Reservations on Travel Sites

My family and I recently decided to take our summer vacation in Oregon. It is a beautiful state with plenty of activities for everyone. We also have family that lives there. We decided to book the travel online through one of the many travel sites available.

While searching the various sites for the best deals, I noticed that not all airlines were being represented. In particular, Southwest Airlines. I had flown with them in the past and found there service, all though somewhat spartan, reliable and affordable. I decided to check out the Southwest website directly and found a significant savings over what the travel sites were offering. This led me to investigate more airlines directly through their sites. Surprise, surprise. The prices on the individual airline websites were cheaper than any of those offered on the travel sites. I compared a number of flights and found the exact same itineraries but at different prices.

I then decided to try to name my own price on Priceline.com. I did not request a ridiculous fare. I only lowered it by about $50.00. My request was not accepted and the response I was given were the regularly posted prices. Thanks, but no thanks.

I also noticed that many of the sites were offering prices at up to 40% off. This may be true if you are wanting to travel from a city other than your home and fly to one of only a few major vacation spots (Las Vegas, New York, etc.). Don't get me wrong, these are GREAT deals, if you have the are able to travel within the limited availabilty and can make it to the departure cities.

Saying all of this; will I ever use the travel sites again? More than likely. I have often found good deals on hotels and car rentals. They also use a variety of airlines when booking your trip. This allows them to mix the airlines to give you a good price overall. For instance, you may start your trip on Delta only to connect in Chicago on Continental then fly home on American.

So give it a try when booking your travel, but don't just assume you are getting the best deal because they say so. Take a little time to search other sites and you might just save some money.

T