There are plenty of travel deals out there for the person who knows where to look and how to take advantage of existing programs. Of course, I’m not talking about taking a winter vacation to Galveston Texas and spending the weekend in a cardboard box on the beach. Nor do I mean a tree house on the shores of Lake Michigan in the dead of winter.
Where to look for travel deals?
Just a couple of decades ago, travel shoppers went to their local travel agency to find discount travel services and discount travel packages.
Many people have known for years that if you buy a plane ticket from the airline, then you will most likely always pay full price for that ticket. However, the average travel agency may purchase that same plane at a discount, essentially so the travel agency can profit from the difference, but many travel agencies will pass those savings on to the consumer.
Travel agencies also offer another advantage to consumers as they have the ability to view airline fares from several different airlines. It can often be much cheaper to fly into Chicago and change planes for another flight to New York City than to take the direct route to New York City. Travel agencies have the ability to see those discounts that others won’t.
Discount travel packages are often available by grouping a group of people together on the same vacation plan. Seniors and retirees often take advantage of this option, but they are not the only ones. From Las Vegas, people will band together to fill a bus for the trip to the Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon. Across the country, people will hop on a bus and take you to a casino closer to home. Tour groups often take a flight to Europe and share a bus ride around Europe.
By having three dozen distant strangers share the costs of a particular tour schedule, travel costs can definitely be reduced. Costs are reduced because the tour can be priced according to actual travel costs, as opposed to inflated costs designed in a package to pay for empty seats. But do you really want to organize your next vacation around the strict program designed by the tour operator?
What if you don’t want to share your vacation?
The truth is, there are a lot of travel savings for people who are a bit more independent than the people who fill up tour buses.
To ask the question again of where to get real savings on travel, many people today are turning to online travel companies for travel discounts.
Travel companies are in a huge advertising battle, fighting for your business. Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo Travel, Travel.com, Orbitz, Priceline and others are fighting for your travel dollars. But who really offers the best travel deals?
People have many opinions about who has the best travel deals available online. If you listen to William Shatner, you’ll look no further than Priceline for those travel deals. But, I’m here to tell you that if you want the real travel deals, don’t stop at Priceline.
Big dollar advertising requires big dollar sales margins
Consider this. For Expedia, Travelocity, Yahoo Travel, Travel.com, Orbitz and Priceline to be household names, they have to spend millions on advertising to get their names into your subconscious mind.
How much of the cost of your travel package will be used to sell your services to the next person? In other words, how much more are you paying to travel, to find out who these companies are?
Cheaper rides can be found when you get off the beaten path
If you know what to look for and where to look, you can find travel packages that are much less expensive than what you can get with a tour operator or the six major travel companies shown above, and you won’t have to share your trip with three dozen people you don’t even know and probably won’t like.
To prove my point, let me give you a couple of examples.
On the Pacific side of Baja California Sur, in the town of Cabo San Lucas, Los Cabos, Mexico, there is a 5-Star Resort called Hacienda del Mar Vacation Club. At this resort, you can get a one-bedroom condo for 8 days and 7 nights, and you can spend your days and nights overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On Priceline, this package will cost $2088.38. At Travelocity, this same package will cost $1976.59. If you know where to shop, you can get the same one-bedroom condo for 8 days and 7 nights for just $645.
Located on 600 acres in the greater San Diego, California area, Welk Resort San Diego offers unique accommodations in the form of vacation rentals with a variety of resort amenities and activities. You can get a one-bedroom villa suite in the most complete resort setting, offering a golf course and private theater. For an 8-day, 7-night Welk Resort package, Expedia will charge $2,064.43; Orbitz will charge you $2,236.40 and Travelocity will charge you $2,063. If you know where to shop, you can get this package for as little as $298.
In conclusion
There’s a little-known secret that can literally save you thousands of dollars on your next vacation, maybe even increase the value you receive for your limited vacation dollars.
