expedia.scam

[Doug Dolde]

A word of advice...do not use expedia.com for travel reservations. It should be called expedia.scam

They routinely bump prices while you are checking the various options, blaming the price increase on the airlines.

I was searching for a flight from Phoenix to Montreal with the hotel option. At first Expedia was giving me prices
in the high $600 range. Then when I would go back to check the particular flight/hotel combination it had gone up
as high as $1400. Do not fall for this; it's total bullshit. In fact when I logged out and tried it again the lower prices
came back up. Doing a little more clicking it was easy to get them raised to between $1000 and $1400.

At http://www.travelocity.com I didn't have this issue and got airfare and 2 nights hotel for $645.

[Frank Petronio]

We just made reservations to Europe. This sounds ghoulish and in poor taste, but we saved $200 by flying on September 11.

This one ain't bad: http://www.cheaptickets.com/

[Brian Ellis]

Travelocity was the worst for me. I made airline and hotel reservations through them, then cancelled the hotel but not the airline. They still kept the $700 hotel charge on my credit card, claiming that my hotel reservations were non-cancellable so that I had to pay for 5 nights whether I used them or not (I had cancelled with the hotel which had no problem with the cancellation). It took months and much acrimony between me, them, and my credit card company to get the $700 off my card, not to mention the fact that their customer service rep was a total jerk and just to speak to her required hours on hold. I now use www.cheaptickets.com and have had no problems with them.

[David Richhart]

On more than a few occasions I have searched the so called "discount brokers" to find an available motel room. Then call the motel direct and reserve for a cheaper rate... It doesn't always work, but it's fun when it does.

My best scource is to go to Yahoo maps and type in the address of my destination. On the right hand side of the page is a search column where you can find motels, restaurants, parking, stores, museums, etc, in the area. Click on the desired item and the attractions appear on the map, along with the price range... It sure works well for me!

BTW, the usual disclaimer applies. I have nothing to gain or lose if you use Yahoo, but in the last 2 years it has certainly aided my travels.

[paulr]

I think this is standard practice for a lot of travel websites.

The workaround is to delete your browser's cookies for that site if you go back after shopping around.

This is just the automated version of the used car dealer upping the price if you leave and come back to look again. Deleting the cookie lets you come back wearing sunglasses and a fake moustache.

[Ron Gratz]

For a trip to Europe last summer I got prices from several WEB sites, including Travelocity, then went to my local travel agent. I did not show her the WEB prices just asked for the best she could do and she undercut all of the WEB sites by a few bucks. Also, she helped me with foreign currency, airport maps, etc. Don't assume that WEB sites will always be cheaper!

Ron Gratz

[Percy]

There is no coincidence...I clicked on this for a reason!

I was planning a trip to Montreal last week, and the exact same thing happened. The fare went from about $688 to about $960 and then to more than 1k...all in less than 5 minutes!!!

I logged on (expedia) again, this time on another computer...and got still different fares. Took a while for the under $700 fares...they did come back, but not for long.

I was trying to go to Montreal from MI, by the way. Never went. Think I'll take the train, as Viarail seems more...above board to me.

[Eric Rose]

Just because you can do it doesn't mean it's the best thing to do. I am refering to web travel bookings. I have seen the studies that show if you use a good travel agent you will save considerable money over using web booking sights. You will get better connections, you will get better advise, and the travel agent will take care of airline schedule changes for you.

Just because it's on the web and you can do it yourself doesn't mean in the long run you are saving money. I prefer to deal with professionals.

[Ted Harris]

I travel with great frequency and over a long period of time have found that the web travel sites are seldom useful. You can get the same or close to the same fares, generally with fewer restrictions, from a good travel agent or directly from the airline. Remember that the more steeply discounted the fare is the more likely that it will be incredibly restrictive with penalties for any changes and, often with no frequent flyer miles when booked through one of the online services.

If you are interested in the absolute rock bottom international fares find a travel agent who works with bulk resellers (a bucket shop in the traee) and you will get the cheapest prices but they will be restrictive. Bucket shops are a lot esier to find in Eurpoe than in the US, probably easiest in London of any major city.

As for fares changing from second to second, they really do! The reservations business has become incredibly sophisticted and fares are in constant flux as the loading for any particular, day or flight changes. Thus, if a particular airline has,for example, 10 flights a day from point a to point b and when you first log on they are at 25% of total capacity overall and at no more than say 40% capacity on any specific flight, you are likely to see some very low fares. If enough seats are booked while you are thinking the fares could change. A few weeks ago I was booking flights from Manchester, NH to Pittsburgh, PA and there was an incredibly low fare available that was only in the airline's computer for 5 minutes. Happens all the time.

[paulr]

"if you are interested in the absolute rock bottom international fares find a travel agent who works with bulk resellers (a bucket shop in the traee)"

i've never heard of this ... how would you go about finding one of these?