1. Finding cheaper flights
Those who are strategic about saving spend 23% less on flights than those who aren’t, according to a survey of budget travelers by booking website VacationRenter. This may interest you : Thailand ends almost all travel restrictions – but one important rule remains.
Best strategies include booking with a budget carrier (52%), sticking to one purse (48%), using credit card points or rewards (39%) and tracking fares (28%), it said.
One in three respondents said they use programs to save money on flights. One such application, Skyscanner, allows users to set prices, search for flexible flight dates and nearby airports, and mix and match airlines to find the best fares, according to their website.
Fewer are willing to sacrifice comfort and convenience by booking “red” flights (25%) or choosing an airport that is further away (16%).
Price alerts on apps like Skyscanner check fares so travelers don’t have to, letting them know when fares are rising or falling.
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Having flexible travel dates is one of the best ways to win a flight offer, according to the Hopper travel program, which said a trip on Wednesday instead of Friday saves about $ 35 on average.
The same tactic works for hotel stays, Hopper says. Checking a hotel for a two-night stay on Thursday, instead of Friday or Saturday, can shave off an average of $ 60 off the bill, it said.
Another tactic is to look for new routes or new airline services that enter local airports. When an airline adds a new route, competition between airlines can cause airline tickets to drop, according to Hopper. Airlines often launch advertisements to publicize as well, it said.
That’s what happened when Frontier Airlines began services from Chicago Midway International Airport this summer, said Hayley Berg, Hopper’s chief economist.
“Airfare from Chicago to Tampa dropped from an average of $ 278 per ticket to just over $ 100 per ticket for departures after April 26, when Frontier’s service began,” she said. “Ticket prices for later dates have recovered to [approximately] a $ 187 ticket, still nearly $ 100 less than before the launch of Frontier.”
To learn about new fares and services, travelers can “sign up for newsletters from your local airport or airlines,” Berg said. Also, “pay attention to press releases and signals at your local airport advertising new services.”
2. Consider a cruise
Travelers usually have strong feelings about cruising. This may interest you : Airline ticket prices are finally starting to cool down as the peak summer travel season comes to an end. Now what?. But steeply discounted cruising prices may be enough to convince staunch opponents.
Since the onset of the pandemic, some travel costs have increased by more than 50%, according to a travel report by Visa Business and Economic Insights published in June.
But cruise prices have largely remained unchanged, according to the report.
Four-night cruises on Carnival Cruise Line in August traveling from Los Angeles to Mexico can be booked for $ 26 a night, according to the reservation Priceline.com. Rates include on-board meals but exclude taxes and government fees. Once these fees are added, the cost for two people is $ 456 – or about $ 57 per person per night.
Similar offerings can be found on cruises to the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands. Summer cruises on Norwegian Cruise Line to Alaska start at $ 58 on Priceline, excluding fees.
In Europe, a four-night cruise to Croatia and Israel starts at $ 70 a night, while travelers in Asia can cruise from Singapore to Penang, Malaysia for $ 80 a night, according to Priceline.
In addition to discounted fares, cruise lines throw out other offers to lure passengers back to the seas. Royal Caribbean lets kids travel for free on select cruises, while Celebrity Cruises provides onboard credits and savings of up to $ 500 in airfare, according to websites from both companies.
3. Book into new hotels
Finding hotel openings is another way to save money. To see also : Europe is considered the worst place to travel this summer due to the chaos of the airport.
The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, scheduled to open in Bangkok on July 29, gives a 25% discount on its best available rates for those who book before August 31 with its “Start with Bang” promotional ad.
To celebrate its launch, the Royal Uno All Inclusive Resort & amp; Spa discounts rates by 25% and gives guests $ 500 in vacation credits, according to a company representative. The resort opened in Cancun, Mexico last month, according to a company representative.
New hotels often accept bookings before official opening dates, which come with discounted rates and other savings available for early bookers.
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This strategy is not without risks, however, as new hotels may suffer from opening delays. The Royal Uno Hotel in Cancun told CNBC that two of its restaurants, in addition to the spa and the gym, have not yet opened, but that “management has mentioned they will be open by the end of summer.”
This happened to New Zealander Debbie Wong, who booked a holiday at a luxury hotel in Cambodia, which was scheduled to open in early 2019.
“We booked months in advance, but when we approached the dates, they said they weren’t ready to open,” she said.
As the trip coincided with the Lunar New Year, other hotels in the area were fully booked, Wong said.
“They then agreed to let us stay for free, with free spas,” she said. “It was 200 employees for just us, another couple and a few people from [the hotel’s headquarters.”
Wong said she believes part of the reason the hotel agreed to this arrangement was that she had lived at the brand’s sister properties in the past.
“It was the most amazing trip we’ve ever had,” she added.
4. Get the gas covered
Some hotels directly deal with transportation hotspots of travelers by offsetting rising gas fares.
New York’s Crowne Plaza HY36, San Antonio’s Valencia Riverwalk Hotel and the Little America hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona have stays that include a $50 gas card, while guests staying at Graduate Nashville in Tennessee can get up to $100 off their bills by showing their gasoline receipts at check-in.
Today’s high prices are more likely than not a temporary reaction to an extreme increase in demand.
5. Delay summer plans
The tip that came up most in CNBC’s search for money-saving strategies was putting off plans until late summer or early fall — the so-called “shoulder season.”
According to Hopper, travelers who book summer plans in the last two weeks of August can save an average of $120 per flight.
Those with international plans who push their plans into fall should save even more, according to the email subscription service Scott’s Cheap Flights. The company directly compared flights to Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico to show how much travelers can save by postponing travel until the fall.
“It’s easy to look at skyrocketing summer fares and assume the days of cheap flights are over,” said Willis Orlando, the company’s senior product operations specialist.
“Today’s high prices are more likely than not a temporary reaction to an extreme increase in demand,” he said. And that’s why “there’s never been a better time to be flexible with your plans and travel in shoulder season.”
