Use Travel Agents, Third Party Sites, and/or Booking Direct?
I've mentioned third party sites before in other posts. Some, by name. Well, this time, there will be more of that. And, examples of good, bad, and ugly.I've traveled at least a little bit, since I was 17. I started planning my own travel in my late '20's. And, since the introduction of the internet and all of its changes, I've tried more and different strategies. I realize that not everyone is adept at searches. But, if you are, or would like to learn, and you have some time to do it, it's worth it.
The following opinions are just that. My opinions, and my experiences. I'm sure there are people who have had bad experiences with those I've had good experience with, and vice versa. Always do your due diligence and check reviews, check with friends and relatives, and then make your decisions based on what you learn. And even after that, be prepared for anything. Be flexible.
Travel Agent
 |
| Courtesy of ClipArtPanda.com |
As I've mentioned in the past, you can still use a travel agent. I've even done that on occasion, but I find that they tend to use the same sites over and over, and don't necessarily always find the best deals. Or, the best tour operators. But, if you don't mind ultimately paying a bit more for them to do the work for you, and you either don't have time to do your own research, or have a complex, multi-city trip to plan, a travel agent can be a God-send.
That said, this post is about third party travel sites and also going direct to airlines and hotels, once you've checked the third party sites, which is what I find often works best.
Subscribe to multiple sites for alerts
 |
| Courtesy of Pixabay.com |
Yes, it's a lot of email. And, you can turn these alerts on and off if it's too much. But, you may get emails that get you thinking about traveling to somewhere you never thought of!
Most third party sites are general. They send you package deals and airline deals that typically fly out of New York, LA, or Ft. Lauderdale, so you have to go in and see what it would actually be from your airport. But there is at least one you can pay a small annual fee for that sends you only alerts for your own airport, as well as a free one.
I'm not going to pretend that I know all about all sites. I will just speak to those I do know about.
Some Third Party Sites That I Like
 |
| Courtesy of Pixabay.com |
Hotwire
They never took credit for saving our trip when a critical connecting flight was cancelled, but unless the Universe did it, Hotwire did reschedule our flight so that we were able to go to Paris, seamlessly, saving our trip. I've used them more than once, and can't complain.Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz
I've used them all at some point or another, and often check them all. These sites have been around for a long time. They are all limited in that they don't have ALL airlines (Southwest, I've noticed, needs to be checked separately), but when I've used them, most of the time, things have gone smoothly.Kayak
Looks at multiple sites, so you get a barrage of windows opening. But if you can, look at them and you might find a gem of a deal.Priceline
I can't speak to this, as I've only used them for a car rental once, and they were great. But one of my sisters has used it successfully. Again, it's been around for a long time.Trip Advisor
I haven't booked through them yet, but I've used them for reviews and am also a reviewer on their site, so I'd use them if I find the best deal there. They also have helpful community discussions, which helped me find a different tour to Stonehenge than Viator (see below).TravelZoo
I've been getting their emails for a while, and the deals really look good. Typically, they are package deals from other vacation package sites, and, again, you need to customize those deals to your airport. Since I've primarily used this as an alert system for flights and not for complete packages, I can't speak to that. But, I find their "heads-ups" give me ideas.Next Vacay
I signed up for this newish service recently, and the jury is still out. For $25/year, they send you emails when there is a great deal to fly out of your home airport. You get 24-72 hours to book it directly through the airline (which I like), they just let you know. They haven't developed a way for people to ask for a specific destination, however, and this is why I canceled them. They sent me great winter deals to northern destinations, but if I wanted to go to the Caribbean in the winter, they didn't send me anything I would actually use. They are advertising heavily on Facebook, which is where I learned about them. Again, I haven't actually followed through to see if I find the same deals they sent me because none of the destinations were attractive for this time of year. I hope they develop the next stage = ability for the public to choose where they want to go.AirfareWatchDog.com
I have started getting their emails. They show flights from your home airport, like Next Vacay, but you can choose where you want to go, and wait for the emails with the deals to go there (and other places). It's free, too. I haven't checked to make sure these deals are real and bookable yet, but if they are, this is my new go-to.Third Party Sites to Beware Of
 |
| Courtesy of Pixabay.com |
CheapOAir
If you look at reviews online, which I didn't this time (not my typical style, so I screwed up), CheapOAir has many 1 star reviews and complaints. Wish I'd looked before I booked with them earlier this year. They may give you a low fare, but they then try to charge you for everything, including seats, even seats that the airline would give you free! And, if you don't pay them, they don't let you get your seats until 24 hours before flight, or AT THE AIRPORT!When you book through them, they don't let you go directly to the airline! They don't want to give you the airline reservation code for your flight. When I asked, I was refused. They want you to do everything through them, then charge you!
Their "chat" feature kept me waiting for over half an hour at a time, for answers, and then the answers were not complete. A total waste of time. So, I tried calling them multiple times. Whenever I tried to get anything asked or done, they gave me the runaround. I'd end up saying goodbye, and then calling back and trying another agent. They make everything time-consuming and a lot harder than it needs to be, so it must serve their purpose. I'm sure most people don't have the time to mess with them and just go along with whatever they try to make you do. Or they just don't question that there are better ways to travel than with this site.
Although technically they are a U.S. based, New York (or Las Vegas?) company, all of their actual reps are in India. One of their own reps told me they are all in India, when I tried to get to a U.S. based manager. There are none. Trying to charge me for what should have been free seats was my last straw. After having to deal with them and their shenanigans for a while, and getting upset, then I did the research. I'm not sure how I did it now, but I managed to get my actual airline booking number and went direct to the airline, where I stayed for the duration, thankfully cutting these clowns out.
The airline people were wonderful once I was able to get to them, and gave me great seats, FREE, as well as baggage, and good travel tips to boot. But CheapOair put me through a lot before I managed to get around them. STAY AWAY! They are doing a significant amount of TV advertising now, so they are obviously making money on an unsuspecting public. BEWARE!
Not to be confused with CheapAir, which is based in Denver, CO, and which I haven't yet used.
OneTravel
This is owned by the same company as CheapOair, and I think they have the same kinds of reviews. According to the Fareportal website, they also own a travel agency in New Jersey called Travelong, which existed prior to being purchased by Fareportal. I would never use any of their companies based on my experience.Viator
This is not for airline travel, but for tours once you're there. Frankly, I haven't liked most of the planned tours I've taken because they rush you through everything and the guides have mostly been bored or rebellious. My first experience with Viator was planned by a travel agent (this seems to be a lot of agents' go-to tour company). The agent set up one tour with Viator. If it hadn't been us, I'd have thought I was watching a Monty Python sketch. The guide was obviously unhappy in his job, and he took it out on us, rushing ahead of elderly and disabled people, putting us on a water taxi instead of a tour boat on the Thames (then going to the bar), talking very fast, and not answering questions, instead, he was sarcastic and snippy. I complained when we got back, but nothing happened. I tried them again on my own for a tour in Paris, and again had issues that could have been avoided. So, I now try to find alternatives if I want a tour at all. Since we don't like to drive in foreign countries, sometimes we have to take a tour in order to see a site that's important to us. I just try to find the ones with the best reviews. Since I'm sure Viator is also a third party, they don't have quality control of the tour itself. So, whenever possible, I try to go direct and avoid the third party whenever possible.Check the Third Parties, then Book Direct
As mentioned at the top, I like to use the third party sites as a way to find out which airlines are discounting, then I go to that airline's site to see if I can find that, or a better deal. And, yes, often, it's better direct, on the airline's website. I find the flight numbers I want on the third party site, then search out the flight on the airline's site. I've mostly used this strategy for domestic flights. But, why not for international? If anyone has experience with this, let me know. Please note, generally, the airlines don't give the same discounts if you call rather than use their website.For hotels, there are some that will give you a better rate if you book direct with them instead of through third parties.
Here's an example:
 |
| Star Hotel B&B, courtesy of their website |
We went to London early in 2018. Whereas the third party site we used for the flight was awful, I used a different strategy for the hotel. I did a number of searches, looking for the kind of hotel we like. Usually, that's a smaller hotel, not one of the big names. There was one hotel that kept showing up - The Star Hotel. It's not in the center of London, it's in the suburb of Hammersmith, but convenient to the Underground. It's not near Hyde Park like my previous trip there. So, not as convenient. But, the hotel I stayed at before had poor customer service and had very small rooms. So that's why I was looking deeper. Rather than just believe the third party sites, I went direct to the Star's website. I found that it was owned and operated by a family. Check. The reviews had given me clues of what rooms to request. They had our dates. AND, their website stated that they prefer people to book direct. I emailed the proprietor, got more details, then booked the room direct. It was a noisy area with a fire station right down the block, but all of London is busy. It's like trying to find a quiet street in New York City. This was, at least, a suburb, so not as crazy. It was a nice area to walk around, and I wish we'd done more. The proprietors were great. There was a grocery store literally across the street and down an alley, so we could get club soda, beer (much cheaper than a pub, and we're not really bar people), etc. The restaurants in the neighborhood weren't fancy, but they also weren't as expensive as in the heart of the action. And, after all, this blog is about traveling for less, yes?
We saw just about all that we wanted to from this vantage point. And, it was more relaxed.
I had a similar experience domestically, with a motel in Colorado Springs, where they prefer (and charge less) if you book direct. This is probably not true in general, but if you think about it, they hotel probably has to give up some percentage of the booking through other sites. Why not reward those consumers who come to them directly? I hope I'm not getting anyone in trouble by revealing this, but it's worked for me.
Be Flexible
So, there are some search tips. The most important piece to this travel puzzle, is flexibility. Always be open to alternatives. Try different sites, always check lots of reviews, ask around. As always, we look for the best deals, but also weigh that against the reviews. Enjoy!
