are choosing money saving travel sites like these to save a buck or two nowadays. How do these companies work? How do you know if you’re getting a smoking deal? Which one really is the best?
These travel sites all have different features that make them unique, but have a pretty similar template to get you basic savings on airlines and hotels. These companies offer “different levels” of prices and it all depends on what hoops you’re willing to jump through to obtain the lowest one.
For example, if you’re a business man who needs to be in Orlando by tomorrow morning to close an important deal, you’re probably not going to spend as much time searching for the best deal as someone who’s planning a bachelorette party in Vegas for her sister who’s getting married for the third time. The more you bargain hunt, the better prices you’ll find obviously.
Airlines and Hotels always have seats and rooms left over, so they sell them to companies like Expedia and Travelocity to gain revenue from bargain hunters and people who don’t quite care where they stay….as long as it’s a good deal. These travel sites then take a portion of the profits when you book online with them.
Priceline has a unique “name your own price” feature. You tell them what you’re willing to pay and Priceline matches you to airlines, hotels and car rental facilities within your budget. There are a couple drawbacks….there’s a possibility you can over pay in which case Priceline reaps a greater profit. Plus, you don’t actually know what airline you’ll be flying with or what hotel chain you’ll be staying at until you accept the offer Priceline gives you. You’ll know the rating of the hotel and what area it’s in, but that’s it.
Kayak has a feature that provides a calendar showing you the most inexpensive day to fly and once you pick a flight, a snippet of the flight details appears to give you an overview of the price, carrier, departure and arrival times, as well as any layovers. Clicking on any result opens it, so you can see the complete details without leaving the main results page.
Orbitz is the only site to both send updates based upon recent searches and automate price protection with Price Assurance. If another Orbitz customer books the exact same flight or pre-paid hotel reservation as you for less than you paid, the company will issue you 110 percent of the difference in Orbitz credit.
Travelocity has a community toolbar where travelers can obtain driving directions, language translations, currency conversion, flight status and travel support from Travelocity customer service, directly from the toolbar. Travelocity also offers some of the best last minute deals.
The best way to know if you’re getting a good deal or not is to compare different traveling sites and to do your homework. Planning trips in advance and checking online message boards such as http://biddingfortravel.com where other consumers rate their experiences with these sites can also prove helpful. Or you can go with whatever commercial you like best…no one is more trustworthy then Alec Baldwin in a suit riding around a luggage carousel.
When it comes to getting to or from the airport, Shuttle2LAX is your obvious choice. No bidding, no hidden fees. We keep it plain and simple by offering unbeatable service from your home to the airport or vice versa for $20. Let’s see ya out negotiate that one William Shatner…
