| Author |
Message |
    
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 3616
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 5, 2005 - 10:09 pm: | 
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FYI - I just checked Expedia, Hotels.com and the Waldorf-Astoria website.
Guess where I got the best rates with no cancellation penalty within 24 hours of check in?
I also noticed that the unrestricted rates and the "pay now & save" unrefundable rates for the same room on the hotel's own website were the same.
Just wanted to warn people as we start to think about Spring Break & winter escapes. Don't assume that the "bargain" sites are better. Best case scenario, once the processing fee was added in, hotels.com beat the hotel website by $10, but there was a cancellation penalty, which made it not worth the risk.
Commerical over.
 |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 5027
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 5, 2005 - 10:15 pm: |
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We've had good luck with http://www.itasoftware.com
Weird name, yeah.
But my wife booked a flight for my daughter last night and had a rough time. The web did NOT offer the best deals. She called US Airways (or whatever) and the agent said that there is a charge for using her service, but it ended up being worth it, because her prices were lower. Now that's weird. |
algebra2
Supporter
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 2806
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 6, 2005 - 9:47 am: |
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I've always read that with hotels you get the best rate by calling the hotel's local number. |
mim
Citizen
Username: Mim
Post Number: 391
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 6, 2005 - 9:54 am: |
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For plane tickets, I sometimes find good deals on sidestep.com. But you sometimes do even better if you go straight to the airline. |
jjkatz
Citizen
Username: Jjkatz
Post Number: 506
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 6, 2005 - 11:33 am: |
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I'll go to Travelocity, get a rate, then call the hotel directly and ask them to match it if their initial quote is higher. Nobody has refused yet. |
peteglider
Citizen
Username: Peteglider
Post Number: 882
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, January 6, 2005 - 11:46 am: |
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Priceline!
If you are flexible about which hotels to stay in -- and you know how to make the system work for you (go to www.biddingfortravel.com -- and read the FAQ's carefully -- then ask for bidding advice!).
I'm going to Houston this month -- got a Marriott Courtyard for $27/night and National car rental for $10/day.
Airfare -- I just learned about www.qixo.com. It does a meta search of the actual airline sites -- so is (IMO) much better than expedia or travelocity. BUT THEN - I book directly with the airline site -- since Continental awards an extra 1,000 miles if you book online through continental.com. (others tend to do so on occation, but Continental seems to always do this).
Oh -btw I fully agree with trying to call the hotel directly. Sometimes they will meet or beat the deal for the expedia/other rates. (but priceline is still way lower)
Wish I had more vacation time to take advantage of these things!
Pete |
C Bataille
Citizen
Username: Nakaille
Post Number: 1814
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 8, 2005 - 6:48 am: |
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I've used Orbitz.com several times with good results for air travel, hotels and car rentals. I always check the online rates of each and have been impressed. Occasionally I have done as jkatz suggests which has also worked, the main advantage being you can sometimes get into their "rewards" programs.
Cathy |
eliz
Supporter
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 940
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 8, 2005 - 12:23 pm: |
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A great benefit of tripadvisor.com is that if you see a hotel you like there is a clickable "get rates" and it launches all the major travel websites and checks prices and availability all at once (orbitz, expedia, travelocity etc). Saves you time checking all of them. |
jeffl
Supporter
Username: Jeffl
Post Number: 913
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 8, 2005 - 4:25 pm: |
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How about the best sites for car rentals? |
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