Little known fact – I used to work as a travel agent. The “classic, behind the desk, happy to attend you and ensure that you get the best flight deal for your dream trip” travel agent… the sort that we all used to go to before everything became so much more accessible to us through the internet. Who needs a travel agent now when you can find flights, vacation packages and travel tips with a few clicks of a button?
On the positive side, I’ve picked up some great money-saving tips through my experience and I’m always figuring out new ways to save money on trips online. Here are my discoveries for you to learn and use:
Time of the day and date of the week influences airfare
I knew this as a travel agent and the fact still exists: airfare fluctuates throughout the day and depending on the day of the week.
I don’t know the intricate details as to why this happens but I can assume that it’s based on similar financial algorithms to those of the stock market: demand vs supply. If demand for a particular flight is high, prices go up. If the opposite is true, prices will go down. Certain hours and days there is less interest in purchasing, etc. Samantha Kelly has some great ideas on how you can keep watch over the fluctuation and grab the best deal.
You can find coupons online for your vacation package
This is a new and exciting discovery for me. I found a site called vouchersky.com which lists off discounts and coupon codes for hotels, airport rentals, and cruises all around the world. Here comes my Michelin star meal during my European trip, courtesy of a coupon that will save me money on the trip!
The coupons can come in handy for shopping, restaurants, and activities, too. From now on, before heading out, I’ll always check for coupons so I can score discounts.
Groupon = fun experiences
On our trip to France, I went all out and bought a bunch of interesting Groupons for restaurants. Not only did we get to experience some authentic French cuisine, but we saved so much money. We went to very high-quality Parisian restaurants that would have cost us hundreds of dollars without a Groupon.
Every country’s respective Groupon is actually in their native tongue, so we used Google translate to try to fully understand what they offered. You can also go through their leisure & attractions category or the shopping section. It’s like a small adventure!
Bid for your hotel room – it works!
I haven’t done this in years but I swear by it. You can go on bidding sites like Priceline and tell hotels in the region how much YOU are willing to pay per night.
Hotels almost always have empty rooms so they prefer to sell them off at a break-even point or even at a small loss in order to fill them up. To a hotel, empty rooms are a big loss in money so acquiring some revenue is better than no revenue at all.
You can check forums to see what other people are bidding and what bids have been accepted, as well as to what hotels. I have stayed in some very fancy hotels in NYC and in Los Angeles for $50 a night – probably 1/7th of the regular cost, if not more!
These are the forums I use: Better Bidding and Bidding Traveler
Use mobile apps
There are two good ways to use mobile apps for your trip:
The first is to check for flight prices and the second is to use relevant apps wherever you travel.
I discovered the first one when booking flights to Paris. Lo and behold, the Expedia app offered the same flight online and in their app, but at a discount of $80 through their app! I can only assume that they want more people using it, so they reduce their commission in order to offer a lower price. Alternatively, they may ‘reserve’ lower prices to their mobile app. The prices fluctuated a lot, though, so even though it was lower one day, it could be higher the next.
You can download apps for coupons, discounts, day deals, etc. for your trip. They may be difficult to understand if they are in a foreign language, but really, it’s part of the fun. 🙂 You might find some amazing deals and have some interesting experiences. If the apps are really good, they will notify you of discounts and deals when you approach different areas. This is the future, people!
I use a lot of Groupons. Every time we plan a trip, I start stalking Groupon and Living Social for fun ideas.
These are great tips! We saved thousands of dollars planning our trip after spring break instead of during. I know though some Hotels and resorts prefer you not to use booking sites. We have been told by many that to call them directly and they will match prices+ extra discounts.
I can’t tell you how much I love Groupon! We’ve actually used it for booking hotel rooms super cheap in the past. Great tips!
We used our airmiles 🙂 Much cheaper then having to pay full price!
i love to travel and these tips are awesome!!
You can’t beat Groupon for great deals on interesting things from restaurants to events. Thanks for the great tips.
Groupon has always been really great for saving on vacations. We have used it several times now.
Funny I was just booking a girls weekend, and I called the hotel, got one price then on line another price. I was suprised that the online was more expensive. does not hurt to shop it.
We always stock up on groupons before traveling. They have not only saved us a lot of money, but they have helped us find some great places to visit while on vacation.
I never even thought of using Groupon when I travel. What a great idea.
I’ve never thought of bidding for a hotel room before. The next time I’m going somewhere where I need to use a hotel I’ll check that out.
When I check and recheck airline rates, I open an incognito window so they can’t use the cookie and raise prices on me. They’re sneaky like that!
I have used Groupon before, they have some great deals – I definitely need to take advantage of it more.
Great tips! I’ve never bid on travel and would definitely be interested in trying it.
I have always wondered if bidding for your hotel room could actually work. Now that I know it does, I think I might give it a try.
There are good tips here. I have never tried bidding for a hotel room, and it sounds interesting.
I love using Groupon for travels, too!
I never would’ve though to use Groupon outside the US…great idea! I haven’t been overseas in a couple of years, but I’m hoping to soon. I actually would like to go back to Australia (it’s been 10 years since I visited), but will probably have to save for a couple of years first.
I didn’t know bidding on a hotel really worked. I’ve been scared to try that, but now I might.
Oh I love this! We travel often and can always use sites that will help keep some costs down.
It is amazing how much you can save by changing your day & time to fly. Sometimes it is half price!
This is so timely! I’m about to book our tickets to Paris and London!
This is some great info, thank you! I’ll keep this in mind when we are booking our next trip to Europe 🙂
I never used Groupon for a trip experience, but it sounds fun! I have to see whats for sale in my local area.
That’s awesome that you actually got something out of your
prior job! Haha. I’ll keep these tips in mind. My birthday is next month and a
few friends and I need a getaway!
Listen, saving money is always good. I love to travel but lately the prices are staggering for travel with tweens!! UGH. I am pricing it out right now for the holidays. So I hope I can use some of these tips soon. Thanks!