Travel plan idea blog

Do the math when hunting for vacation deals

Here’s a good article about hunting for vacation deals. I’m sure we already knew that not all travel bargains are created equal, but consider this example:

The Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino in St. Martin, for instance, advertised a "Fourth Night Free Special," good through Oct. 31, on its Web site. With that special, the four-night tab for Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 totaled $630 for a Supersaver King room. The package beat the hotel's "best available rate" total of $760. But I could have paid only $500 using the resort's $125-per-night "Web rate."

No. 1 lesson: It's not the "free" night; it's the cost of the paid nights that counts. Effectively, I would pay $157.50 per night under the free-night special.

No. 2 lesson: "Best available rate" isn't always the least expensive.

There are some more good examples in the article from golfing in Hawaii to buying vacation packages online.

Posted by James Trotta at September 25, 2006 1:40 AM | TrackBack