by Joe 9. January 2009 11:07
Many of us rely on the Internet and Search Engines when we are looking for cheap airfare. We go to Google.com or some other search engine and search keywords like "cheap airfare" or "cheap air tickets" and visit the sites listed in the search results. However, there is a problem with looking for cheap airfare through cheap airfare keywords in search engines. The problem being that just because these sites are listed in these search engine results doesn't mean the fares will be cheap.
Sites where placed in these search results through marketing efforts. The only way to ensure cheap airfare is to search the actual sites and do some comparison shopping. Studies show that 17% of users who shop airfare buy from the first site they find and 63% of users shop travel sites that have a recognizable brand name. The problem with that is just because you book airfare from a site that is very popular doesn't mean the fare would be cheap. Chances are the fares will be very high on sites that are most regonizable since the marketing budgets of these well known sites are vast. These marketing budgets are what helps make the world know these brand names.
To find cheap airfare you have to do some homework. I am not saying that airfare on the most popular booking sites are not cheap at times. However, finding the best airfare prices will call for comparison shopping and research. Searching multiple websites for airfare pricing would possibly save you a few hundred dollars if you are user who rather book with the first site you find or a name you heard of on a T.V. commercial. If you search airfare with sites like Travelocity or Expedia, include an air consolidator into you research to see if you can save some money. An Airfare consolidator is broker who who has exclusive contracts with the airline and resells airfare that they receive from that airline. These contacts allow the air consolidator to get airfare at a discounted price and allow the air condolidator to sell that airfare for a discount.
Fare Buzz is an air consolidator. The next time you are searching for airfare prices add Fare Buzz to you research. By doing so you just added another way to save money on your travel.
Joseph Maresca
Online Marketing Director
On the average travel agent prices beat the Internet approximately $53 per ticket in 2008. Click Here to View the Topaz Report
The Internet is not regulated so we find all sorts of miscellaneous mark up. One estimate of the investment required to add the search and pricing capabilities used by travel agents is at least $5 billion and in today's economic environment, it is not likely this investment will be made.
Our first comparison using this booking engine, we compared a ticket purchase earlier in the day from Orbitz and our price was $100.00 better.
Another comparison involved a one way flight from Denver to Raleigh Durham that priced at $150.00 which is a good price; however, our price was $100.00.
Why pay more for a ticket from a source where you can not get help?
Hey, that's not the hotel I booked
-- Donna Savic thinks she has a reservation at the Barcelo Maya Palace in Cancun, Mexico. She's wrong. Orbitz booked her at a smaller, lower-rated hotel on the same complex. What now?
Q: I am writing to you in frustration over how Orbitz has misled me and now will not even admit to its obvious mistake.
I recently booked our annual vacation through Orbitz at Barcelo Maya Palace in Cancun, Mexico, because the resort sounded beautiful and the hotel is new with rooms described as excellent by most visitors.
When we arrived at the resort, we were told that we didn't have reservations. After much confusion, they told us we were supposed to be at the Barcelo Maya Beach Hotel, the oldest and lowest-rated hotel in this complex.
I immediately contacted Orbitz customer service and spent more than an hour trying to get this resolved. After speaking with several people, I finally was connected to a supervisor, who told me that she could upgrade us to the Barcelo Maya Place Hotel for an additional $2,000, and if I could provide her proof that we were booked at the hotel, they would reimburse us.
Though I was very upset that my family and I were forced to stay at a hotel that we did not choose or want, we tried to make the best of the remaining time there.
After our return, I contacted Orbitz repeatedly to try to resolve this. They have offered me a $75 voucher and now say that the reason my confirmation says the Barcelo Maya Palace is because this is the logo of the resort complex and has nothing to do with my selection. Why do they send confirmation if it means nothing? This is so frustrating. Can you please help or give me any advice?
-- Donna Savic, Louisville, Kentucky
A: If Orbitz promised you a room at the Barcelo Maya Palace Hotel, then that's what you should have received.
I reviewed your e-mailed confirmation. It says your hotel is the Barcelo Maya Palace within the Barcelo Riviera Maya All Inclusive Complex. Any reasonable person would conclude you were staying at the nice hotel -- not the dump.
The burden should have been on Orbitz to find a copy of your confirmation and verify that you had been booked at the wrong hotel. I can't believe the online agency would ask you to spend an extra $2,000 and offer to refund it only if you could prove it made a mistake.
Did Orbitz try to deceive you when you booked your Cancun vacation? I doubt it. This kind of mix-up isn't uncommon. I recall another case with Orbitz, where a guest believed he was staying at a Reno, Nevada resort but ended up being sent to an adjacent property, where he checked into what he called the "worst hotel room I've ever seen." When I asked about his reservation, Orbitz not only refunded the full price of his stay, it also dropped the hotel from its reservations system.
There are two ways you could have avoided this. First, you could have phoned the hotel to confirm your reservation. That's always a good idea when you're booking through a third party, because reservations can get lost. You'd probably be surprised by how many hotels still handle their reservations by fax.
Second, you could have applied the "too-good-to-be-true" litmus test to your resort. Was the price so low that something didn't seem right? For example, if you're getting a brand-new, highly-rated, all-inclusive resort in Mexico for $59 a night, you might want to double-check to make sure you're getting what you think you're getting.
