2009 the year of the bargain

by Tom Johansmeyer on

We’ve all seen the flurries of deals, either here on Gadling or in our inboxes. There’s no avoiding the fact that airlines and hotels are desperate to get you into seats and rooms this year, and they are ready to make it worth your while. Mid-town Manhattan hotels were offering deals for New Year’s Eve! That shows just how hard up the travel industry is. When you plan your trips this year, be prepared to benefit from the competition for access to your wallet. Understand, however, that deals come in different forms.

The first opportunity is obvious. Look for deep price cuts in an attempt to fill seats or rooms. Last week, for example, several domestic airlines offered fare sales within a few hours of each other, and the others rushed to get in line. JetBlue and AirTrain have one-way tickets to major cities selling at well under $100. Virgin America promoted a $139 transcontinental flight … which can actually be found for $109 on some days. Not to be outdone, the internationals are following. British Airways is now offering business class seats for as little as $2,000, and Open Skies can get you from New York to Amsterdam in premium economy for half that (round trip).

With the hotels, it gets a bit more complicated. Some of the best promotions won’t have big price drops, but they’ll deliver a hell of a lot more value.One of my sources tells me that the super-premium, absurdly luxurious hotels seem to be doing fine. If you don’t have a liquid net worth of above $50 million, this simply does not matter to you. So, don’t even think of living like last year’s hedge fund managers for pennies a night. It isn’t going to happen. Be realistic.

At the other end of the spectrum, bargain hotels are slashing rates and taking advantage of a larger audience, since people who would have spent more in the past are looking down market these days.

In the middle, keep an eye on the merely upscale. They are in a tough spot on room rates. These hotels are generally unwilling to cut their prices significantly, as it would impair their reputations and make it hard to push pricing back up later. But, they realize the conditions in which they have to operate. You can use this to stretch the value of your budget. Look for free nights, perks at the on-site spa (or slopes) or packages that include meals. There are deals to be found, and they can be substantial. You just have to accept that they won’t begin with a huge price cut.

Sometimes, the best deals aren’t the lowest-priced. If you can be flexible with the size of your budget, you may find yourself able to get a lot more for your money than if you spend less. When you think about the total cost of your trip (instead of looking at the room, flight, meals and activities separately), the inclusion of meals and spa treatments, for example, can actually lead to a total savings. Keep an open mind, and you’ll see that some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities could open up for you in this market.

Need more ideas? Check these out.

Jauntsetter – Travel deals for New Yorkers

by Annie Scott on

New York, New York. You wanna be a part of it … but sometimes you need to get the heck out of it.

Good news! There’s a website called Jauntsetter that has travel deals specifically for New Yorkers. They know we’re too busy to find them ourselves, and that if no one hands us a deal we might just not go anywhere. I mean, we can get any food you can imagine, and there’s always some part of the city to explore. We can convince ourselves that this is all we need.

But it’s not! New York City is not the whole world, and those of us with the means to see the world should do it! It’s important to the international perception of America, important to our appreciation of our own country, and to each and every one of our personal growth. The more America knows about the rest of the world, the stronger America is in so many ways.

So, if you live in New York, check out the weekly updates on Jauntsetter.com. This week, for example, they have great international deals, as well as $200 flights to LA and New Orleans and great Sundance accomodations. Our pick of this week? San Juan, Puerto Rico for just $189!

Bookmarked. Thanks, Brian O’Neal, for the tip!

10 more ideas for traveling cheaper in 2009

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though the economic forecast seems to drone on and on as being gloomy, here are more tips for how to travel cheaply. With the beginning of a new year, start using some of these tips and you might find out that travel in 2009 can be less expensive than you thought it might be.

One of my mantras is “Don’t assume.” That means, don’t assume something is expensive until you check out all possible angles. I’ve been surprised over and over in my life how travel is doable and affordable.

1. Plan ahead AND wait until the last minute– I do both. Planning ahead, helps me save for a trip and have enough time to do research. Waiting until the last minute has landed me deals I didn’t expect like cheap tickets to a traveling company Broadway play and to see David Sedaris. I sat in great seats for a fraction of what the people around me had paid. Some theaters offer discounts on the day of a performance. That’s how I bought $25 dollar tickets to Avenue Q. Sometimes, certain days at certain times will be cheaper. Call a theater box office and ask.

2. Buy an Entertainment Book– If you’re going to be traveling to a particular city in the United States, consider buying that city’s Entertainment Book. An Entertainment Book, typically sold by clubs as fundraisers, can be purchased directly from the Entertainment Book website. If you buy one for the city nearest to where you live, there will be a deep discount for the second city purchase–or for both. The book contains coupons for restaurants, movie tickets, museum admissions, art events and other local attractions. After one purchase, the book often pays for itself. It’s also a great way to find out places to visit that you may not have thought of before browsing its pages.

3. Pack snacks – When you travel, pack snacks. Think about buying them ahead on sale and storing them so when you’re heading out the door, you have snacks on hand. That will help you stay fed while seeing sites without spending more money than you planned on. Plus, this will save you time since you won’t have to figure out what or where to eat. When my daughter and I were in Denmark the first part of December, my Danish friend had snacks on hand everywhere we went.

4. Ask for water– Whenever we travel, if we’re stopping at a fast food place, I always ask for a cup of water. Water is free. If you’re traveling on Amtrak, ask for ice. The ice is free and when it melts, you’ll have water. I received that tip from a woman who was traveling with her family from California to New York. She said buying water on the train is expensive, but the snack bar hands out ice for free.

5. When ordering at a restaurant, share– If you are traveling with another person, or as a family, figure out which items you can order to share that will give everyone something he or she wants to eat but will cost you less money. Yesterday, my son and I were eating at the Barn Restaurant at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio. I noticed that the sandwich plate was $4.99. For $3.99, you could add on one trip through the soup and salad bar. Instead of ordering him the soup, I ordered everything for myself, gave him the soup that came with meal and we shared items from the salad bar and the sandwich. The restaurant was amenable to this arrangement.

6. Ask for the best hotel deal at the front desk before you check in–In November, we stayed at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. When we were checking in, I was lamenting that we had an Expedia reservation since I found out that there were better deals if we had gone through the hotel directly. My dad, who was with us, asked the hotel clerk what he might throw in to sweeten our stay. We were given four continental breakfast vouchers. The breakfast was great. If we had paid, it would have cost us $10 a piece.

7. Don’t assume how expensive travel might be without checking first–This summer I was pleasantly surprised how inexpensive it was to take the train the New York City on Amtrak. I thought the train would have been more expensive than it was. Two weeks ago my mother snagged an airline ticket to LaGuardia for $166. This summer, the same ticket would have cost her almost $400.

8. Don’t assume you won’t be able to use frequent flyer miles for a flight–My daughter and I went to Denmark from Columbus for 50,000 miles each using Northwest frequent flyer miles. I thought we wouldn’t be able to get those tickets until I checked.

9. If you have a discount card, don’t forget to use it– AAA is one of those cards I keep forgetting to use for other things besides our car and hotel deals. Two days ago, I was at the Libbey Glass Factory Outlet Store in Toledo, Ohio and saw that they give 10% off for AAA card holders. I saved $1. Hey, it’s something.

10. Go to places on days when there is a discount or a free day– Just today, when we were in Findlay, Ohio at Wilson’s, a family-owned hamburger joint that has been around since 1936, I found out that if you go in on a Saturday with your Wilson’s mug between 7–11 a.m., you can get a free cup of coffee. If we had gone to the Barn Restaurant on Monday night, my son would have eaten for free.

Speaking of coffee. When you travel, bring your travel coffee mug with you. Truck stop type places often will charge you less money if you bring in your own cup.

Top 10 stupidest laws you could encounter abroad


Many inexpensive last minute holiday airfares do exist

by Jamie Rhein on

You’ve probably noticed the stories about how airfares have dropped and air traffic is down. Two weeks ago, I flew from Copenhagen to Columbus on two airplanes that were not full. The Continental flight from Copenhagen to Newark was empty enough that most people had seats between them.

The flight from Newark to Columbus was even more roomy. The row in front of my daughter and me was empty, and we had that hoped for seat between us as well.

With less people flying that means more competition to entice passengers to fly. My mom is heading to New York City for the holidays. This past May, she took the bus because of gas prices and soaring airline costs. Her ticket plane ticket would have cost almost $400 at the time.

She thought about the bus again until last night when I searched for airplane tickets on a whim. There were several options for a $166 airfare when I used the variable date function. Delta and Northwest were the least expensive flights, but the flight she wanted was on Delta to LaGuardia which she prefers over JFK. Flights into Newark, at least the ones I saw, were more expensive.

Not only was she able to score a flight to the airport of choice, she also was able to get flights that are direct and leave at the times she preferred. At first, it looked like she’d have to leave at 6 a.m., but after going to another day of departure, an early afternoon flight to New York appeared. She also wanted to book a return flight later in the day than what originally appeared. Again, further looking found the exact flight out of LaGuardia.

After using Travelocity to find choices, I went directly to Delta’s web site to book the ticket. The amazing detail is that she’s leaving on Monday, just days from booking the ticket. Cheap flights so close to departure used to be unheard of.

So, if you’re thinking of going somewhere for the holidays, look into flying. It may be far less expensive than you thought. These are the days of deals. To find the best ones, look for flights during the week. My mom is flying out on a Monday and back on a Wednesday. In this case, the direct flights were less than the flights that went through another airport. I am amazed.

Is There Trouble in Hawaiian Paradise?

by Brenda Yun on

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal might just be over-exaggerating the tourist slump that is taking place here on the Hawaiian islands. As the article puts it, “dozens of pool chairs and canopied cabanas sat empty… restaurants had plenty of free tables… In town, “50% Off!” signs hung in the windows of many souvenir shops.” I’m pretty sure this can be the case if you’re walking around anywhere on the Big Island on a Saturday afternoon because people aren’t interested in relaxing by a pool, eating at a restaurant, or shopping. I would hope they are doing more productive things like visiting the Volcano National Park, enjoying one of the island’s many gorgeous black sand beaches, or hiking around waterfalls near Hilo.

Although I don’t want to believe the article’s proclamation, “There’s trouble in Polynesian paradise,” I’m sure the tourist industry is feeling some effects from a poor economy and the closure of ATA and Aloha Airlines – two of Hawaii’s biggest airline carriers – earlier this year. My own observations of the state of Hawaii’s tourism is far more optimistic and maybe even idealistic. I like to believe that vacationers are taking advantage of some of the great money-saving deals and discounts on accommodations and travel packages. If there’s a silver lining to a cloud, it’s that this state, my home, has always been a paradise and will remain so to many visitors in the coming year.

The WSJ article does point out that the neighbor islands – namely Maui and the Big Island – are being hit the hardest right now. If it’s any indication on my island of residence, Oahu, a decrease in tourists remains to be seen. If tourists are willing to make it out to Honolulu and stay in Waikiki, a good portion of them would make the journey to at least one outer island during even a week-long visit to the islands.

Additionally, the winter time sees an increase of vacationers to the islands to witness some of the state’s most popular events, like the Triple Crown of Surfing (on the North Shore of Oahu, Nov. 12 – Dec. 20), the Honolulu Marathon (on Oahu, Dec. 14), the Maui Whale Festival (on Maui, February), the Waimea Town Celebration (on Kauai, Feb. 20-2), and the Merrie Monarch Festival (on the Big Island, April 12-18).