Tips for Finding the Real Deal When Booking Travel

Surely you've heard the pitch before: "This incredible package--worth $799.95--can be yours today for only $14.95!!!" Have you ever wondered where the $799.95 number came from? And why someone would sell something for less than it's worth? With very few exceptions, the $799.95 is basically made-up and if that special item could be sold for more than $14.95, the price would be higher.

In all industries, competition for your spending dollars drives sellers to make claims about what you're getting for the money. And the world of travel booking is no different. The Internet, which seemingly gives travelers direct access to bookings deals, complicates things further by providing more outlets for pricing promises to be made. A web search for travel discounts returns an endless list of offers direct from travel suppliers and travel sellers. And they're all promising deals and discounts, hoping to get a piece of your vacation budget. Some of these might be the real deal (a discount price that's only available through select channels or for a short period of time), but many of them are not.

Have you ever pointed and clicked to a site promising to offer the "best available price," only to find that 17 other sites are making the same claim with the exact same pricing? Makes you feel kinda cheated, right? Like the word "deal" is just a touch overused? Well, you're right. But knowing a little more about how travel is sold can minimize your frustration and help you find and book real travel deals. Here's what you need to know:

* Travel is sold direct from suppliers and through a network of intermediaries. Suppliers are the airline companies, hotel chains, cruise lines--the actual company providing the travel service. Intermediaries are travel agents, tour companies, travel consolidators and the like.

* Travel suppliers have published rates for their services; these are the rates that you might see posted inside your hotel room or printed in a cruise line brochure.

* Travel suppliers and intermediaries do not have unlimited negotiating power when it comes to rates. Most intermediaries can offer discounts off the published rates, but only to a point and only during certain times of the year.

* Rate discounts are driven by travel supplier promotions, which are usually based on demand (or lack of). Travel suppliers generally advertise their promotions direct to consumers and to their intermediary network. In other words, you might find the same "great discount" offered through several channels. This is the frustrating part: It doesn't seem like much of a "deal" when every website you can find is offering the same pricing.

* Some suppliers, particularly hotels, will start releasing excess inventory at garage-sale rates about 30 days before the travel date.

* The best promotions are capacity controlled. Once the allotted number of spots are booked, the promotion goes away.

* Tour companies and consolidators have more leeway in pricing. These are the companies that buy in bulk from travel suppliers and then bundle several travel services together into one vacation package.

Get some professional help

As old-fashioned as it seems, working with a travel agent might be your best bet when trying to save money on your vacation. Travel agents will know which suppliers are running promotions, what the restrictions are, and how long the promotions will last. They can help you seize a deal you might otherwise miss. If you have a specific hotel or destination in mind, a travel agent can help you strategize on how to obtain the very best pricing--that might mean going during the off-season, booking a year in advance or choosing a bundled package.

Travel agents can also direct you towards the right tour company or tour package. There are lots of tour companies out there, and most don't do much to market themselves directly to consumers. In many cases, tour companies prefer to work with a smaller group of travel agents rather than a larger group of consumers. Travel agents, then, are often tasked with the responsibility of recruiting and managing customer relationships on behalf of the tour company. This allows the tour company to focus on what it does best: providing distinctive, value-oriented vacations.

And, finally, the adages apply

There are two adages to remember when booking travel: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" and "you get what you pay for." Vacations are experiences to be shared and remembered; they aren't used cars or containers of salt. It may sound corny, but it's true. And if you try to get a $2000 experience out of a $500 budget, you're going to be disappointed. Worse yet, you might get suckered into handing your credit card number to a predatory tour company. These are the guys who lock you in and then stick you with a bunch of extra charges.

Here's what it comes down to. You don't need to keep searching for deals until your fingers go numb. Search a little, and consult with an agent. If the price still isn't right, you have two options: Change your expectations, or save up for another year and go next year.