Top online website to get best deals in 2013
Why to use online travel websites?
Last minute deals
Online travel websites offer a lot of benefits. For example, if you've just learned that a sudden trip is necessary, you can find last minute deals for transportation and lodging. If you're interested in a special kind of travel, like a theme cruise or vacation package, you can find all the available options in minutes online. Or, suppose you want to fly to Europe for sightseeing, then to the Middle East for a camel ride across the desert, then cruise to Florida for a canoe trip in the Everglades, then take a train home.
Best Rate more saving
You can find the best rates for each part of your trip and plan your entire itinerary with the right online travel site. These sites offer you a world of travel which can be narrowed down to exactly what you're looking for. No more need to spend hours doing all the searching yourself or dealing with a travel agent or airline.
Easy to get good deals
Travel sites have been around for more than a decade, but now they are at a turning point. A new type of site has evolved; the travel search engine, or 'aggregator.' This type of site makes your already-easy travel searching even easier. Suppose you're looking for the least expensive flight across the country leaving in exactly three days. Or perhaps you want to find the most luxurious canoe trip through the Florida Everglades on Valentine's Day.
Travel search engine Benefits
Type in what you want on a travel search engine such as Smarter Travel or Kayak, and it will search through hundreds of travel-related sites such as Priceline and Travelocity to present you with all the available options. Now you don't even have to search one by one through online travel sites; the aggregators even do that for you!
What to look in travel site?
Industry experts agree that no single travel site always has the lowest prices. If you want to find the absolute best deal, start with a meta-search site that includes hundreds of other travel sites. Although meta-search sites link to booking travel sites, you might conduct the same search at these sites individually to see whether you get the same results. One shortcoming of travel sites is they often exclude regional airlines; therefore, Time magazine recommends checking the airport website to identify regional carriers that might offer more affordable flights.
Experts and users offer the following advice about using a travel booking site:
1. Sort search results by price
Search results don't necessarily appear sorted by price. The default sort order may list preferred providers first. Check prices on additional pages and look for the option to change the sort order.
2. Contact the service provider.
To avoid unforeseen problems, you may want to contact the airline, hotel or rental car company to review policies before booking, or at least read the policies posted at the website. For example, airlines charge different fees to make a change or check baggage; hotels might require deposits and rental car companies might not accept debit cards.
3. Understand detail fees.
Although major travel sites advertise "no fee" to book flights, it's important to read the fine print. There may be a fee for flights with multiple carriers, hotels, blind bids, international trips, package deals and in certain other situations. Note whether the prices in the search results include taxes and fees, because some sites don't reveal those charges until you begin the booking process.
4. Review policies and cancellation clauses.
Even if the booking site advertises "no fees to make changes or cancel a reservation," you will be required to pay fees that the service provider charges. In the case of booking non-refundable travel, it can be nearly impossible to cancel or make changes, especially on bidding travel sites.
5. Notice changes in pricing.
No price is final until the travel is booked. ConsumerReports.org says it's not uncommon for fares to jump in price, have hidden fees or become unavailable when you begin the booking process. Verify the price through every screen in the booking process, especially after entering a travel voucher.
6. Verify the email confirmation is correct.
Carefully review all the details in the email, because it may be difficult to make last-minute corrections. When purchasing a package deal, make sure you have a confirmation number for each component. If you don't receive an email confirmation, call the company to make sure the travel was booked.
7. Remove traces of previous searches.
Because pricing is dynamic, two people conducting the same search may get different results. Experts say you may need to reset browser settings or delete "cookies" to ensure that you are getting the lowest fare. You might even conduct the same search with two different browsers.
8. Sign up for fare alerts.
If you aren't ready to book, many travel sites allow you to sign up to receive daily or weekly fare updates via email. Experts also say airlines tend to announce sales on Tuesday, which makes it a good day to start looking for cheap flights. A few sites also offer price alerts on hotels.
Top website to use get best rate
Why to use Kayak-
By a large margin, most reviewers identify Kayak.com as the best site to begin researching travel options. After entering your search parameters, Kayak.com scours service providers, booking sites like Orbitz.com and… expands international sites to come up with the best offers on flights, hotels, rental cars and cruises. Like other search-only sites, Kayak.com links you directly to the site offering the travel option you select. For flights, Kayak.com provides historical fare information to help you pick the right time to fly. Additionally, Kayak's system will send email alerts about changes in flight and hotel prices relating to your specific travel plans.
http://www.kayak.com/
Pros
•Searches for all types of travel
•Compiles results from 200-plus travel sites
•Historical airfare information
•Alerts for airfare and hotel price changes
•Apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry
Cons
•Not a travel booking site
•Prices may be obsolete
No comments:
Post a Comment