David J. Danto
Business travel
thoughts in my own, personal opinion
eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD
Travel Coupons… – April 2023
Everybody knows how coupons work. You
cut them out of a newspaper of get them in the mail or via email, and you get
some savings off of what people without them would pay. In the travel industry however, they don’t always
work the same way. Many times they are only
miniscule or non-existent discounts intended to lure you into buying a trip or
service that you wouldn’t otherwise consider.
Let’s start with cruises. The very popular on-line “MyVegas” game (and
others from PlayStudios) let you spend four million VIP credits for a “free
7 day cruise for two” coupon to various locations. When you try to use that coupon it is of
course for a dark, windowless closet next to the engine room (or that particular
ships equivalent of a room no one would want.)
When one tries to ‘upgrade’ to a desirable room with a balcony or
equivalent, you get a discount in exchange for using the coupon…50 whole
dollars. Since when can you buy a “free
7 day cruise for two” for $50? It’s
obvious that for everyone that might use the coupon for that horrible
experience there are at least a dozen people that are getting very little value
for their four million points when they try to upgrade. In addition to that example, there are many casinos
that offer a “free annual cruise” to members of their players club. When you try to use it you find it is for
that same interior / inferior cabin on a very limited number of four-day trips. When you inevitably try to upgrade to a
better cabin or a longer sailing you will likely receive a price that is just
about equal to what you would get simply by going to the cruise line’s website
and using their latest public offer.
Here again ‘free cruise’ means little or nothing.
Airline “sales” are just the same. When airlines announce they have short term
huge savings it is very difficult to actually reserve one of these mythical
sale prices. (Not that we’ve had airline
sales recently due to the very heavy demand, but this is how they used to work.) You often wind-up booking a ticket that is eerily
the same cost or a higher cost then it would have been if there had been no
sale.
Then, if you subscribe to travel bargain sites with
regular emails, you’ll often see an subject lines that say something like “Fly
nonstop from [US destination] to [European destination] for $364 roundtrip this
fall, traveling on select dates…and saving $250 on regular fares” or “[Caribbean
destination]: packed-with-perks beach getaway, $699 for 2.” Same problem here – if you try to book the
deal you either won’t find it or it will be far more expensive than stated.
The problem with coupons in the travel industry is
that they’re all hearsay because there is no consistent value for the travel. Costs are infinitely variable at the whim of
the travel company – which often directly or indirectly colludes with all other
travel companies to maintain the level of pricing. There is nothing stopping airlines from
taking a typically $500 fare and raising it to a $600 fare and then saying that
they’re offering a $100 coupon. (Although
it’s far more likely for them to take a typically $300 fare, raising it to $800
then touting a $150 off fare sale – actually masking a huge, gouging increase
in the language of a sale.)
And just don’t get me started on rental car sales or
upgrade offers. One can easily rent a
vehicle with a “triple upgrade” coupon and still find they’ve reserved a tiny
car with no features. It’s like offering
a ‘four star rental’ in an industry where rental grades clearly go up to
something like fifty stars.
The key for savvy travelers is to be very skeptical
about coupons, sales and anything else that claims to be a bargain. ALWAYS make an attempt to book the travel
without using the coupon or sale, then compare the discounted price to what it
would cost without it. Also (and this is
EXTREMELY important) do all of this without allowing the travel websites to
install cookies on your computer. Firefox
has their “private browsing” mode, Chrome offers “incognito mode,” etc. Use these modes to ensure that the travel
company can’t track that you’ve priced these options, so they won’t be aware
when you’re going back to try the coupon or sale.
Also, p
Strap yourselves in for a crazy summer of traveling
this year. More than one travel
professional has told me that much of Europe might as well just hang a “closed
/ at capacity” sign on the borders. The
pent-up demand for vacations is through the roof. Don’t expect too many fare sales this year,
and if you are traveling, expect crowds everywhere.
This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal
opinions.
All image and links provided above as reference under
prevailing fair use statutes.
Copyright 2023 David Danto
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As always, feel free to write and comment, question or
disagree. Hearing from the traveling
community is always a highlight for me.
Thanks!