Let me start by saying that travel websites are one of the best things to happen on the Internet. With a few mouse clicks anyone can be his or her own travel agent. This is good for people who want to find the best deal. However, these websites are good in some situations but not so good in others.
Here are some examples of when travel websites can be the right booking choice:
When your dates are inflexible. This is because once you make a booking it is next to impossible to change it.
- I used to book all of my hotel rooms with Expedia- they had a great selection of low-cost rooms, and I could trust that I was saving my money for my company. However, the first time I needed to change something it became evident that low prices come with limitations. I had booked a seven-day stay at a UK hotel. Upon arrival I got a message that I needed to travel in 3 days to Saudi Arabia so i had to cut my UK stay short by three days. First, I called the hotel lobby- sorry; your reservation is with Expedia. Ok, so I called Expedia. Sorry, no changes permitted. Several hours were spent on the phone with customer service agents who could not tell me why. Finally they explained to me that if I had made 7 individual reservations I could have cancelled the last 3 days, but having made a single 7-day reservation nothing could be done.
- When your plans are flexible- that is, you are not stuck on staying at a particular hotel brand, etc… this is important because various hotels may give special prices for a whole variety of reasons. I once had the good fortune of booking 5 nights at the millenium hotel in central London for 99 pounds a night, this is a really fancy boutique-style place, since then the cheapest I have ever seen it has been 300 pounds a night.
It also pays to check all of the major websites, I have a few listed below… one of them may have a better deal on the flight or hotel you are looking for.
Keep these things in mind when you book from a travel website- if your travel meets these minimum criteria there are some very good deals available. Just remember to read the fine print.
Here are some links to check out and compare for your next trip …
www.travelocity.com
www.hotwire.com
www.expedia.com
www.orbitz.com
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October 27, 2006 at 9:08 am
Tony
Also - register with any immigration facilites you can within countries you visit regularly.
I have registered my fingerprint in the UAE and an iris scan in the UK. This lets me completely skip the normal immigration processes and instead I use an automated machine to scan my eye or fingerprint. These facilities have no queues to use them so far and it feels great skipping past my fellow passengers who are queueing up to have their passports and visas checked.
October 31, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Pierre
I absolutely agree that it is wise to “check all of the major websites”, but that can become quite a mission. I’ve since discovered trivago and can honestly recommend doing a price comparison there - the metasearch finds rates from multiple top suppliers and selections can be made according to various criteria, effectively providing a very nifty tool