pnb

Hi, I've often read in the posts about people finding really great deals on airfare or hotel, etc. After having a marvelous time in Madrid last month we'd love to return early next year but would like to find some deals. How exactly do you go about finding deals on airfare and hotels (4-5 star hotels)? What is the best way to get good room rates and good rates on airfare?

Thank you for any advice as I am new to booking our own trips.

annetti

I always do my own bookings. It involves a lot of telephoning, e-mailing checking newspaper ads, internet comparisons, etc. for airline fares. I have almost always found consolidators on the phone to be cheaper than using the Internet for long distance fares. If I'm flying a small airline and taking a short flight (an hour or so from say, Heathrow) I find I have good results on the Internet. For hotels, I try all the routes, calling, emailing and Internet. My best bet there has been email, but though I feel I have gotten good airline flight prices, I can not say I feel I've gotten the best hotel rates. Someone out there must do a better job than I do! It does take time to plan one's trip and keep the costs down and I must admit that sometimes I wish I did not need to work so hard! It's a lot of work for the independent traveler.

highledge

for hotels usually your best bet is to try and book directly with the hotel. Go online and figure out those prices and then fax or eamil directly asking for the best rate possible. Recently I looked into a hotel and the "web special"was 190 euros and calling the hotel yielded 140 euro rate!
If you call the hotel direcly try to say hello/good morning/afternoon in the native language, apologise and then ask if the person speaks English. Go from there.

Look at the rates for packages as a guide and remember you can almost always do better. Good luck

amelia

I have two similar tips to the above: 1) surf the web a lot for airfare for a period of time so that you can differentiate a bargain fare from a merely reasonable one and 2) do phone the hotel--even internationally--because often the desk person can describe the rooms for you.

walkinaround

if staying in a hotel (only do for a long weekend kind of break), 9 times out of 10 i book a package deal that includes airfare and hotel (not a tour - no other "extras" - just the hotel and the airfare). the only time i have booked a hotel separately from the airfare is if i'm moving around (which i tend not to do).

usual places like expedia or lastminute.com, ebookers, etc are where i find the hotel/air packages. i ALWAYS book on-line. out of the probably 30 times doing this, i only had one minor problem (website advertised terrace room but paid hotel only for a standard room so hotel would not honour the seller's advert).

if i'm staying in an apartment or house/villa, i find it through the internet or recommendations from friends and deal with the owner directly.

walkinaround

i forgot to state why i book hotel/airfare as a package (probably obvous anyway). usually the deal is much better than if the two were booked separately. sometimes there is another perk like eurostar holidays offers train/hotel packages (off season) london to paris with free first class upgrade on the train if booked as a package.

enjoylife99

I purchased RT airfare/hotel thru go-today.com for Paris March 2005 for less than $1,200 for two and already received my docs.
I was happy with the reservation process via email/fax.
good luck!

NEDSIRELAND

Schedule your TransAtlantic flight to complete travel by mid-April;
Fly midweek (Tue or Wed outbound, Wed or Thu return);
Find out all the airlines that fly direct from your departure city to Madrid and monitor their website at least weekly.
Here in Phila., airlines usually advertise any specials in the Thursday Philadelphia Inquirer. Find out which day they advertise in your 'market' and stay on top of it.

Your insistance on "4-5 star hotels" may be at cross-purposes with your desire to economize (I have stayed in very nice 3-star hotels). For 4-5 star hotels, you might consider the Bankhotel cheques (vouchers). Their website tells you which Hotels accept their vouchers and the time frames during which they may be used. They come in books of 5-checks and cost about 250 Euro ($300 USD). They're valid for 1-year (beginning in March).

There's some good advice here: Deal directly with the Hotel rather than with a 'broker.' If you can get the name of the Hotel Manager, it gives uou a 'leg up.' I mentioned the Manager's name at the CondeDuque in Bilbao and at the Ria de Vigo in Vigo (Pontevedra) - we got VIP treatment.
BTW
Those are both 3-star hotels but top of the line 3-star Hotels.

suze

I have always booked my own trips (28 successful ones so far) but am not a big bargain hunter...

To me the airline & routing (nonstops when possible, same carrier throughout, booked on 1 ticket) are more important than saving a bit of money on a convoluted itinerary with multiple airports, too long or too short transfers, etc.

I research hotels on the internet (or sometimes travel magazines or guidebooks) but book with the hotel myself (thru email or fax). Again I don't know if I am getting the cheapest price but I like to feel I am more in control by dealing directly with the front desk person where I will be staying. I choose 3-star places so they are reasonably priced anyway.

Not exactly an answer to your question, but that's my method.