Mystery Solved--Cheapest Online Site

[Guest Gringo]

Consumers Union Solves the Mystery: What Online Site Is Cheaper?

Activities: Air, Car Rental, Lodging, Package, Tips and Resources

Author: Sascha Segan

 

 

January 9, 2004 -- Priceline claims to often have the cheapest airfares and hotels, but the truth in their claim is difficult to figure out. Unlike Hotwire, Expedia and other online travel agencies, Priceline doesn't make their prices publicly available. Their true value has remained shrouded in mystery -- until now.

 

Enter Consumers Union, the clean-as-a-whistle consumer advocacy organization that publishes Consumer Reports. Their Web-based arm, Consumer WebWatch (http://www.consumerwebwatch.org) spent $38,000 buying hotels, car rentals and airline tickets from Priceline and Hotwire. Consumer WebWatch compared Priceline's and Hotwire's prices to Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Quikbook and the SABRE computer system used by travel agents. They searched on a variety of routes, trip lengths and advance booking periods.

 

Their conclusion: Priceline did have the lowest airfares and car rental rates the most often, and came a close second to Hotwire with hotels. But you still have to shop around. Priceline was only cheapest 44 percent of the time with airfares and 40 percent of the time with hotels. (Together, though, Priceline and Hotwire provided 83 percent of the lowest hotel rates.)

 

Let us repeat this again, in bold type: There is no one site that always offers either the lowest hotel rates or airfares.

 

In general, Priceline and Hotwire offered airfare prices about 20 percent lower than other sites, when they had the best fares. That doesn't surprise us. We were much more surprised by the result that Priceline only came in with hotel prices 16 percent below other sites when they had the lowest rates Hotwire had prices 24 percent below competitors', when they won tests. That doesn't jibe with our personal evidence of getting $150 rooms for $60 on Priceline, but we didn't spend $38,000 studying the issue, so we'll defer to Consumers Union.

 

In general, opaque fares and rates beat non-opaque rates, the report says. Fans of travel agents should note that the poorest performer by far was Sabre, the travel agency system. If you use a travel agent, make sure he or she is checking Web fares, consolidator fares and other options, and not just punching a few details into a Sabre terminal.

 

Of the non-opaque sites, Consumer WebWatch found that Quikbook (http://www.quikbook.com) was especially good for hotels. Quikbook's performance at providing the lowest hotel rates was "comfortably ahead" of other non-opaque sites, according to the Consumers Union report. We agree; in the limited set of cities Quikbook serves, we've generally found them to be a great resource for low hotel rates.

 

For airfares, Consumer WebWatch picked Expedia (http://www.expedia.com) as the non-opaque site with the lowest rates the most often. Expedia had the lowest airfares 36 percent of the time in CWW's test, followed by Travelocity with 27 percent of the lowest rates. Once more, you have to shop around.

 

To read the full Consumer WebWatch report and their recommendations for consumers, head over to http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/news/opaque/TOC.htm. One recommendation we'd like to add: if you're considering bidding on Priceline, consult BiddingForTravel (http://www.biddingfortravel.com) to find past winning bids and advice on how to play Priceline's games. The tough-love crowd at BfT forces you to shop around and to pay attention to Priceline's policies -- exactly what Consumers Union advises.

:+

[Guest Tristan]

The standard dictionary definition of opaque is: hard to understand.

Is this the way you are using opaque and non-opaque, or is there some special meaning with regard to the online travel agencies?

[Guest Gringo]

The post is a copy of an article found in Frommer's web newsletter. The author is Sascha Segan. The study was conducted by Consumer's Union. I'm afraid only she could answer your question.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Priceline and Hotwire are refered to as Opaque booking engines because the Hotel/Airline(name and info)/Rental car agency are not revealed until you have "won"your bid for these items/services.This is a term used throughout the industry,not just for this article.

I am a big fan of BFT and a frequent poster.Sheryl can be a bit sharp at times and thet has turned some folks away.Even veteren posters are reprimanded for not following the proper methods of posting inquieies.But,as the service is free,and it has saved me hundreds of dollars,it is worth it to me.

I have lately been booking through other channels as Priceline bids are not eligible for miles/points and if I figure those into the pricing formula I have been able to beat or come within a few dollars of Pricelines winning bids.

I have found PL and Hotwire to be of no use to me for flights-my vacation time is very precious and I have no desire to be sitting in an airport for 4 hours waiting for a connecting flight.

Hotwire in my experience has beat PL's price only a few times.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Money Is Time

 

If you take the time and energy to really look around, to check out the New York Times travel section on line, to look through Bidding for Travel, and to check out the various on line web sites.

 

I tend to use Hotwire to get an idea of what to bid on Priceline and I find the rates on Priceline are less. However, there are some cities in which I simply make direct plans. For example, I can get better rates directly through the Las Vegas hotels and I know many people who have gotten excellent rates dealing with a hotel directly in San Francisco.

 

I also think bargains depend on how flexible one can be. I also use Travelocity or Yahoo Travel (based on Travelocity) to determine what the least expensive available airfare is by carriers (by stating my travel dates are flexible); Expedia and Orbitz will not give you the lowest rate available by carrier. You need to ask Expedia to give you the lowest rate by class and/or by weekday or weekend travel. There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal where first class airfare was available at a far lower rate than the lowest coach, simply because US Airways was matching a sale of all seats by America West. So again, it pays to simply spend some time looking around.

 

I do think one can get a better rate if you are looking to book car rental, hotels and airfare through a travel agent or a web site. I almost never need to rent a car and I prefer to book directly with the airlines to get my frequent flyer miles as well as any bonus miles for booking the flight directly on the web. But again, it depends on YOUR specific needs in traveling.

 

I would never use Priceline for airline tickets and most people I know who had specific needs were never happy with their flights. It was only a few people who really needed the least expensive fare and time and convenience were not issues, who were satisfied with their experience.

[Guest Tristan]

Thanks for explaining opaque and non-opaque. I don't know much about buying airline tickets online. I assume that you print out an electronic ticket after purchasing the ticket online. If you have a problem, or need to make a change, can you call the airline, or are you stuck with the Web Site? If you're stuck with the Web Site, do you need to resolve any problems by e-mail, or do they provide you with a phone number. If it's e-mail, good luck. Sounds like you may save money buying online, but it also sounds like you could get burned with a non-changeable ticket. Please tell me if I'm wrong, and the risk is no greater than buying directly from the airline or a travel agent.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Tristan,both of the "opaque"providers offer a trip insurance policy that will refund part or all of your cost if you must cancel-PROVIDED that the reason for cancellation falls within the limits of the policy(and they are fairly tight)and notice is given within the cancelation period.

That being said,yes it is difficult to impossible to get the best deal without this risk.This is true for the hotel/airline's own sites as well as the opaque site.The trade-off for the lowest fares/rates is this almost concrete no refund policy.

So if your schedule has to be flexible then these are not the best values for your travel dollar.This is why so few buisnesses/buisness people use Priceline/Hotwire(there was an article in the New York Times that put the percentage of biz'travel done throught these sites at 15%)Having to eat a canceled trip(multiplied by the number of trips booked for buisness reasons)makes little to no bottom line sense.

One of the ways to avoid this is to book a cancelable back up and then bid at the last minute for your flight/hotel(only when you are 100%sure of your itenerary)right before your time runs out to cancel.

This might seem to be a lot of work,but it is worth it to those of us who love to travel-but would rather put our $$$'s elswhere.I have stayed in gorgeous 4 star hotels(and some nice 3 star properties also)for less then a 1 or 2 star property was going for.But it is not for everyone.

[ncc1701d]

Having been introduced to Priceline and BFT this year has saved me a ton of money in terms of hotel. I have always booked flights via airline/travelocity directly as I like to schedule my flight times to not have to sit in airports forever of take 5am flights. What I am curious to know is whether there is a similar site for Hotwire (if the article report is correct about them being slightly better than PL) like BFT is to PL...hate to jump ship on Sheryl and gang as they have been most helpful.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Yes there is.A site called BetterBidding.com.

It is not so thourough as BFT(fewer participants)but ok coverage for major markets.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Ticketless Travel

 

>I don't know

>much about buying airline tickets online. I assume that you

>print out an electronic ticket after purchasing the ticket

>online.

 

If you buy from the airline directly, yes this is possible. If you purchase from the web site, they have to send you a manual or electronic ticket. I am not familiar with all such sites, so they may have made printing out tickets possible, but I do not know.

 

It is best, if at all possible, to buy airfare directly from the carrier if you have any concerns about throwing your money.

 

Not all carriers have made it possible to print out your own electronic ticket, but many have, including such options as changing your seat on line (and the available seats can change daily, so if like me, you want to be off the plane quickly and thus want an aisle seat as close to the front of the plane as possible, this is great option), and also printing out your actual boading pass. The airline have thus made it possible for you to go straight to security IF you have a printer at home or access to one at your hotel.

 

However, if you do not have ready access to a printer, the carriers will still print out a boarding pass (and provide a receipt) at the airport. If you bring the credit card used to purchase the ticket or if you have an actual plastic credit card type frequent flyer card (Delta is a good example of this), you can use either of these to print out your boarding pass, receipt and sometimes (although I often have problems with this), change seat assignments at self-serve kiosks at the airport. Not all carriers have the self-serve kiosk and not all airports have them, but they are they wave of the future as these kiosk help keep payroll costs down for te airlines and, of course, do not ask for raises, benefits or ever call in sick (they just break down!).

 

If you have a problem, or need to make a change, can

>you call the airline, or are you stuck with the Web Site? If

>you're stuck with the Web Site, do you need to resolve any

>problems by e-mail, or do they provide you with a phone

>number. If it's e-mail, good luck. Sounds like you may save

>money buying online, but it also sounds like you could get

>burned with a non-changeable ticket. Please tell me if I'm

>wrong, and the risk is no greater than buying directly from

>the airline or a travel agent.

 

If you buy a ticket from Orbitz or Expedia, you might be able to deal with the carrier. If you purchase from Hot Wire or Priceline and certain other sites, you will need to deal with the sites customer service. Most, if not all, have an actual 800 number you can use, but it can take a LONG time to get a live person. The difference is that Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia act as a travel agency would, except it is all electronic and you are not dealing with a live person. Priceline and Hotwire are selling seats they are contractually purchasing in bulk from the airline carriers.

 

Again, if you have any concerns about this, I would buy from the airlines directly. At present, most of the carriers will offer you their lowest air fares either through their 800 number or on line. Not all carriers do this, some of the low fare carriers like Air Tran, Southwest, Frontiers, etc., may not be doing this. Another thing is that they will offer you the lowest available airfare based on what you request, not necessarily the lowest available airfare between your location and your destination. When I call the carrier directly, I often search on their web site first to see what the lowest air fare I can come up with.

 

BOTH Expedia and Orbitz have sections on their home page called Customer Support or Customer Care, with at least to me, very easy and understandable FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and other good information. The Expedia site also has some other excellent information, such as tips on finding the best flights, the best tricks for booking hotel, and more importantly, Expedia has a link for NEW USERS. While they would likely not be thrilled about it, both of these sites would simply let you phone them and plan your air travel through their 800 number directly. Simply tell them you had problems both accessing and using their web site on your computer. They want your business and they understand that not everyone is comfortable on computers.

[+ deej]

RE: Ticketless Travel

 

>However, if you do not have ready access to a printer, the

>carriers will still print out a boarding pass (and provide a

>receipt) at the airport. If you bring the credit card used to

>purchase the ticket

 

As you say, the self-serve kiosks are the wave of the future. I'd just add that that it's not "if" you bring the credit card you used to book the flight. In most cases, it's required. You must swipe the same card used to book the flight. (This could mean escorts who have a flight booked for them by a client may end up standing in line anyway.)

 

And one other subtle twist is that the credit card is used as proof of identity if you've booked your own flight. You'll need ID for the security check, but that's probably the only place you'll need it.

 

E-ticket and e-boarding pass is the only way to go. Some airlines are even offering web-based checkin the morning of your flight. You can print out your boarding pass before even leaving for the airport.

 

The only down side is the usual down side: people. It can get maddening watching people stand and stare at the kiosk wondering what to do. What's so difficult when the instructions say "Insert your credit card"????? ;-) MOVE IT! ;-)

 

That, and at some of the busier airports the self-serve kiosks can get buried in the crowd. The American terminal at LAX is particularly bad about this. There will be kiosks standing unused but you can't see them because of all the people milling around and/or standing in line. And they're new enough there's no signage directing you to them.

 

But if the stars are aligned properly, you can sail through airport checkin and get right into the line for security sooner using e-tickets and self-serve checkin.

[Rick Munroe]

RE: Ticketless Travel

 

>I'd just add that that it's not "if" you bring the credit card

>you used to book the flight. In most cases, it's required. You

>must swipe the same card used to book the flight. (This could

>mean escorts who have a flight booked for them by a client may

>end up standing in line anyway.)

 

That's not what we've experienced. Derek and I just swipe any of our credit cards, and that's sufficient. And we've had no problem when the trip has been booked and paid for by the client -- we just swipe one of our credit cards and it's accepted and the ticketing system recognizes us.

[+ deej]

RE: Ticketless Travel

 

Cool! That's a recent change, then.

 

It actually tripped me up first time I tried it. I'd booked the flight using a card I normally don't carry, and I had to get in line with the rest of the cattle.

 

Glad to see they've adjusted to reality!

[Rick Munroe]

RE: Ticketless Travel

 

>Glad to see they've adjusted to reality!

 

Someone must have overheard you bitching on line.