Priceline Like a Pro

The Negotiator got the best of me 5 years ago. Multiple trips, hotels and car rentals later, I'm still a fan of Priceline. Here's how to get the best price and accurately predict your hotel with this popular travel booking site...

How Priceline Works Priceline.com offers online travel enthusiasts two ways of booking: 1) Traditional online travel booking: enter your dates and destination, browse listings. 2) "Blind" Booking: 'name your own price' for cars, hotels and flights. The catch? You get a great price, but don't know the airline, car rental or hotel until your price is accepted.

Priceline Tricks of the Trade I've used Priceline's 'name your own price' feature so many times that I was even willing to risk it a few months ago for a stay starting the next day in Maui. Why? Because I was 99% sure I knew what hotel I was going to get. 1) When you bid for cars, hotels or flights using the 'name your own price' feature, you can save up to 50% 2) When bidding for hotels or resorts, you can predict your selection most of the time by cross-referencing the dates and destination with BetterBidding.com or Biddingfortravel.com

How to Use Priceline like a Pro 1) Research. Using the hotel example below, go to betterbidding.com and enter your dates and destination. This will give you insight into the hotel/resort and price range. 2) Season. Keep your season in mind: don't bid too much in low season, or too little in high season. 3) Sign up for a Priceline.com account. 4) Priceline has two booking formats: traditional and 'name your own price.' Get the deepest savings with the latter. 5) Knowing your destination and dates, start bidding. 6) Bid strategically: bid within the range you're comfortable, starting lower and increasing the price from there. 7) If you don't have much time: - for car rental: go in with your best price and be willing to bid on multiple vehicle segments (ie - economy, mid-sized, convertible) to get what you want in one sitting. - for hotels: go in with your best price, and start with a small geo area which you can expand if your first bid isn't accepted. Note that if your bid price isn't accepted, you need to wait 24 hours to bid again.

Example

• Destination: Wailea, Maui. Dates: May 12 - 16, 2010
• Go to BetterBidding.com and navigate to the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins
• Enter your dates and destination, click submit
• Click on the bolded "Wins" shown on each calendar day
• On Wednesday May 12th you'll see someone 'won' the Wailea Marriot for $120/night
• Now you know the 'secret' Priceline hotel selection AND bid range for your destination
• Go to Priceline.com and click 'bid now' for 'name your own price' hotels
• Enter your city, dates and number of rooms
• Reconfirm where and how you want to stay: "Wailea - Makena" in a "Resort"
• Enter how much you want to bid per night, reservation name (legal) and click "next"
• You'll then be taken to a confirmation page showing your dates, number of nights and rate for your potential stay. Write your initial at the bottom of the page, click next.
• Finally, if your price is accepted, your booking will be confirmed. If the price isn't accepted, you'll either be told how much more you need to bid for the price to be accepted, or "try again."

The Airfare Dance

We've all danced with airline fares; two steps forward, one step back, not knowing when to purchase the flight we're eyeing. Don't fret my pet: with the explosion of DIY travel, we have access to hundreds of websites which can predict the best time to buy, help us find the best rate and even alert us of discounts after we purchase our fare. Here are some online tools and rules next time you purchase an airline ticket on the internet: 15-Day Rule According to Giorgos Zacharia, Ph.D., KAYAK's Chief Scientist, he observed that semi-advanced booking is advisable, but to avoid being a keener. Analyzing the data generated from KAYAK's millions of daily searches, his team found: - the date-range KAYAK users have been finding the best prices is between 4-weeks and 1-week in advance - the most reasonable price 15-days before departure with prices rising in the last two weeks - the same-day booking price was closer to the 15-day than 365-day mark - the most expensive fare was recorded 365 days before departure

Mid-Week Sale Wait to buy your airline fare until Tuesday or Wednesday. The majority of airlines launch fare sales on these days.

Be Flexible I know that flexibility is hard-to-come-by with the small windows of vacation time employers in North America afford (I think we could learn something--actually many things--from the Europeans), but even shifting your flights slightly (leaving a day or two early and/or coming home a day or two later) can seriously impact your fare. I've saved a bundle on multiple flights with a slight date adjustment. Just think, that's money saved or a nice dinner or two extra at your destination.

Email Set up a fare alert via email. Companies from KAYAK to Trip Advisor to airfarewatchdog have created tools that track fares by flight route, departure point and destination. All you need to do is go to one of these sites, enter the route you wish to track and you'll receive weekly emails updating you with the best dates and costs.

Not all is Lost Did you purchase a flight and now you're worried about the price dropping? If so, consider Yapta next time you fly. Here's how it works: enter your flight details, if refunds are available they email you, then you can claim the difference.

[photo by david jones]

Nails. Before or During a Trip?

After multiple manicures ruined by the wear and tear of a typical trip (packing-airport-unpacking-hotel-packing-airport-unpacking), I decided to ask friends if they get their mani/pedis done before or during a trip. The overwhelming response was before, here's why:

Mani/Pedi - Before or During a Trip?

• Hillary - Hot destination= before trip. i always run to the water before the salon
• Heather - Going to the desert this week & did nails myself because i'm spending all my money at saks "off fifth"
• Lynnal - Both, a little pampering is always good for ya
• Heather - Before, that way you are able to hit the town, and not waste any time on getting ready to hit the town
• Karen - Before, so you show up Fabulous! And then you can pamper yourself in other ways on your trip
• Nicole - I get it done right before I go. That way my nails are nice from the moment I start my trip, and then I don't have to worry about finding a good place to go wherever I am
• Lauren - I think before. When I'm on a trip, I don't want to have to search for a good place (I'm picky about nail places- want it to be clean, nice, etc.) You want to relax and not have to do any work, so going to your regular place at home and getting it over with before a trip makes more sense to me! But a massage...that's another story.
• Christina - Get a pedi before the trip and then bring your polish to do your own mani once you get there. My toes are always fine in transit, but my finger nails always get broken or nail polish chips while travelling and lugging around my suitcase. There's nothing worse than a big chip in your hot pink nail polish for a whole trip. The other option is to get your mani/pedi in a color that you own – so you can bring the bottle for any touch ups while you are away. I prefer my usual nail place as I know what I’m going to get, whereas you are at the mercy of random strangers when you are away!
• Mel - Before! You don't know where their foreign tools have been or if they're sterile!
• Bec - Before! At a place you know and trust. You don't want to be looking for a place when you get there. Besides, you should look your best when you board the plane, maybe you'll get upgraded ;-)
• Buff - Before a trip is the only time I get a mani/pedi. If you can't afford Louis Vitton luggage, than you may as well have nice toes. ha ha!
• Maria - Before.
• Laura - Before a trip for sure. There's nothing better than starting a vacation off on the right foot....being perfectly groomed!
• Karla - Before. A pedi before you hit the beach somewhere sunny is a must! You don't want to waste time in paradise stuck inside a salon.
• Robyn - Always before ...don't want to waste the holiday on that stuff!
• Nicole - Hate pedi's. I do my own pedi's cause I do a good job and have all the fancy tools at home. Haha. Saves me the foot fungus scare also.
• Nicole - If I am traveling to a warm destination I have a pedicure before the trip. A pedicure (french or other) will last an entire 2 - 3 week trip. A manicure is not a priority for me, but on a recent trip to Maui I sought a nail place because my french manicure was chipping. After investigating nail salon options I ended up back at the Fairmont's resort salon, had a nail polish removal, file, and polish change with an amazing woman who gave me travel tips, etc...
• Erin - Depends where I am going. Hot-don't want to waste beach time. Cold and cozy-love a spa experience.
• Jen - Both.

Before & During To avoid compromising my newly-painted nails in transit, here's what I usually do: a) if I get a mani/pedi pre-trip, I bring the polish with me for touch-ups b) if I don't have time to get my nails done before, or don't want to risk ruining them enroute, I bring nail polish with me and do an impromptu 'painting session' at my destination c) if I don't do A or B above, I'll go to a recommended spa or nail place at my destination

Tips

• Bring polish, either for touch-ups or DIY nails at your destination
• Travel can wreak havoc on your mani, be careful with your hands, especially when handling your luggage
• Don't always trust nail places abroad, every country---even area---has different standards of cleanliness
• If you get a mani/pedi while traveling, make sure the nail salon is professional, the tools have been sanitized and the foot bath, etc...is sterile

Pressed for Time? Why not consider getting your nails done at the airport?

• Vancouver (yvr) - absolute spa has 5 locations in the domestic and US terminals at the Vancouver Int'l Airport. Polish change is $30, manicure from $55, pedicure from $75.
• Seattle (sea) - butter LONDON, famous for its non-toxic polish has opened a nail bar at the Seattle Int'l Airport. More details here. Polish and cuticle treatment $15, spa pedi $40.

PS - follow us on Twitter and Facebook Twitter.com/tripstyler Facebook.com/tripstyler

[photo credit: Fing'rs]

Secret Ski Season

[trip style = ski]

Imagine this: you get to the ski lift(s) and there are no line-ups; you have the mountain to yourself; you get a bronzed glow because it's sunny; you remove layers because it's hot. Fantasy? No. Reality? Yes.

Say NO to Spring Cleaning & YES to Spring Skiing April has arrived, which means the secret ski season is here. When most people are spring cleaning, working on the yard and dreaming about summer, there are a [smart] few who are skiing and boarding to their heart's content in some of the best conditions of the year.  At the larger ski resorts across North America, don't let the icy/slushy conditions at the base fool you, mountains are high, so it's likely the peaks are still getting dusted with powder! Locals living in these resort areas LOVE April because the crowds have gone home, yet the snow is still good.  Case in point, this past weekend at Whistler Blackcomb, there was over 50cm of fresh!

I like skiing in the regular season and do, but April and early May are my fave months to strap on my skis.  Two years ago on May 3rd, I remember skiing in the morning (in decent snow) then spending the afternoon at the pool sipping Tom Collins--in bathing suits--with friends.  Nothing epitomizes spring skiing better than that!

Reasons to Indulge in April Skiing - snow is still falling - lift tickets get cheaper as the season draws to an end - accommodation rates are usually 50-70% off winter highs - restaurants offer promotions to get 'bums in seats' for low season ---------------------- - no icy wind blasting your face at 50km/hour - enjoying apres outside in the sun - zinc and 80's skiwear...

So, get your skis shined up, grab a stick of juicy fruit, and get yourself to the closest ski resort for some April powder. What do have to lose?

Go the Distance with your Air Miles

Air Miles = Happiness Using air miles is a wonderful thing.  Most people try to accumulate points with one or two major airline consortiums and then fly for free (other than taxes) once they've accumulated enough mileage.  But here's a little-known fact: cash in on your air miles by going the distance, in other words, go as far as you can within your points allowance and opt for a (free) stop-over.

2 Examples Recently I booked a cross-Canada trip with my Air Canada (Star Alliance) Aeroplan points. I figured if I'm so keen to see the rest of the world, I should probably explore more of my own country first. Instead of using my miles to take short trip, I opted to maximize them and go from Vancouver, BC (YVR) to Moncton, NB (YQM) with a week-long stopover in Ottawa (YYY).  This way, I get to spend a week exploring Canada's Capital over Canada Day, and a week touring around the Maritimes!  Done and Done.

I also have some points with American Airlines (One World). Looking into the options, I discovered that AA includes the Caribbean within the lowest tier of its Continental US points allowance. Excellent. To put this in perspective, you could fly from NYC to Boston, or Seattle to Aruba for the same amount of points. Tough choice...  The mileage difference is huge; herein lies the beauty of maximizing airline points.  Reading the fine print, within the lowest points allowance, the Caribbean portion of travel is only applicable for a 2-month period from September - November (tail-end of hurricane and low season), which is why I would fly to one of the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) islands outside the hurricane belt AND to the Caribbean's furthest point.

How to Book Travel with Air Miles and Maximize your Distance

• Travel the farthest you can within your available points.
• Do your homework. Once you know how far you can go check to see if there are blackout dates, etc...
• Find out your airline's air miles stop-over policy.  If you want to further maximize your trip, using the second example above, you could conceivably Fly to Curacao with an extended layover in Miami--all with the same amount of points.
• Book in advance.  Airlines only reserve a small amount of seats for airmiles passengers, so book early to make sure you get the dates and destinations you want.
• Embrace the web.  Most airlines now charge an extra fee for air miles bookings made over the phone vs on the web.