Illustration: Edwin FotheringhamIf you're like a lot of folks these days, the only part of your compensation package that's increasing is your unused vacation days. With the dog days of summer right around the corner, your thoughts may be wandering off to white, sandy beaches or idyllic country inns.
If you yearn for a late-summer getaway but your budget's more Toledo than Tahiti, take heart. You'll find lots of Web sites that specialize in scoping out bargain-basement travel packages. The buzz? A new breed of travel site is making a big splash in the online travel world. Sites such as Kayak and SideStep serve as comprehensive travel search engines. Unlike Expedia and Travelocity, for example, which search for available fares and rates in particular databases, these newer sites scour the entire Web for the best deals.
The Usual Suspects
Even though all the excitement in the online travel world involves the newer search sites, I highly recommend that you start your research with one (or all) of the Big Three: Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity. Here's why: All three sites generally do a better job than the newcomers of delivering targeted results. You can use their results to gauge price ranges and get a sense of the kinds of packages that are available. And armed with this data, you can turn to the search sites to hunt for even better deals. The large sites also have lots of photos, resort descriptions, hotel reviews and ratings, and so on, while the search sites' content tends to be bare-bones in this regard.
The Drawbacks
Each of the Big Three serves as a sort of online travel agency, so you're doing business with the site--not with the airline, hotel, or car rental company. This one-stop arrangement is not necessarily a problem as long as everything goes smoothly. But if you have a billing dispute or somehow end up booking an incorrect itinerary, you'd better be prepared for some serious finger-pointing. Make sure you know who to call if you end up at Billy Bub's Snooze 'N' Cruz when you thought you had booked a suite at the Ritz.
Be forewarned, too, that the rules aren't always clear even to the sites' customer service personnel. Daniel Mormino, a district manager for a payroll company in Scottsdale, Arizona, reports that when he tried to change a fully refundable ticket that he'd purchased through Orbitz, the company charged him a $100 service fee to cancel the ticket and advised him to book the new ticket directly through the airline. He did so, only to be told by a second Orbitz rep that he should have booked through Orbitz after all. It took hours on hold and several disconnected conference calls between Mormino, Orbitz, and the airline to resolve the problem.
Probably the most common complaint about online booking involves "fare jumping": fare increases that show up in midtransaction, after the customer thought the price was locked. Since agency sites aren't linked directly to the airlines' inventory systems, the fares they list may not be current. When you see a price you like, you select it on the site; but when the site contacts the airline or hotel to seal the deal, the price may already have gone up, and you get charged the new, higher rate. The sites generally cover themselves on this point in their Terms and Conditions; but of course, if you get bitten by a fare increase, this is no consolation.
Beyond the Big Three
Search-engine travel sites--including Kayak, Mobissimo, Qixo, and SideStep--provide a great service. When you use one of these to select a flight, hotel, or car rental, the site redirects you to the service provider's own site, where you complete the transaction directly with the airline, hotel, car rental company, or travel site.
Bill McGee, who is a travel consultant for Consumer Reports WebWatch, believes that the search-engine sites have the potential to revamp the online travel landscape. "They can help reduce comparison and shopping time," he says. But McGee warns that the jury is still out on whether these sites will prove to be an entirely positive thing for consumers. "Our research with agency sites [such as Travelocity] shows that it's not always clear who is responsible when problems happen, because the sites are acting as a third party in the transaction," he explains. With the search sites, an extra layer of participation has to be included. "[Search] sites are at least one [additional] step away from the booking process, and if they end up directing you to another agency site, the search sites start looking more like a third, or even fourth, party in the transaction."
My advice: If you're serious about tracking down a terrific travel bargain, search sites are a great resource. But before you hand over your credit card info, make sure you understand who you're doing business with. If it's not the airline or hotel itself, do a little homework to find out who to call if you run into a problem.
More Tips for the Road
Before heading online to book your next trip, here are a few tips to help you find a great deal with no hidden hassles.
Shop around: After you've scoped out one (or more) of the Big Three and the search sites, be sure to visit other sites like Hotwire.com and Priceline.com. And don't forget to check discount airlines like JetBlue and Southwest, which may not show up in some search results.
Compare and contrast: Always compare a travel site's fare against the price listed at the airline's own site. You might just find an equal--or even better--deal if you buy direct. The same goes for hotels and car rental companies.
Be skeptical about "special offers": If you have your eye on a last-minute flight-and-hotel package but aren't sure whether it's a good deal, plug in some dates that are much farther out to see where the prices fall. Or check how the rates compare--if they're available--on the airline and hotel sites themselves.
Move fast and check it thrice: Before you click the Buy button, triple-check the final itinerary. Making changes after you pay for a ticket is usually costly.
Think before you cancel: Be prepared to pay dearly if you cancel your booking. Unless you buy a refundable ticket, the cancellation charges may be steep. And if you opt for an eleventh-hour package, the ticket may not be refundable at all.
Caveats aside, there are more ways than ever to find a great travel deal on the Web. So fire up your browser and start burning through those vacation days.
Anne Kandra is a contributing editor, Andrew Brandt is a senior associate editor, and Stephanie Layton is an editorial assistant for PC World. You can send them e-mail at consumerwatch@pcworld.com. Follow the links to previously published Consumer Watch, Privacy Watch, or On Your Side columns.
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