Nobody can say that the online travel market doesn’t have enough competition! You have airline Web sites, large online travel agencies, small online travel agencies, consolidators, comparison sites, coupon sites, etc.! But how do you choose which one to entrust your vacation and more importantly your money to?

Well, the travel guru is here to help. Let’s take a short look at some common scenarios:

1. I want to fly domestically in the United States

Easy, it’s a piece of cake. Any of the large travel sites (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc.) are very well suited for this sort of search. They have good interfaces and are very reliable. In the domestic (United States) market, there are primarily only published air fares offered. Thus, no one vendor will normally have prices lower than another (even though they may say they have!). Also, this summer most large travel Web sites have waived their booking fees, making them the same cost as an airline site. Additionally, many of the “bonus-miles” schemes at airline sites appear to be missing this year, so getting information and fare comparisons from the travel agencies sites is probably a better way to go.

2. I want to fly internationally

Ah ha, a world traveler! And what a great year to do it in as fares are at record low levels to places like Europe and India. Choosing the right place to buy your international travel may be a bit different than the normal places you book your domestic flights. The large travel sites and airlines typically will only show “published” air fares to international destinations. Thus they all look pretty similar in price. This is where specialty travel sites come in. Sites like vayama.com and cheapoair.com also include negotiated and consolidator air fares. These sites can, in most years, be a better value than sites that only offer published fares. In most ways, a consolidator ticket is exactly the same as a published fare; for instance you can earn miles, you can select seats, they are not standby, etc. So it is definitely worth it to take a look at these sites when shopping international.

3. I need a hotel!

Searching for a hotel to me is more stressful than searching for a flight! Face it, most airlines are a commodity product. A seat on United is not too different than a seat on Continental. However, a room at the Four Seasons is A LOT different than a room at a Motel 6!

Now, shopping around is very important for hotels. This is mostly because most of the major travel Web sites (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc.) have set up their own hotel programs. These programs often have special negotiated rates at hotels which normally require a pre-purchase. Thus you will see a variation of prices and availability between the major travel sites.

I, in general, recommend shopping for hotels at the major online travel Web sites (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity) and the specialty hotel sites like booking.com. I even really like Priceline. But you MUST visit www.biddingfortravel.com first to know what to pay. I tend not to utilize the hotel Web sites themselves unless the price is a “published” price that is shown on multiple travel sites. You typically won’t find any super specials on the hotel Web sites unless you have a corporate rate or group code.

4. What about some wheels?

Need to cruise around Barcelona or maybe just Orlando? Shopping for a car is a bit easier than a hotel. I recommend first hitting the major travel Web sites (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity) and seeing what they have. They typically also have some special rates on pre-paid car rentals. However, there are a number of “secrets” that may be worth looking at, especially if your car rental is overseas. There are a number of car rental wholesalers (autoEurope, Sunny Cars, etc.) that negotiate with the car rental companies for special all-inclusive (insurance, etc.) rates. It is always worth taking a look at these to compare against the major travel sites. They sell exactly the same car rental companies and cars. You just may pay a lower price or get a little extra!

Now, if you have a corporate discount code or anything like that, you probably should still shop directly at the car rental sites. If your company has a corporate discount code, it’s worth checking it for vacation travel too.

I hope that this short guide has helped you be a more informed and effective travel shopper. Stay tuned to this blog for more articles about buying travel and super special deals coming soon.

Cheers!
The travel guru