It’s getting harder to find a travel deal.
Travellers, accustomed to the generous bargains offered during the early days of the pandemic, are waking up to a cold reality. Travel is expensive. These days, it’s really expensive.
How do you find a travel bargain now? After having your I-can’t-believe-it moment when you see the shocking initial price, you’ll need to apply patience, a little stubbornness and a lot of counter-intuitiveness.
Some tried-and-true sites and apps can help you find the lowest fare or hotel rate. For example, companies such as Google Flights.
The timing of a deal is tricky. Cornelius Fichtner says the dynamics of deal-finding have changed for him. He used to access discounts by booking months before his trip. But now that’s not the case.
“Booking in advance doesn’t work anymore,“ says Fichtner, president of an educational software company in California. ”It’s best to wait until a few weeks before your trip.“
He’'s not alone. Industry insiders say their customers started to book their trips at the last minute during the early days of the pandemic because of the uncertainty of travel.
They’re still doing that, forcing providers to adjust the way they set their prices. In other words: Don’t stress out if you aren’t finding a bargain months before your trip. Your patience may reward you with a lower price - eventually. But don’t wait too long.
One more thing: In travel, a deal isn’t always a deal. It can be easy to go for the lowest price. But you might be following the wrong instinct, says Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with DealNews.
“The truth is that just because these are the cheapest on the surface doesn’t mean they’re actually all that cheap in the long run,” she says.
For instance, a budget airline might seem as if it has the lowest rate. But once you factor in other fees and having to pay for extras such as a bottle of water on your flight or your checked bag or carry-on, you may end up paying the same (or more) as the regular fare from a legacy carrier. Also, the tickets may be more restrictive, so if you need a refund, you’ll be out of luck.
So what’s a traveller to do? Experts have said that at a time like this, they’ve seen too many people rush to book a “deal”, only to discover that it was too restrictive - or too good to be true.
The bottom line: When you find a deal (and you will), don’'t rush the process, but don’t dither, either. Find that sweet spot in your timing. Read the terms of your purchase, paying close attention to cancellation information and other restrictions.
Then, if it still sounds good, jump on it.