Rich Array Of Airline Hotel Deals

PREV 2 of 2

Added Value or Lower Prices

Never as monolithic as the airlines, the hotel industry is split on how to get heads back on beds. As room rates and occupancy levels have plummeted, some chains (most notably Hilton) have indulged in what the industry calls "naked discounting." That's when you simply slash nightly rates as low as required to fill a room. Other hotel players (like Marriott and many pricey resorts and independent properties) are trying to keep published rates high, but larding them with "value-added" freebies. Sometimes it's free meals or spa treatments, and sometimes it's several hundred dollars worth of resort "credits" that travelers can use as they wish. Other times, the value-added inducement is third-party gift cards. So far this year, for example, Marriott outposts have offered gift cards for Target and Amazon.com as part of the nightly room rate.

Which is better? Depends on you. I prefer the rate reduction because things like a free Sunday brunch "worth" $45 is useless to a guy whose morning intake is invariably a bagel and coffee. But if you like what the hotel is offering—and understand its actual retail value—go for it.

The Blind-Buying Bonanza
Blind bidding for flights is passé now that airlines publicly sell seats at giveaway prices on their own proprietary websites. But so-called "opaque" operations such as Priceline.com, Hotwire.com, and Lastminute.com have gained new popularity with upscale travelers because top-notch hotels around the world now dump their excess capacity into the blind-booking pools. Even four- and five-star properties work with the opaque sites these days, and they sell deeply discounted rooms to travelers who pony up payment before they know what hotel they are buying.

I'm not a fan of blind booking—to me, lodgings aren't a commodity—but many travelers whose taste I trust recently have secured huge discounts on desirable hotels and resorts using Hotwire and Priceline. And third-party sites such as Bidding for Travel have sprung up to allow bidders to swap intelligence on what they've scored and which properties currently use the opaque sites. There's still another twist on the bidding sites: Luxury Link electronically auctions accommodations and travel packages at deluxe properties around the world. I have used Luxury Link myself for holidays. If you know the property and what it normally charges, you can bid with confidence—assuming, of course, you want to travel when the hotel or resort is offering rooms.

The Mileage Markdown
Travel is so slow just now—airline traffic is down around 10 percent compared with last year's already depressed levels and average hotel occupancy has fallen to around 50 percent—that airlines and hotels have even begun to mark down the price of staying and flying for free via frequent-travel programs. A steady stream of private promotions offering flights for up to 25 percent fewer miles and hotel rooms for substantially fewer points has hit travelers' email inboxes in recent weeks. To take advantage of these private sales, make sure you're signed up to receive the promotional offers from your favorite airline and hotel programs.

And while we're talking about frequency programs, another point to keep in mind: If you're relatively flush with cash, airlines and hotels are offering lavish points and miles promotions when you book paid rooms and flights. After a two-night stay in a Manhattan hotel last month, I earned enough bonus points for a free night in an Italian resort I've been eyeing for a holiday next month. And all of the major airlines are currently running double or even triple "elite miles" promotions through mid-June. Once you register, you receive bonus miles toward your elite status next year. Earning or upgrading your elite status for 2010 will come in handy if the economy recovers next year.

The Fine Print…
One notable exception to the fire-sale nature of travel this year is car rentals. If anything, prices have risen compared with last year. The reason: Rental firms have been hit by the credit crunch and have had difficulty raising cash to finance new fleets. The result is a double whammy: Daily rates, especially for midweek business rentals in major cities, are rising—and the cars you're renting are older, have more cosmetic damage, and may not be as mechanically reliable as they once were.

PREV 2 of 2