Book Hotels Cheaper

Travel Tip: Where to Find the Best Travel Bargains

Occasionally someone will ask me where I find the travel bargains or rate cuts I write about. The answer is I subscribe to many venues that PUSH these tips to me. I don't have to really go looking for any - they are in my in-box daily, sometimes so often I cannot read them all.

And this is something you can do too. Experts always tell you to subscribe to interesting and informative blogs, newspaper and magazine columns, article posts and general internet chit chat sites, like Facebook. The problem for many however is that they aren't in the travel business and do not have enough time to read all the emails and articles that I do. So is there one source that will show you good deals as a regular feature?

Yes, Twitter.

What many insiders know that others don't is that some specials posted by restaurants, hotels, resorts and airlines are sometimes posted first on Twitter or ONLY on Twitter. The largest discount carriers (Southwest, Virgin, etc) do not participate on fare comparison sites and while they may appear on a site like Travelzoo periodically, the specials they alert to may be gone by the time you find them. In fact, Travelzoo just 'pushed a one day fare sale for Northern California of $39-$79 but I can't write a post quick enough to do anyone any good. A resort/inn posted this recently: "Twitter Only Special!! 3rd night Free Sun.- Thurs. Only. Click on this link. http://tinyurl.com/dk8xaz and book on line"

At least this is an ongoing offer and to be sure there are several types of discounts in the air fare world - general rate cuts, usually good for weeks and allowing travel up to months in advance and real last minute fare cuts. Cuts so severe, there may be only 10 seats available. You might notice as well that they are almost always for flights leaving in the next week to 10 days, which we realize doesn't do any good for the person planning that summer Caribbean vacation in January. Nonetheless, more companies are using Twitter to connect with their targeted clients and often they issue discounts

There is a cost to using Twitter however and that is that you HAVE to check it constantly, you have to set up an account and you have to find the right Tweeters in order to take advantage of the last minute tweets announcing a super sale. Because tweets 'roll up', a post may only be visible for 3-4 minutes and then rolls to the next 'page', which while fully available, is not seen on the screen when you check Twitter only occasionally.

Fighting Off the Airplane Cold

All these years, I assumed the reason(s) people tended to get colds after traveling was mainly caused by contact with strangers and the lack of air flow in a passenger cabin. While contact with others certainly would likely cause you to increase the odds of catching someone's cold, it is NOT stagnant (or infected) air recirculating through the plane that causes so much trouble - its the humidity.

As I read it, higher elevations causes lower humidity and it is low humidity that causes your immune defenses to throttle back for the duration of the flight. Many people swear that taking lots of Vitamin C or vitamins period prior to leaving will help fight off travel colds but a recent study showed that maintaining fluid levels keeps your first line of defense moist - the throat and nose and this is what defeats airborne cold agents.

So the solutions are simple - hydrate yourself by sipping water (and by avoiding coffee, sodas or alcohol which tend to de-hydrate) and washing your hands often. At the least, since it is not easy to avoid seatbacks, magazines and other items previous and fellow passengers use in and near airplanes, try not to touch your mouth until you can get away from the airport. The last defense is to wear a face mask, but few people I know are willing to go to that length to avoid germs.

Simply drinking water may keep the cold monster away from your door so bring one aboard (purchased AFTER you pass through security) or see how much water is costing on your airline next trip. It might be the cheapest thing on the menu.

Want To Go Where You've Never Been Before? Try Cuba.

Yes, I wrote Cuba. We all know that for years, some lawmakers have tried to lift the travel to Cuba ban implemented over 50 years ago. But with President Obama now in the White House, there is a real groundswell feeling that the ban will be lifted - if not this year, then certainly next.

As a blogger who gets updates (alerts) three times a day, I have been seeing Cuba mentioned time and again this year and it made me feel like the embargo might be coming down at some point. But an article on a blog called Jersey Blogs (by a Jersey Star-Ledger writer) suggests that Congress will lift the ban this year. Since Obama campaigned on this issue, it is more likely than not to happen many say.

Wouldn't this provide a scramble for the Cuban travel industry! With millions of Americans eager to resume contacts with the nation only 90 miles from Florida, you could possibly see a real surge in hotel rates in Havana as Americans flock to the island nation. If nothing else, people would probably go just so they can grab Cuban cigars! People will want to go just BECAUSE they were not able to, choosing a lesser developed Cuba over more prominent Caribbean locations.

In fact, a recent AP story suggested that since Cuba was already half full of Europeans and Canadians and only has the hotel capacity that Detroit has, rates will surely rise if Americans were added to the mix. You might want to scan this article, since it talks about lousy food and dicey infrastructure as well.

I'll keep you apprised and maybe introduce a 'Cuba special' post for where to go and what to see, once the ban is lifted.

Will the Bailout's Save the Economy?

In my quest to keep travelers informed about travel deals and how to handle the current economic environment that obviously affects travel plans, I have expounded about the economy from time to time. Though I am most certainly not a fan of bailing out inept companies and executives that caused all this ruckus, I do recognize that doing nothing would only make a bad situation worse. So we are stuck with what we have and can only pray that throwing trillions of dollars at the problems will work. As one with an economics degree, I can assure you this is NOT what they teach in college. But it's a new day and only time will tell if this works or not.

To be completely fair, I am passing along an article from Portfolio.com concerning those toxic mortgage assets that half caused our current tailspin. (Wall St. did the rest!). This article, titled "First Steps On Toxic Assets", suggests that while it may not be an ideal solution, it is the best we can expect. Some responders do not agree (comments) but most people realize that hashing out who is to blame and making sure they get punished (or do not profit from the bailout) is like arguing who gets to steer the boat over the waterfall. Unless the river stops running, the next best solution is to get the boat to shore and then worry about accountability.

If the plan works as Pres. Obama hopes, the government will stand to make big dollars back when the economy recovers and those assets are no longer so toxic. This is what drives the idea of spending billions to begin with - the potential to get back billions as well. You can decide for yourself by starting with the article but as I wrote a few weeks ago, the economy is not going to get back on track until credit is eased, real estate values start moving upward again and people feel confident in the recovery. Right now, there is more trepidation that bravado and that m,eans the economy will stagnate or worse - deflate. And then everybody's travel plans will be down the drain because no one will spend a dime for anything. And that won't help the economy at all.

What Hotel Guests Can Do To Help Hotel Services

In my book, Book Hotels Cheaper, I go off an a tangent describing some of the strange expectations guests have. I noted some have asked me to run 'next door' to get them food, microwave cartons of Chinese food for their dinner, jump their car batteries with MY car and MY jumper cables and I even had one offer me a (supposedly) diamond ring to get a room until they got money the next day. Of course all of these are not in a clerk's job description but that isn't important anyway. What bothers is the expectations people have about hotel service. I thought you might be interested in knowing what YOU can do as a guest to increase the level of service.

If our shuttle is more than 2 minutes late, we hear about it. If the phone isn't answered, we are asked why nobody is at the desk. If someone checks in at 9pm and then tells us they want a rollaway bed, they complain if we aren't there within 10 minutes. Now of course not EVERYONE does this, but believe me, as a longtime hotel worker, I can tell you there are enough of them to make it a weekly occurrence. Just recently, a guest checked in at 4pm with a baby. When they made the reservation (by phone, not through the internet), they even stated there were 2 adults and one child. Except that the ''child' was an infant. For 3 hours they remained silent until 7pm, when the husband came to the desk to say they needed a crib.

Now in a small hotel that doesn't have round the clock maintenance or housekeeping staff, there is only one person who can go get towels, sheets, rollaways and cribs after business hours - the clerk. In this particular case, I went off to fetch a crib but the only one I could locate was on the 2nd floor, though the guests were on the 1st floor. I dutifully made several trips and secured the crib and when I arrived at the room, the same gentleman said "We don't need a crib anymore".

During the 10 minutes I was gone (returning to the desk a couple of times to check people in) I could hear the phone ringing. But I can't answer it if I am not there. Someone (like you) may have been calling to make a reservation, ask us to send the shuttle or simply get connected to a room. To make matters worse, one guest was waiting and waiting to check in after one trip upstairs. And of course, weeks later the complaints will arrive via an online review and there is nothing I can do to defend myself by then.

What can YOU do as a guest? For one, think about what you need when traveling. If you KNOW you are traveling with an infant, it is a no-brainer that you will need probably need a crib. ASK for it when making the reservation - it will likely be in your room before you even check in because all requests are noted and taken care by the day shift. #2, if you ask for it, make sure you need it. Some guests have asked for a rollaway and then arrive (knowing they don't need it now) and want it removed after we placed it in the room. Again, after 5pm, only the clerk is available for such duties so if you KNOW you won't need it, let the hotel know. Lastly, unless your plans changed in the last few hours and you couldn't call the hotel, call to ask for special accommodations or arrangements. Many guests desire a tub instead of a shower but never state such a request and are irate when we tell them we only have a couple rooms with such amenities and none are available. Or they desire a top floor room but they are all gone by 10pm when they check in.

Simply advising the hotel of your request ahead of time will make everyone happy - from the guest needing the help to the guest needing a clerk to answer the phone in a timely manne or simply check them in.

It May Be Time to Cancel/Rebook Your Overseas Trip

Many people thought that with the collapse of the international travel market late last year, the sales airlines put on in Jan and Feb to overseas (particularly to Europe) were great bargains. And they snapped them up. Obviously, they didn't read my newsletter.

So now, as predicted, fares are STILL tumbling. To the point that some people have overpaid by hundreds of dollars for flights they can get dirt cheap now. Usually the cancel/change fees imposed by airlines are so hefty that rarely does it make economic sense to rebook but even with fees of $150-$250, you might save $400 on a flight.

Airline Biz blog noted recently that a round trip ticket to Paris bought prior to Feb 15th likely cost $1,621. The same fare today is $839. So even with a $250 change fee, it would save you over $500 to re-book. They also note that fares are likely to come down even more - especially for travel in the fall, calling it a 99.9% chance that fares would be lower in October than they are now.

For people used to paying almost $2,000 for tickets to London or Paris, it is tempting to assume $839 will be the bottom. It probably isn't but the matter of importance is how much lower it might go and is it worth it to wait? As the site noted, airlines have slashed capacity but not even close to the rate the traveler has slashed traveling, so there is more room to trend lower in both the near and long terms.

One thing to consider however is you won't get a refund - you will likely get a credit. So if you booked on an Air France or British Air, you can't use the credit unless you are going back overseas. Which is one good reason to use American carriers when booking far in advance - you are more likely to use a credit on United at some point in the following year than on BMI.

Why Thailand Is Such a Hot Destination

Among travelers, different 'hot' destinations spring up from time to time. Years ago it was Costa Rica and before that, Belize. Places like Hawaii, Jamaica, the Bahamas are still great spots to visit but have had their day as the 'in' places to go. Recently, Thailand seemed to be where everyone wanted to go and I now have an idea why.

While doing research for the next book, I searched for luxury accommodations and luxury resorts in places like Tahiti, New Zealand, Fiji, Bora Bora, Africa and Japan. In many tropical climate locations like Tahiti, luxury resorts might cost from $500 per night into the thousands. I expected to find the same in Thailand but listings on several luxury websites showed rates for high class resorts and hotels as low as $140 per night. Granted, the Banyan Tree in Phuket runs $500-$3,400 per night but many other very desirable resorts were only $200-$300 per night. These types of rates are more Hawaii like for luxury resorts but instead of a 'room' overlooking the city instead of Waikiki, you get an over the water bungalow or semi-private villa nestled among gardens and located right on the beach.

If this seems expensive, my brother visited Thailand on a retirement budget and spent no where near those amounts and still stayed in some fantastic spots, but this article is dedicated to LUXURY accommodations so I have to stick to what I researched. Since our book is intended for honeymooners, we are seeking romantic type honeymoon destinations and assume in the luxury category that people will expect to pay hundreds per night. Given some resorts we found where bungalows cost $1000 per night, we find the combination of an exotic paradise like Thailand offering rooms for under $150 per night to be quite the bargain.

In fact, we uncovered several 10, 12 and 14 day packages costing $1100 to $1500 per person that included several nioghts in Bangkok, city tours, transfers to island locations and cities, water sports, elephant rides, massages and spa treatments. With round trip flights costing anywhere from $1400-$1600, a pretty nice honeymoon could be packaged together for less than $6,500. Yes, you could go to Hawaii for 1/3 rd that but can you get an elephant ride in the jungle on Maui?

Economy on the Mend?

Words that people would LOVE to hear. But exactly what defines economy? Unemployment? The stock market? GDP? Prices?

These are all factors but as economists know, some are lagging indicators. Meaning what good does it do you AFTER the market has risen 4,000 points if you have no money to invest? If unemployment drops, you are perhaps already employed anyway and are part of the rising percentage of employed.

What many people look at are LEADING indicators and I don't want to start a micro-economic lesson here so I'm going to suggest something really simple, so even I can understand it.

People know the economy is bad (even if they still have a job) not only because the news tells us so but because personal net-worths have fallen for everyone. Home equities have been wiped out, 401k's decimated, retirement funds or stock market returns have plummeted. And everyone feels those because it is a sense of self worth that gives people confidence to do things like travel or buy a car or upgrade the house. When the confidence is not there, neither is the will to spend and that is exactly what we have seen in the last year.

So my contention is when you see certain indicators moving up, we have likely hit the bottom of the recession. The stock market is actually a leading indicator - it tends to discount (actually foresee) events anywhere from 6 months to a year in advance. So even though the 'recession' was only admitted to last summer, the market had tanked long before then. Well, there appears to be a minor bull market happening lately and while it is possible this is simply a bottom rebound 'bounce' and not a long term event, it is good news nonetheless. It means the 'smart' money thinks the economy will do better one year from now, maybe even sooner.

We Interrupt March Madness to Bring You Madness of Another Sort

OK, we all know hotel rates and airline fares have been dropping like 3's from beyond the arc in the NCAA tournament. One of my co-workers just returned from Las Vegas and said there appeared to be a lot of people WALKING around but apparently no one is spending any money. In the MGM casino, you could fire a cannon and hit only closed off sections.

So the MGM has launched an incredible deal for Sun through Thurs travel ALL THROUGH THE SUMMER. Rooms from $49 per night AND they give you $25 in slot money back! Can you imagine staying at the MGM for a couple nights and barely paying over $100? And get slot seed money to boot? Their non Sunday-Thurs rates are also only a few dollars more (except for blackout dates of course).

The MGM is only one of many high profile hotels that are hurting in Las Vegas. In the old days, you had to stay at Arizona Charlies (out of town) to get a room around $35. Whiskey Pete's was usually $29 - I wonder what both are down to now? Maybe it's one night paid, one night free?

If you are interested in booking this, the notification arrived via Travel Zoo at http://hotels.travelzoo.com/las-vegas-hotels/558011?ptl=done&rating=&tppct=

For hundreds more up-to-the-minute deals visit
http://www.travelzoo.com

We now return you to March Madness.

SF- LA (or NY) for $49 R/T

Because this offer is good only through April 8th, I've re-ordered my posts to insert this notice from Jet Blue. Starting Wed. 4/2, good for travel for one week,Jet Blue is offering round trip fares for $14 to New York or Los Angeles, from S.F. The catch is the sale ends tonight at midnight (EST)

After taxes, the fare still comes to only $49. What may be MORE important is that obviously the airlines (even the new non-union discount airlines) are not making money and have plenty of empty seats. So while this one day sale may not have reached you in time, I predict others like it will follow. As I had predicted in my newsletter back in January, sales like this would supplant the sales announced by airlines already. Sales that have brought ticket prices down by approximately half compared to a year ago.

I actually feel like going to N.Y just to do it. If I hadn't already been there (or had a hankering to go to LA, which I don't), I probably would purchase a seat just to check out Jet Blue. But if you have any last minute needs in either city, try to snag one of these fares while available.