Posted by rlashea on July 19, 2010
Plenty of popular websites offer discount hotel deals. The best deals are generally offered during the low season when hotels are sitting empty and management needs to put bodies in the rooms to keep revenue flowing. During the high season, usually the summer months, when more people are more likely to be on vacation, especially those who have kids, you can earn those discount prices.
Sign up for the points programs for hotel chains that you stay at regularly. Hotel points programs are free and, once you have built up enough points, you can book completely free rooms. If you don’t have enough points for a free room though, most hotel programs allow you to buy additional points, which can be considerably cheaper than the full room rate.
Shop online. Many hotel points programs allow you to earn extra points when shopping online. Instead of going directly to a retailer’s website, log on to the hotel’s website with the username and password you created for your account and click the “Shop” or “Shopping Rewards” link. If the online store you plan to shop at is listed in the partner shopping links, click through the link on the hotel website and earn a set number of points for every dollar spent.
Become a member of a travel group. Members of AAA and AARP’s travel group earn discounts at hotels. These discounts vary from hotel chain to hotel chain and are outlined on the company’s websites and in the literature usually sent to you by mail when you sign up as a member.
Buy a membership with a shopping club, such as Sam’s or Costco. People who are members to either of these bulk discount retail chains get some hotel discounts automatically, as well as discounts in other travel-related areas, such as car rentals. Costco members, for instance, get discounts at both Hyatt and Best Western hotel chains. When using a shopping club membership discount for hotels, you generally have to book your rooms through the shopping club’s booking line.
Volunteer at your destination. While this option is not as widely available as others, volunteering is possibly one of the most rewarding ways to earn hotel discounts. If your destination has a need for volunteerism, hotels in the area may offer discounts to willing helpers. After Hurricane Katrina, for instance, hotels in New Orleans were offering discounts to Habitat for Humanity volunteers. For a few hours of work a day, you get a whole night to take in the city. To find out which volunteer organizations offer hotel discounts, go to the Volunteer Vacations section of the Charity Guide website. Choose a cause from the list provided and the site displays volunteer opportunities associated with that cause.
Posted by Nick on July 18, 2010
Are you planning a getaway to London? Well, if you are purchasing your airline tickets in advance, you could save some major cash with Air France. They are having a sweet deal on business class tickets right now.
You can save up to 70% on Business Class fares to London on Air France with 21day AP
! Hurry and book now before the savings are gone.
Posted by rlashea on July 13, 2010
When you’re on vacation, you shouldn’t have to spend all of your money on the necessities. As travel and lodging costs start to add up, your vacation mad money goes plummeting. That can mean visiting fewer area attractions, enjoying fewer sumptuous meals and bringing home a few less souvenirs. Every dollar you can save on your vacation accommodations adds to your spending money, so why not try for a lower hotel room price?
Make your hotel reservations online. The lowest room price is almost always the one listed on the hotel’s website these days. If you walk into a hotel without a reservation and get quoted a $300 per night room rate, use the hotel’s free Wi-Fi, or pop into a nearby coffee shop with free Wi-Fi and pull up the hotel’s website. You can often book the room online and get it at half the quoted price.
Use a discount online booking system. While many hotel chains have started price-matching popular discount sites, like Expedia
and Hotwire.com
, at some you can still get a deal. Priceline.com 
, for instance, allows you to bid on a hotel room. If the hotel accepts the bid, you pay the price you would like to pay for the room instead of the going rate.
Prepay for your hotel rooms. Nearly all online booking systems, including hotel booking systems and discount booking sites, offer the option of prepaying for the room. The rate when prepaying for a room can be anywhere from $10 to $50 less per night than if you do not prepay. The downfall of prepaid rooms, however, is that they cannot be canceled, so if you have to cancel your vacation, you are out of luck and out the money.
Find out if you get hotel discounts through an organization you belong to. Travel groups, such as AAA, for instance, offer discounts at thousands of hotels. Federal employees and veterans are often eligible for discount rates, and some large companies are given discounts with specific hotel chains. If you work for a well-known company, you may want to check with someone in Human Resources to find out if employees are eligible for discounts at any hotels.
Book with a specific credit card. Some hotel chains have credit card companies with whom they are associated or even have credit cards that are linked with their reward programs, such as Holiday Inn’s Priority Club credit card. Using a credit card associated with the hotel can often score you a small discount.
Posted by Nick on
If you are taking a cruise, you may already know costly it can be to buy things onboard the cruise ship. Each of those little things, like drinks and other extras, that you buy on the cruise ship can add up to a large amount by the time your cruise ends.
A great way to minimize your costs is to get an onboard cruise credit.
If you have stock in the cruise company, you just may be able to qualify for free onboard credit.
For instance, Carnival Cruises offers its shareholders onboard credit. The catch? You have to own 100 shares of Carnival Cruises stocks to qualify.
What do you get? A cool $250 in onboard credit.
Before you take your next cruise, check to see if the cruise line offers a similar benefit.
Posted by rlashea on July 12, 2010
Bermuda, Belize, the Bahamas, the Caymans, Jamaica; with their moderate climates, sandy beaches and crystal waters, these island destinations draw visitors by the boatloads. Literally. Numerous cruise lines have realized the pull of these tropical hotspots and offer regular passage to the islands. If you are planning a trip to the Caribbean, and don’t need to spend an extended amount of time on any single island, a cruise can give you a little taste of each. But make sure that you’re prepared before leaving home.
Make sure that you have your passport. Even when traveling to US territories, like the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, it’s not a bad idea to have your passport along for the ride. When traveling to non-US territories, a passport is required.
Choose a cruise line. Cruise lines that offer Caribbean cruises include Royal Caribbean, Princess, Norwegian, Carnival and Disney. Check out each cruise line’s website to see the Caribbean cruises that are offered and the cabin prices for each. Pay special attention to the onboard activities offered. While cruise lines, like Disney, may seem more kid-friendly, most cruise lines offer a variety of activities for adults and kids alike.
Reserve your cabin on the ship. To reserve your cabin, go to the cruise line’s website and use the online booking system or call the booking line that is listed on the website. You should select the type of room to book on a Caribbean Cruise depending on your travel circumstances. Single rooms contain only one bed, either a single or double, depending on the cruise line, and are meant for guests traveling alone. Double rooms accommodate two people, either in twin beds or one double, queen or king bed. Triple and quad rooms have sleeping space for up to four people, making them ideal for families. Mini-suites, with separate sleeping and sitting areas, and full suites, which have larger sleeping and sitting areas and fancier bathrooms, and may even contain small dining areas.
Book your air travel if you plan on flying to the port city from which your cruise is departing. Caribbean cruises depart from a variety of ports in the eastern U.S. One of the easiest ways to book your airfare is to book a cruise/airfare package through the cruise line. This is usually more expensive than booking airfare separately, but can save on hassle, as the cruise line usually provides transportation to the port and picks up your luggage from baggage claim.
Plan your port stops. Research each destination to find restaurants where you would like to eat or attractions that you would like to see while on land. Make reservations at restaurants if they are accepted and buy attraction tickets before leaving home to make sure you get to do everything that you would like to do.
