Budget travel may not be your cup of tea, but, with economy giving everyone a rough time, travelers are looking for more pocket-friendly means of travel. Here are some tips and tricks on planning as well as taking your next trip:
1. Grab hotel deals
In an effort to increase their bookings, many popular hotel chains are offering travelers significant deals. Fairmont hotels, for example, has slashed rates as much as 20 percent at more than 50 of its properties through April 15. Other hotels are also offering discounts such as free nights and savings packages. You’ll find the greatest values in destinations such as Las Vegas, Hawaii, Florida, the Caribbean, and Mexico—places where tourism plays a vital role and rooms need filling.
2. Earn rewards for being a loyal customer
Most loyalty programs, including those of Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Wyndham have eliminated blackout dates for points redemption, so you can get free nights even during peak season.
3. Choose an all-inclusive package
Whether its hotels or cruises, choosing an all-inclusive package can mean significant savings. And there are some great bargains to be had out on the water right now. Crystal Cruises, for example is offering perks, such as stateroom upgrades and discounts as much as $2,000 on penthouse rooms on some Asian sailings.
4. Stay at rented house or apartment
For significant savings—and more square footage for your dollar—consider staying in a privately owned apartment or house on your next trip. Rental apartments and homes gives you that extra privacy and space that you don’t get a typical hotel room that too at lower rates.
5. Use your Flyer miles
This is the year to make use of your miles that you have accumulated over the past. With fewer people taking to the skies, your chances for redeeming miles could potentially increase. Most airlines start selling flights 330 days out, so using your miles as far in advance as possible increases the likelihood of getting an award seat. And if a flight isn’t full approximately two weeks before departure, the carrier will turn to frequent-flier customers to help fill the plane.
January 2, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Absolutely agree on these tips, Cheapo!
One thing to be careful about with all-inclusive packages — still read the fine print. Usually this does not include taxes, and sometimes it won’t include international-liquor drinks (depending on where you are, of course).
Finally, some hotel packages may not be offering that much more value than if you were to assemble the pieces together yourself. Make sure you figure out the math on that, or go to our website (www.DealBase.com), where our team of editors has analyzed over 14,000 hotel packages to see if they are really providing a % savings or not…