For many people, vacation time presents a mix of joy and sorrow. While everyone is keen to point out the wonderful feelings travelers experience when they go on vacation, most travelers continue to fear the price shock they experience. A select few have truly mastered the art of maximizing the enjoyment and minimizing the pain of vacationing. So, here are 4 tips for combining the good in a vacation and cutting out the bad.
Tip 1: Plan your trip in advance
Pretty much everything is cheaper when you buy it early. Using a popular travel site, we found that a trip from Houston to San Diego scheduled 3 days before the flight costs $560. Whereas, the same trip purchased 6 months earlier would cost $369. That’s a savings of almost $200.
This leads many to ask a question. Why don’t hotels and airlines just fix their price and be done with it? Hotels and airlines recognize that your money can only reach them if they can entice you to make the purchase. The longer you wait to buy from them, the more likely you are to change your mind or use your competitors. Therefore, the incentive of the lower price entices you to act as soon as possible to lock you in with them. They understand that travel plans change quickly and you’re less likely to postpone a trip once you’ve already purchased a ticket. Although annoying, always use this to your advantage. Plan and pay for your trip as soon as possible. I recommend 3-6 months before, if possible.
Tip 2 is to travel during low seasons
This is so easy to understand. Hotels and airlines are businesses. They prefer to get a part of the money they would like to collect for their services rather than not receive any money at all. That is why high season offers are not abundant. For example, if you don’t ski, go to areas that cater to the ski crowd during non-ski months. Why do you ask? Well, the beauty of nature is still there, the other entertainment options that are taking the sport of skiing to the top are still there, and the hotels and airlines are crying out to fill the spaces that would otherwise remain idle. You can often find fares for less than 30 cents on the dollar.
Tip 3 is to use vacation or traveler account tools
For many travelers, vacations are an annual thing. The need to travel is not a surprise when the time comes. Create a travel or vacation account online. If you like to save money, you can’t afford not to. With the new tools that have appeared in the last year, you don’t even have to go to the bank to do it.
Use free tools like the cheap airline tickets toolbar to create your vacation budget. Cheap Air Tickets Toolbar allows users to earn money for vacation travel, hotels, and entertainment by pointing out errors they see online. The money can be applied directly to a debit card for your use. The use of such tools opens up a variety of travel options by allowing for more and a higher quality of your vacation. With an average payout of two dollars for each valid bug report, a vacation budget can be quickly created using such tools.
Tip 4 is to shop around
Everyone understands the concept of shopping, but there are a couple of special considerations and tactics when shopping for travel purposes. In the Internet age, it’s easy to compare flight and hotel prices without leaving home. Many travel websites actually search for multiple airlines and hotels simultaneously and then list their rates and services side by side for comparison. Use them, use them. They can help you save a lot of money. Also, when traveling to tourist cities, haggle over the price of hotel rooms. In resort towns, there are usually plenty of mom-and-pop type hotels clamoring for business. It often helps to contact several and play the bidding game. Tell them you’re coming to town and need a room. Then tell them the price your competitor has offered. You’d be surprised how many times the person on the phone (usually the manager) will lower their prices so you’ll choose them over their competitors. This gets really complicated during the off seasons.