ONLINE TRAVEL TIPS

ONLINE TRAVEL TIPS

Although the Internet offers consumers an easy way to purchase discounted airline tickets and plan family vacations from the comfort of home, New Yorkers may want to be aware of the following before making travel arrangements online.

• There are a number of different types of Web sites with information about travel services:
  

  • Some services allow consumers to search for fares using specific times and dates. The results can usually be sorted by such factors as airline preferences or lowest fare. Once the consumer is satisfied with the quoted fare, he or she can usually purchase the ticket directly from the Web site.

  • Other services ask consumers to commit to a particular price and then allow the Web site to select the airline to fulfill the traveler's request. These sites may allow you to "name your own price," but require you to submit a credit card number at the time you register for the service. Although this may be a great way to save money, there are terms which usually accompany such purchases, which consumers should read carefully before bidding:
    
    
    • Tickets are immediately purchased and charged to the consumer's credit card;
    • Often, tickets purchased through these services cannot be changed, transferred or canceled;
    • The travel service may require that you be flexible about the date and time of your departure and arrival as well as whether the flight will require stops or connections.
    • Tickets purchased may not be eligible for Frequent Flyer miles or upgrades; and
    • Special in-flight needs, such as meals and boarding arrangements, may not be guaranteed.
  
  

• Many online travel services disclaim responsibility for overbooking, cancellation or delays, because they claim to only pass along information from airlines, hotels, and cruiselines.
  

• Tickets purchased online may be in the form of an "e-ticket," meaning that you will not receive a paper ticket in the mail prior to your trip. If you attempt to use your ticket to fly standby on another airline, they may require you to obtain a paper ticket from your original carrier.
  

• Consumers should also be aware that discounted fares are often tied directly to online promotions and may not be available offline (i.e., on the phone or through a travel agent). In addition, some airlines may offer specials that are only available on their own company Web sites.

• Be skeptical of offers for “free” trips. Airlines and other well-known companies sometimes operate contests for travel prizes. However, there are also companies that offer “free” trips to try to lure people into buying their products or services. It’s never “free” if you have to pay something.

• Be cautious about unsolicited emails for travel. They are often fraudulent. If you are familiar with the company that sent you the email and you don’t want to receive further messages, send a reply asking to be removed from the email list. However, responding to unknown senders may simply verify that yours is a working email address and result in even more unwanted messages from strangers. The best approach may simply be to delete the email.

• Know exactly what’s included. A “free” or incredibly cheap trip may have hidden costs. For instance, the cruise may be free, but you have to pay to fly to the departure point and stay in a hotel at your own expense. Or you may have to endure a long, high-pressure sales pitch for a timeshare or travel club membership as part of the trip.

• Realize that the deal may not be as good as you think. You may find that a travel offer requires you to make reservations through a specific company and that the costs are higher than they would be if you used your own travel agent or made the arrangements yourself. Or the offer may be valid only if you bring a companion along at full fare.

• Be aware of restrictions. Often the best travel deals are only available for off-peak times, not during school vacations, holidays or other popular travel dates. You may find it hard to get the promised price for the dates that you want to travel, or there may be no space available on those dates at all.

• Confirm the arrangements. If transportation and hotel are included in the travel package, ask how to contact those companies and confirm with them directly that the reservations have been made.

• Do your own travel research. It’s easy to get information from a local travel agent and other sources such as newspapers, books, and the Internet. You may be able to get the trip you want for far less than the “bargain” price a company is offering.

• Pay with a credit card. Fraudulent travel operators take the money and run, and even legitimate companies can suddenly go out of business. Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the services you were promised or the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly. There are new technologies, such as “substitute” credit card numbers and password programs, that can offer extra measures of protection from someone else using your credit card. For more information about paying safely online

Travel Agencies and Online Bookings

Travel Agencies and Online Bookings

On the go travelers would always want to keep things as smooth as possible and leave all the paper work and reservations to third party groups such as travel agencies. For some people, they would use the Internet to search for these destination spots which would have online booking and reservations, something that most people resort to today.

Such has been the gift of innovation for people who love to travel. Through search engines like Yahoo, online bookings are enumerated for people to see and check out. Among the usual online bookings include that of Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline.com. Each would have their own set of packages that would give reasonable pricings for potential clients.

These new ways of securing airfares and travel needs has indeed been something convenient for people to check out. As it stands, it has totally changed and made the life of the frequent traveler a whole lot easier.

Lurrvly Luxe Guides

First off, let me admit that I LOVE Luxe guides. After a bad experience in Hoi An, Vietnam last year, where we were wrongly lured by the Lonely Planet to expect a charming, un-ruined-by-tourists town and were instead faced with throngs of tourists each clutching LP (lets just say a ratio of 20 westerners to locals, most of whom were bad tailors), I vowed that I’d never buy a bloody guide book again.

So when I discovered the joys of Luxe through my father-in-law’s decorator Sahran (of Amazing Race Asia fame), I was in heaven. Its design, in my opinion, is not just attractive (no cheesy postcard pics to be had), but small enough to actually take around with you without your looking like a… dare I say… tourist. Its all about style, taste and best of all, takes you far away from the sort of crowd that like cheap beer and haggle mercilessly for naff t-shirts priced at a dollar.

Last month, my husband and I went for an all-out Luxe long weekend in Hong Kong and dilligently followed the guide’s tips. On the upside, we had a wonderfully “luxe” time, found lots of treasures we would never had found (like a ceramic factory in an obscure Kowloon warehouse where we ordered a fabulous dinner service personalized with our own design), BUT, by the end of the trip our credit card had taken a severe beating.

Having said that, Luxe does give a warning that if you’re on a budget in HK you might as well cry (or something to that effect). It makes me feel like I’m talking to a gay friend - an ultra stylish, very pinickety, rather bitchy and spoiled (but in an amusing way), and brutally frank - or as the guide’s tagline says, “frankly, brutal”.

We’re on our way to Bali next week, and you know what little green book I’ll be using.

Road Trips with Kids

Road Trips with Kids

Going on a road trip may seem like an adventure but bringing kids with you, more often than not, makes it tricky. I should know. In my twenty years, I must have endured God knows how many of these family vacations. Still, this doesn’t mean that road trips have to be stressful. With the right frame of mind and these tips, road trips can be more than a little pleasant for everyone involved.

Prepare your car for the road trip.

This is very important. Although there are tow trucks available, no one wants to end their vacation even before they’ve had a chance to enjoy it! Besides, the inconvenience includes repair fees, phone calls, additional charges… Make sure that your car is in top shape. Change the oil or replace your front brakes. Do what the situation calls for. Perhaps, a better idea would be to send your car to a trusted repair shop a week before the actual trip in order to make any necessary adjustments.

Prepare backseat activities for the kids.

Kids are, by nature, restless. Strapping them in seatbelts inside a car for hours won’t do anybody any good. If you take the time to prepare fun activities for your kids, it will save you a good deal of shouting and spare you from a massive headache. This is also helpful when it comes to siblings. Keeping each child preoccupied with his or her own work will prevent fighting, shouting and other kid stuff complications.

Prevention is better than cure.

Motion sickness is a major problem. To avoid this, distract your kids with fun car games. Have them look outside the window so that their eyes don’t stay focused inside the car. Strong-smelling foods are huge factors in motion sickness. Fresh air and frequent stops also help prevent the feeling of queasiness.

Making Travel Plans Online

Making Travel Plans Online

As an online travel agent, I know firsthand how a lot of people have switched from booking with traditional travel agencies, to making their travel plans online with a travel website. Understandable, since there are a lot of advantages to booking online.

First, and probably the most important consideration, is the price. Airline & cruise tickets, hotel & car rates, and even some local activities & services are usually cheaper online than thru your regular travel agent. That’s because online travel agencies usually get special rates due to the large volume of travelers who use their site. They also have a lower ratio of travel agents to customers, since most customers usually book on their own. These are savings they can pass on to their customers.

Another advantage is that most of these sites are very user-friendly. You don’t have to be particularly computer-savvy to surf their websites. Thus, most customers feel they can do a better research on their travel plans on their own, without feeling rushed or pressured as they might be, if they were dealing with a travel agent. This is a special consideration for those types of customers who love to shop & have several options with regards to their travel plans.

Another factor is the fact that these websites are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So let’s say, for example, you’re an extremely busy person who has no other time to make travel plans except when you get home from work. This would pose a problem since most travel agencies have regular business hours as well. Unlike with online travel websites, where you can even book your vacation details at 2 a.m. if you want to! Also, let’s say you’re already on your vacation in a place that has a different timezone. If problems were to come up, you might find it difficult to get hold of your travel agent in the middle of the night. Online travel agencies, however, usually have 24 hour customer service, even on holidays.

In my next post, I’ll discuss the other side of this article, the cons towards booking online. Hopefully, these articles will help you make a more informed decision on whether to book online or thru your friendly neighborhood travel agent.

A lot of people nowadays prefer making their travel plans online with a travel website like Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Most airlines also encourage prospective passengers to book their travel online on the airline’s website. While there may be a lot of advantages to booking their travel plans themselves, customers should also take steps to make sure that they will not encounter any problems in the future.

First, you should always do extensive research, especially when it comes to the documents and papers you’ll need in your travels. FYI: for American citizens, you are now required to present a passport if traveling by air. Also, with the increased security measures, it helps to know what items can be carried on the plane. You’ll also need to check on your flight’s status every now & then, since airlines occasionally change the flight schedules for various reasons. All these information are the traveler’s responsibility, and airlines will not be held liable or give you a special consideration otherwise.

You should also be aware that not all the information found on the website may be entirely accurate. Particularly with regards to hotels or resorts, most travel websites usually rely on the information provided by the hotel itself. And since customer feedback is subjective, it’s not 100% reliable as well.

Be sure to read the fine print. In this case, it’s always wise to know the cancellation or change policies. There’s usually a charge if you change or cancel your reservation, ranging from $20-$50. With regards to flights, it’s even more complicated. You’ll be charged a processing fee by the website on top of the airline penalty fee if you change or cancel your reservations. And most of these fares are non-refundable.

Finally, if you do have a problem and you need to call customer service for assistance, be prepared that you won’t be speaking with just 1 particular agent. You’ll most probably be dealing with different people everytime you call.