| Newspapers and the Internet are littered with special | | | | getting a share of this for yourself. |
| offers from airlines. "Dusseldorf - 34.99 must book by | | | | We like You have to pay a membership fee to join |
| midnight 29th April" from Flybe is fairly typical. The fare | | | | (£5 a year, deducted from your first commission |
| might look attractive but, assuming you want to go to | | | | payment) and then you get money back from a range |
| Dusseldorf, should you rush to book? | | | | of companies if you purchase through the link from the |
| There are a few points to note:o There is no | | | | Quidco site. You are not booking through an agent but |
| guarantee the fare offered after the cut-off date will | | | | direct with the company - by clicking on the Quidco link, |
| not be even lower. You can look at some fare | | | | the company will pay its standard referral commission |
| comparison sites and get a view of the lowest-ever | | | | to Quidco, which passes it back to you. It lists a large |
| fares on the route you are looking at (kayak.co.uk will | | | | number of companies including many well-known |
| allow you to look at data for various dates over a long | | | | motor insurers, mobile phone companies and mail-order |
| period) to see just how good the fare is. In the US, a | | | | organizations. It has 218 travel companies, which include |
| couple of big agents have forced airlines to allow | | | | many travel insurers, car-hire companies, some airlines |
| passengers the right to cancel and rebook at new | | | | and a large number of agents and hotel companies. |
| rates if prices are reduced after a booking has been | | | | The commissions range from just 1% with a few |
| made. This could act against travelers' interests since it | | | | airlines such as Flybe and KLM but go up to 10% with |
| is bound to influence airlines in their pricing decisions if | | | | some car-hire companies (including Avis and Hertz). |
| they feel that a sudden price reduction is going to lead | | | | Hotel agents tend to give some of the best rebates |
| to a large number of refunds. There is no sign of such | | | | (which might give a clue as to how much they are |
| a move in the UK or Europe.o The new 'special offer' | | | | making on sales!). (our least-favorite agent) offers 8% |
| fare could actually be higher than previous fares | | | | but the better-value Hotelopia gives a staggering 12%. |
| offered outside the promotion. Airlines can excuse this | | | | The discount is not immediate - you have to wait for it |
| on the basis that fares should go up as departure | | | | to be paid by the company, which then pays it to you - |
| nears.o The lead-in fare displayed should be inclusive | | | | a three-month wait is quite typical. |
| of all charges that have to be paid in advance (airport | | | | You could also try but we find this site rather |
| charges, fuel supplements and any check-in charges). | | | | frustrating to use because of its messy design. Too |
| Optional charges such as baggage costs or boarding | | | | many of the listed offers are unavailable and you can |
| priority will not be shown.o The Advertising Standards | | | | waste a lot of time, but a couple of our readers have |
| Authority (ASA), in conjunction with ABTA and IATA, | | | | reported some success. |
| has a code of conduct for special travel offers that | | | | A slightly less attractive option is simply to book |
| states, "Quoted fares should be available in sufficient | | | | through the pages of Nectar or Air Miles. You need to |
| quantities to ensure a reasonable prospect of obtaining | | | | log into the site and click on a link to their partners to |
| a flight at the advertised rate." Most special offers will | | | | be awarded points on your purchase. Nectar, in |
| have some form of restriction and are unlikely to be | | | | particular, has a wide range of partners and it is worth |
| available on every flight and on every day but this | | | | checking to see whether a company you are going to |
| should be stated in the advert (for example, "only | | | | use is listed. The savings may be quite small but since |
| available on selected midweek departures"). | | | | the process is simple and free you may as well grab |
| Quite what a 'reasonable number of seats' means is | | | | what is available. |
| anyone's guess, but if an airline is advertising an offer | | | | And how to stretch your hotel bargain even further |
| widely and it only has a handful of seats for sale at | | | | As we keep saying, there is a limit to how far hotels |
| that price it could find itself in difficulty. The ASA has | | | | will reduce rates, even in the worst conditions. We |
| considered a number of complaints on this subject and | | | | read a report from some five-star hotels in Bangkok |
| it appears to adopt a fairly sensible approach. For | | | | that said they expected occupancy levels to be |
| example, if an airline has a special deal for fares to | | | | around 50% for 2009 but, while they will be doing their |
| New York in October, then it is acceptable for it to | | | | best to attract extra guests with special deals, they |
| only have seats for sale on ten days, and only on one | | | | have to consider how much benefit this will have. If |
| flight on those days, but there must then be a | | | | people are not traveling, it is unlikely an extra $10 a |
| substantial number of seats on those flights. | | | | night off is going to make them buy a ticket to |
| On the other hand, an airline could offer a smaller | | | | Bangkok. Cutting rates too far can simply erode a |
| number of seats on virtually every flight, for most days | | | | hotel's income without producing any extra profit. Many |
| of the month. An airline that is promoting a special deal | | | | hotels are offering 'value-added' deals, which enable |
| and not offering more than 10% of its total seats at | | | | them to encourage new guests by including extras but |
| that price (even though these seats may not be | | | | avoid cutting the actual rates too much. Chain hotels |
| available on several days) would probably be judged in | | | | have an added weapon in their armory - the power of |
| breach of the rules. Of course, proving this could be | | | | their frequent-guest programs. Every chain has periods |
| very difficult.o Some airlines have a 'low fare finder' on | | | | when they offer various points promotions, such as |
| their websites to help you find the dates for the lowest | | | | double points or special bonuses, but some chains now |
| fares. If you click on a headline fare on Ryanair's home | | | | have very attractive offers which can be of value |
| page, the booking period and any black-out dates will | | | | even to less frequent travelers. |
| be displayed. Assuming the special offer is available | | | | Intercontinental Hotels (which includes Holiday Inn and |
| from 1st to 30th June on the route from Birmingham to | | | | Holiday Inn Express) has a special promotion that |
| Girona, the flight booking box will automatically have | | | | offers guests one free night after they have paid for |
| been filled in for a departure on 1st June, returning on | | | | just two nights. The paid nights need not be |
| 30th June. | | | | consecutive but stays must be made by 1st July. You |
| Click on this and ensure the 'flexible dates' box is | | | | then have until the end of the year to claim a |
| checked. You will then get fares for a week at a time | | | | completely free night at one of the hotels in the |
| through the booking period, which should allow you to | | | | group's network. Our feeling is that this will work best |
| pinpoint the dates when the lowest fares apply. Ticking | | | | for people who stay at one of the cheaper hotels, |
| the 'flexible dates' box at easyJet will give you a | | | | because they get the same reward as anyone |
| display over a week, which you can extend. If you | | | | staying at the top-of-the range hotels. |
| cannot get any sense from an airline's site, you can go | | | | Starwood (Sheraton, Westin and Le Méridien |
| to a comparison site (skyscanner.net and kayak.co.uk), | | | | among others) has a similar deal. It gives you one free |
| which will show you fares for a month at a time. | | | | weekend night after just two stays before 31st July. |
| There are some genuinely good deals available now, | | | | The free weekend night is available until the end of |
| some of them as part of an airline's 'special' promotion | | | | September. |
| and some just by using their 'normal' rates. However, | | | | To take advantage of these offers you have to be a |
| the term 'special fare' is virtually meaningless. You | | | | member of the chain's frequent-guest program and |
| need to check any fare against other dates and | | | | register for the promotion, so you should do it before |
| competitors' fares to get an understanding of whether | | | | making your first booking. As with all frequent-guest |
| it is good value. | | | | hotel programs, you have to book direct with the chain |
| How to save more | | | | or hotel to qualify. Pre-paid bookings made through |
| An assiduous search on the Internet for the best | | | | Internet agents do not count. |
| possible airfare or hotel deal should not be the end of | | | | If you do a search for the best hotel rates in a city |
| your efforts to save money. Once you have found | | | | and find that a Holiday Inn or Sheraton is on the list, it |
| the best price, you should check to see whether a | | | | obviously makes sense to choose that hotel, because |
| further discount is available by using one of the | | | | you stand to get a valuable free night. |
| discount referral systems. | | | | Hotel chains tend to copy each other's promotions - at |
| Most companies that sell on the Internet offer some | | | | least, when they are successful - so we would expect |
| form of referral commission to sites that produce | | | | some other chains to offer similar deals and, maybe, |
| them business. The price comparison services live on | | | | these two chains will wish to repeat the offer later in |
| this commission but there are a number of ways of | | | | the year. |