Early Christmas: Holiday travel deals
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(CNN) - Although consumer advocate Clark Howard has been covering travel deals for radio audiences for nearly 15 years, the approaching holiday travel season offers new surprises for him.
"I have never seen anything like this," he says. "Thanksgiving and Christmas travel, there seems to be no interest in it at all from the public.
"Normally, starting in late September through early November, all I get is one call after another from people who never really travel but need to know how to get home to see family or friends during Thanksgiving or Christmas. I'm getting none of those calls. The casual traveler, they're out of the game," Howard says.
That's bad news for airlines, rental car agencies and hotels, which are struggling to turn a buck in the post-September 11 environment. But it's good news for people who still plan to fly, rent a car or stay in a hotel over the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays.
Like early Christmas gifts, deals abound; all it takes is some investigation under the right tree.
Sometimes, it's necessary to act fast. Discount carrier AirTran recently offered a one-day sale -- $34 one way to anywhere the airline flies. It was matched by other airlines.
Airlines also are doubling frequent flier miles, and lowering the mileage to cash in reward points. Hotels such as Marriott have offered double the mile points if travelers stay with them, Howard says.
Online travel clubs such as Best Fares (bestfares.com) are promoting their "USA Super Sale." It offers deals like roundtrip from Providence, Rhode Island, to Los Angeles, California, for $126.
And as the holidays approach, those deals might get better.
Three tips
Howard admits the days leading up to the Thanksgiving weekend and the days following it are traditionally "the most expensive and busiest travel days of the year."
But this year, "I think we'll see the kind of Christmas deals we haven't seen in years and years," Howard says.
To take advantage of the deals, Howard offers three tips: research the web, seek help and have patience.
Travel sites
There's no shortage of Web sites offering travel deals.
Expedia.com is one that keeps tabs on travel bargains and offers them to Web-savvy travelers.
Christina Kozloff, a marketing manager with Expedia, says the travel industry might be in a slump, for her company is staying busy as the holidays approach.
"I think people are still looking to travel," she says. "They may have just altered their plans slightly, maybe not taking an international vacation, but maybe taking a shorter vacation to be a little closer to home. But people are still traveling."
Kozloff herself plans a Seattle-to-New York trip over Christmas to visit family. She bought her tickets during a summer sale that was "too good to pass up," she says. It turns out, she should have waited.
"I could probably get a cheaper price now," Kozloff says.
Howard likes Hotwire.com. The site asks consumers for possible travel dates and then tosses a price to the shopper. It's only after credit card numbers are received that Hotwire divulges exact details of the itinerary, including departure time.
But Howard tells how he once helped a friend of the family slice more than $1,600 off the price of a cross-country ticket. The friend needed to make the trip within a few days, and the airlines were quoting $1,900.
"So I went on Hotwire for them and it was $240 a ticket," Howard says.
Another favorite site of Howard's: Sidestep.com. Using a program downloaded onto the consumer's computer hard drive, the site monitors what the consumer is seeking on other travel sites and offers side-by-side comparisons with its prices.
Travel agents
Howard also advises holiday travelers to engage in that old-school tactic -- hiring a travel agent.
"Some of the sales that are available right now are private sales that are only available through travel agents," Howard says.
Also, agents are paid to know what would-be travelers might not have the time to dig up.
"If an agent knows about a much lower fare than you're able to find, who cares if you're paying them a service fee?" he says.
Patience is a virtue
Above all, Howard preaches patience as this holiday travel season approaches. He predicts that travelers won't flock to airports and rental car agencies in the usual record numbers, and the travel industry will respond with better deals.
"If it's a thing where the traveler doesn't have to go, but they think it would be nice to go, wait," Howard advises. "Unless you find something that's an absolute screaming deal, sit on your hands and wait.
"It's definitely a year where procrastinators may rejoice," Howard predicts.
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