When and how to book for a trip?
May 24th, 2016, 01:04 PM
#1
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When and how to book for a trip?
We are an american couple planning a vacation to Paris and Rome during the Christmas holidays this year. I am not sure how to go about booking flights and hotels.
We normally use priceline's express deals for our shorter trips in the country, but given that this is a bit further out (half a year, or am I starting to book too early?) I want to find something refundable just incase any plan changes. Even though it is not likely for us to change plans but just incase anything happens we dont want to lose a couple thousands worth of hotel bookings and flights.
So when and where should I start with as far as booking goes? Anything to look out for?
Thanks for all the tips!
We normally use priceline's express deals for our shorter trips in the country, but given that this is a bit further out (half a year, or am I starting to book too early?) I want to find something refundable just incase any plan changes. Even though it is not likely for us to change plans but just incase anything happens we dont want to lose a couple thousands worth of hotel bookings and flights.
So when and where should I start with as far as booking goes? Anything to look out for?
Thanks for all the tips!
May 24th, 2016, 01:22 PM
#3
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Because you don't want to be locked in I can't think of a reason to book too far ahead but of course that causes you to tempt fate that you won't get the pricing or choices you want. Hotel rooms will probably be refundable booking in advance but can you even get refundable (as opposed to freely changeable) airline reservations?
Why not just book when the price is to your liking and buy trip insurance?
Why not just book when the price is to your liking and buy trip insurance?
May 24th, 2016, 01:25 PM
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I've never heard of a refundable international flight. Changeable? Yes, but totally refundable I just don't think is possible. And I wouldn't use Priceline for anything related to European travel. I book with the airline directly normally, though for intra-Europe flights I sometimes now use GoTravel. For hotels, I either call the hotels directly or use booking.com.
If you're concerned about having to cancel stuff, buy travel insurance. You should buy it at any rate.
I'm sure there are people who have some sort of formulas for how far in advance to book things, but when I was traveling frequently from the USA to Europe, I generally booked about 3 months in advance.
If you're concerned about having to cancel stuff, buy travel insurance. You should buy it at any rate.
I'm sure there are people who have some sort of formulas for how far in advance to book things, but when I was traveling frequently from the USA to Europe, I generally booked about 3 months in advance.
May 24th, 2016, 01:30 PM
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Of course there are refundable air fares - they are a more expensive fare level, but refundable and fully flexible fares most definitely exist. You might find the price prohibitive though, especially over Christmas/New Year.
Make sure you understand what your travel insurance covers you for eg just for changing your mind or does it have to be for a certai reason.
Hotels are not normally flexible with refunds/cancellation policy etc over peak periods such as Christmas/New Year so make sure you read the cancellation policy before booking.
Make sure you understand what your travel insurance covers you for eg just for changing your mind or does it have to be for a certai reason.
Hotels are not normally flexible with refunds/cancellation policy etc over peak periods such as Christmas/New Year so make sure you read the cancellation policy before booking.
May 24th, 2016, 01:35 PM
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Yes, you can book a completely refundable airfare - but it costs a lot more than one that is changeable but not refundable and much more than a non-refundable non-changeable fare. While travel insurance can help with this, be aware that "cancel for any reason" insurance which includes just changing your mind is much more expensive than travel insurance that has limited reasons for cancellation (illness of one of the travelers or a close relative). Read all of the fine print before you buy travel insurance.
Many hotel reservations are completely changeable, many do not even require a deposit. But again, read all of the fine print. Especially since you are traveling over the holidays, you may find that some places require a minimum number of nights stay or require a deposit (that they usually wouldn't).
I always book flights first, then hotels. This is not too early to start booking.
Many hotel reservations are completely changeable, many do not even require a deposit. But again, read all of the fine print. Especially since you are traveling over the holidays, you may find that some places require a minimum number of nights stay or require a deposit (that they usually wouldn't).
I always book flights first, then hotels. This is not too early to start booking.
May 24th, 2016, 02:00 PM
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Keep in mind that if you cancel a trip, you do not lose the value of your air tickets; rather, the airline holds the money you paid, and when you rebook you get that as a credit, plus you pay change fees. Usually you have to rebook within a year.
Are the change fees expensive? Yes. So don't change your mind! As Kathie says, trip insurance doesn't usually cover cancellation for any reason at all.
Are the change fees expensive? Yes. So don't change your mind! As Kathie says, trip insurance doesn't usually cover cancellation for any reason at all.
May 24th, 2016, 02:33 PM
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Thanks everyone for the quick response!
I never considered travel insurance but I will look into it. Any good suggestions/past experiences dealing with particular insurance companies?
I will look at booking.com for hotels thanks for the tip!
I never considered travel insurance but I will look into it. Any good suggestions/past experiences dealing with particular insurance companies?
I will look at booking.com for hotels thanks for the tip!
May 24th, 2016, 03:20 PM
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After researching hotels and checking prices on booking.com, contact your preferred hotels directly and see if they will meet or beat the rate offered by this website. You might get a better deal or perhaps some type of upgrade.
May 24th, 2016, 07:40 PM
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I have spent hours browsing https://www.insuremytrip.com , without buying in the end, lol. But as I recall, it's a good place to learn about and price various plans from various insurers.
May 24th, 2016, 10:48 PM
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There is no reason to wait to do RESEARCH to understand the flight and accommodation market at this point. If the market for items are tight, you might want to actually want book earlier or can leave until later. Each poster deals with different market. So while one poster might see tighter flight market for his route, it might not apply to your routes. Same for accommodations.
I have found flights/accommodations to destinations considered as "Christmas market or events" to get booked up early in my case. First time I did this, I waited too long until summer. Now I book them up in early spring. But again, the flights situation has very much to do with where you are flying from. Only way to find it out accurately is to start looking at flights and accommodations availability and prices. Some hotels change the booking condition on top of the price at popular Christmas time destinations.
The difference between refundable accommodations and non refundable for hotels are not that much. Apartment/house rentals, while offering larger equipped places at lower day cost, usually come with stiff cancellation penalties, so read the fine prints carefully if you want this route.
The difference between refundable airfare and non refundable is enormous. I think only those who are flying on someone else's money might consider the refundable fare. If you choose non-refundable flights, do consider which airline is the one doing the booking, one that keeps money. This makes enormous difference if you have to cancel this trip. The money is left for you up to about one year after you made the booking. But where? You do not want money left in the account at an airline you are unlikely to be able to use again. I live int the U.S. while the exactly the same flights can be purchased as United or Lufthansa marketed flights, when it comes to reusing the fund left in the account if I have to cancel the flight, refund left in United is enormously easier to use than in Lufthansa. Same for exactly the same flights purchased as Delta flights vs. Air France, KLM, or Alitalia.
Resist a temptation to put together various flights purchased as separate reservations if they need to integrate tightly, e.g. connecting one reservation to next. Many people do this and worry, after purchasing tickets, what happens if you miss the connection between reservation. The simple answer is it is your responsibility and you have to deal with it using your money.
I have found flights/accommodations to destinations considered as "Christmas market or events" to get booked up early in my case. First time I did this, I waited too long until summer. Now I book them up in early spring. But again, the flights situation has very much to do with where you are flying from. Only way to find it out accurately is to start looking at flights and accommodations availability and prices. Some hotels change the booking condition on top of the price at popular Christmas time destinations.
The difference between refundable accommodations and non refundable for hotels are not that much. Apartment/house rentals, while offering larger equipped places at lower day cost, usually come with stiff cancellation penalties, so read the fine prints carefully if you want this route.
The difference between refundable airfare and non refundable is enormous. I think only those who are flying on someone else's money might consider the refundable fare. If you choose non-refundable flights, do consider which airline is the one doing the booking, one that keeps money. This makes enormous difference if you have to cancel this trip. The money is left for you up to about one year after you made the booking. But where? You do not want money left in the account at an airline you are unlikely to be able to use again. I live int the U.S. while the exactly the same flights can be purchased as United or Lufthansa marketed flights, when it comes to reusing the fund left in the account if I have to cancel the flight, refund left in United is enormously easier to use than in Lufthansa. Same for exactly the same flights purchased as Delta flights vs. Air France, KLM, or Alitalia.
Resist a temptation to put together various flights purchased as separate reservations if they need to integrate tightly, e.g. connecting one reservation to next. Many people do this and worry, after purchasing tickets, what happens if you miss the connection between reservation. The simple answer is it is your responsibility and you have to deal with it using your money.
May 25th, 2016, 08:51 AM
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I've never heard of a refundable international flight.>>
??? All regular airlines have refundable airfares, the fact that it is international is irrelevant. Business travelers use them all the time because they may book last minute. If you book a business class fare on Air France, for example, it is refundable with a fee loss of several hundred dollars (but that's not the same as changeable with a fee, as you do yet the remainder refunded to you, it isn't that you must apply it to another ticket). That fee is maybe 10 pct of the ticket value. Other airlines are similar. Most people jsut don't want to buy those expensive tickets.
For flights, I check schedules and prices on www.kayak.com and then go to the airline's own website to book when I decide. I hardly ever prepay hotels, there is no reason to at all, there are tons of hotels where you don't need to do that. In fact, I've never seen one where you did unless you want a special rate OR it's some special period in certain holiday areas (ie, Provence in summer, hotel fees may be nonrefundable 30 days before or something like that). Airline tickets are usually changeable with about a $200 fee (each way, I believe).
But if the concern is some freak event or accident that would make the trip impossible, not just because you may change your mind, just buy trip insurance.
??? All regular airlines have refundable airfares, the fact that it is international is irrelevant. Business travelers use them all the time because they may book last minute. If you book a business class fare on Air France, for example, it is refundable with a fee loss of several hundred dollars (but that's not the same as changeable with a fee, as you do yet the remainder refunded to you, it isn't that you must apply it to another ticket). That fee is maybe 10 pct of the ticket value. Other airlines are similar. Most people jsut don't want to buy those expensive tickets.
For flights, I check schedules and prices on www.kayak.com and then go to the airline's own website to book when I decide. I hardly ever prepay hotels, there is no reason to at all, there are tons of hotels where you don't need to do that. In fact, I've never seen one where you did unless you want a special rate OR it's some special period in certain holiday areas (ie, Provence in summer, hotel fees may be nonrefundable 30 days before or something like that). Airline tickets are usually changeable with about a $200 fee (each way, I believe).
But if the concern is some freak event or accident that would make the trip impossible, not just because you may change your mind, just buy trip insurance.
May 25th, 2016, 01:23 PM
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I usually reserve flights about 2 to 3 months before the trip. I read a study in the Wall Street Journal that said this is when fares were, on average, lowest. I do start watching fares before that, though. Christmas is a very busy period, and I might reserve the tickets a few months earlier for Christmas. I'm planning to pay for my kids to come visit us for Christmas this year in Italy, so I'm in the same boat as you, and I haven't even begun to watch prices for Christmas yet.
As others have said, travel insurance, unless it's very expensive, will only reimburse you if you cancel because of illness or some other major cause. We once paid quite a lot to change our flight dates when we learned that the daughter of our best friends was getting married, and we didn't want to miss the wedding. Travel insurance doesn't generally cover things like that. Waiting to buy your tickets is the best insurance for these cases.
I almost always use booking.com for hotel reservations, and I pay more for flexible reservations. This is excellent insurance, and you can change for any reason at all, usually up until a few days before your travel. Some hotels charge more for this privilege than others, and you have to read the terms of the hotel. With a flexible reservation, there's no reason to wait to reserve a hotel room. You can even change if you see the same hotel is offering a lower price. For this reason, I often reserve the hotels before I buy the plane tickets.
As others have said, travel insurance, unless it's very expensive, will only reimburse you if you cancel because of illness or some other major cause. We once paid quite a lot to change our flight dates when we learned that the daughter of our best friends was getting married, and we didn't want to miss the wedding. Travel insurance doesn't generally cover things like that. Waiting to buy your tickets is the best insurance for these cases.
I almost always use booking.com for hotel reservations, and I pay more for flexible reservations. This is excellent insurance, and you can change for any reason at all, usually up until a few days before your travel. Some hotels charge more for this privilege than others, and you have to read the terms of the hotel. With a flexible reservation, there's no reason to wait to reserve a hotel room. You can even change if you see the same hotel is offering a lower price. For this reason, I often reserve the hotels before I buy the plane tickets.
