The other day I was working on air arrangements for a fellow who wanted to fly to Kenya in less than 3 weeks, and I found the best website. First, I went through my usual source, www.itasoftware.com, and found a nice flight for less than $1,300. Fantastic, I thought, last summer the best I could find was $1,800. But, even though this was great, I decided to try a new website featured in the January issue of Conde Nast Traveler, www.kayak.com, and wow! a flight popped up for $824. I called my client, told him the good news and asked his permission to book it, only to find that when I went back on-line, with him on the phone, the good price had gone, and the best was back up close to $1,300. We were disappointed, but decided to try again later. Sure enough, late that night another great fare popped up at $904, which I immediately jumped on, and we were both pleased with his good fortune*. An extreme fluctuation like this doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, you need to be poised to take advantage of it. So the key to being smart here is to be poised, persistent and patient, and knowing about a good website helps.
Here’s a quick tip for hotels from Conde Nast Traveler. Booking on-line doesn’t always snag you the best bargain for hotel rooms. After you have found the lowest rate on the hotel’s web site, call its reservations desk to see if there are any special offers other than what you found online. Next, if your dates are flexible, ask what days have the best rates, and then ask, If I come on those dates, would there be a chance at an upgrade? You just might get lucky, and my motto has always been, It never hurts to ask.
*A word of caution: the flight to Kenya we found had two very long layovers in London (12 hours going and 17 hours coming back). The client was traveling alone and was okay with this, but you might not be. So be sure to check out the flight schedule before committing to the booking.
Find more tips, and great, reasonably priced tours, at www.driftersister.com.
Catch the wind…
Taste the rain…
And touch all of your tomorrows…
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