Tagged: booking

Are We Booking Hotel Rooms Too Far in Advance?

The "sweet spot" for booking a hotel room is just 8 to 14 days before travel, according to a new report from Hotels.com.The booking engine's 2026 Hotel Price Index—based on internal…

Where Are the Cheap Air-Hotel Packages? Is It Cheaper to Build Your Own Vacation Now?

Packages were once a dominant source for air and lodging discounts to popular vacation destinations. The bulk discounts that travel sellers could get from buying large quantities of…

AI-Driven Surge Pricing Comes to Airfares and Hotel Rates

It’s bad enough when you need an Uber just as the ball game is ending across town, and a $24 ride jumps to $68.But now that $549 airline ticket to London can leap to $849 just as…

Planning a Cruise: Follow This Timeline for Booking Dinner and Activity Reservations

Timing is everything when it comes to planning a cruise vacation. Once you’ve decided on the ship and itinerary and have made the down payment, the next step is knowing when to book…

25-Plus Holiday Travel Tips From an Industry Expert: Save Money, Beat Crowds, Dodge Delays

Last year was arguably the worst holiday travel season we’ve ever seen. The Southwest Airlines operational meltdown lasted 11 days encompassing Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New…

Tracking Flight Prices: What to Do When You Book a Trip, Then Find a Better Deal

Airline ticket prices are fluid. As much as you can read up on the best tips to find cheap airfare, the algorithms that drive pricing can cause fluctuations from one day—even one…

5 Reasons Early Morning Flights Are Less Likely to Be Delayed

The reasons not to book a 6am flight are obvious the moment the alarm sounds. Yet catching the first flight of the day is frequently one of the top pieces of advice experts offer to…

National Parks That Require Reservations for Spring and Summer 2023

Over the past few years, several of the most popular national parks in the United States have begun requiring advance reservations—not just for congested drives and hiking trails but…

4 Tips for Finding Cheaper Airfare in 2023

Last year was a tumultuous one for airfare. As the worst of the pandemic subsided, a combination of strong travel demand, rising fuel prices, and a still-lagging overall number of…

What to Do to Avoid Getting Scammed if an Airbnb Host Asks You to Cancel a Booking

Let's say you've made an Airbnb reservation for an upcoming stay that's been confirmed and paid for. Then before your trip, you receive a digital message from the vacation rental's…

Airbnb Is Making It Easier to See Hated Cleaning Fees Earlier in Search

Airbnb is at last bringing more—though not complete—transparency to how rental prices are displayed. In December, the company will begin rolling out a feature that lets users of the…

5 Tips to Remember When You Pay for a Hotel Room

1. Find out exactly what the hotel’s cancellation policy is. Before you click the BOOK button on a hotel reservation, read the hotel’s cancellation policy line-by-line. Then read it…

American Airlines and JetBlue Become Partners

The first sign that something was unusual was that my cell phone rang, and it wasn't a scam. My friend Jill was on the other line, and she asked breathlessly, "Is it true?" When I…

Camping in the Pandemic: Finding Campsites and Open Restrooms in a Time of Limited Capacity

MAY 28, 2020 All the travel pros and industry insiders predict that camping will be big this summer. RV rentals are up by as much as 1,000%, according to some companies. And the folks…

Find the Name of That Secret Priceline Hotel with This Canny Tool

Pretty much everyone agrees that Priceline can come up with some fantastic hotel discounts, but not everyone agrees that the trouble is worth it. Hotels dump inventory on the website…

My Hotel Is Overbooked! What Did I Do Wrong?

First of all, you did nothing wrong. The hotel failed you. Sometimes hotels run out of space because of clerical errors, guests who overstay, rooms that need repairs, and other reasons…

How Far in Advance Should I Book Flights?

Next to the tax code, there may be nothing more confusing than airfare. Dynamic pricing, capacity-controlled rate tiers, seasonal shifts—how is anyone supposed to know the best time to…

The Ever-Expanding Footprint of Airbnb and What It Means

With speed more head-spinning than Linda Blair's in The Exorcist, Airbnb has been growing and changing and growing once again. In just the past 18 months or so, it has added online…

Give to Charity, Get Discounted Hotel Rate

A new hotel booking website aims to incentivize charitable donations by linking them to discounted rates for rooms.It's called Kind Traveler and here's how it works: users who…

Booking.com Pulls Plug on Last-Minute App

After only a year and half on the market, Booking.com is euthanizing Booking Now, its app specifically designed for last-minute hotel deals.When it was released in January…

An End in Sight for Hidden Resort Fees?

You know when you see a hotel rate online and then later during the booking process you find out you're going to have to pay a mandatory "resort fee" not included in the advertised…

Here's Why You Should Book Directly with a Hotel

For most travelers, booking a hotel room often comes down to one important variable: price. And for several years, online travel agencies (called OTAs in the industry) like Expedia and…

Do You Need a Travel Agent to Book a Cruise?

Option #1: Brick-and-Mortar AgencyPhoto by Bananastock / ThinkstockThis is a physical travel agency located in your city.ProsConsConvenience: Since it’s in your…

Consumer Choice Shrinks: Expedia, Having Just Gobbled up Travelocity, Is About Buy Orbitz, Too

As it is above, so it is below. Just as the airlines have been scooping each other up, swiftly reducing a field of 12 companies competing for American patronage to a field of only…

New App Finds Last-Minute Airfare Price Drops

Inspired by (actually very inspired by) the last-minute hotel booking app Hotel Tonight, a newcomer called Flight Tonight hopes to help travelers find those instances in which…