How to find travel deals

When is a travel "deal" really a deal? Here's some advice on how to navigate among the many promotional travel offers.

Hotel packages

The packaged hotel "experience" may or may not be a deal. At first glance, prices can be deceiving.

Consider these two examples:

A hotel in a major city offers a special "whoop it up on the holiday weekend" rate of $129 a night, which includes a pair of welcome cocktails. Sounds great, right? But check the hotel's Web site, and you can book rooms for that weekend for $99 a night sans the drinks. Those cocktails will cost you 30 bucks, and you'll be paying hotel tax on a higher room rate. No deal.

On the other hand, an East Coast hotel is offering a themed museum package that includes "deluxe" accommodations; museum tickets, a guided walking tour and lunch for two; and a welcome bag of goodies. It's a clever promotion, but will it pencil out with the room rates starting at $485 per room? We try booking a room on the hotel's site on a weekday in October: Yeow, the basic room rate is $440. We try Hotels.com, and it's $440 there too.

Clearly this deal offers value, but how much? We find a comparable guided walking tour and luncheon combination that costs $60 per person; that's $120. Add two museum tickets, $20 total. Figure $30 for the welcome bag. That's $170 in amenities, minus the $45 markup on the room, for a savings of $125. Deal.

I know what you're asking now: Is it worth booking a $440 room for those savings and those amenities? That depends on your priorities: If this is a sold-out museum show, a tough-to-book tour and a luxurious hotel in the perfect location, then it might be.

Tour packages

The packaged tour typically combines airfare, accommodations, land travel, meals and the services of a tour guide; because tour agencies negotiate contracts for blocks of seats and rooms well in advance, these packages often represent savings.

And it's fairly easy to check. Just price out the deal as if you were booking it yourself, including the round-trip airfare from whatever city, the accommodations in however-many-star hotels and so on.

The adage about penny-wise and pound-foolish applies here: Never underestimate the value of a seasoned tour guide, guaranteed hotel rooms and hassle-free transfers and bus tours.

Seasonal deals

The Caribbean in January? Pretty pricey. The Caribbean in August? Pretty affordable. The same goes for such toasty destinations as Palm Springs and Las Vegas. They always go on sale in the offseason. Same with European hotels in winter (except at Christmas/New Year when prices spike). So always consider offseason travel.

'Mancations' vs. 'girlfriend getaways'

Here's a pet peeve. So-called girlfriend getaways rarely offer savings. Mancations sometimes do. What's the difference? Public relations professionals (and they tend to be women) dream up girlfriend getaways that call for up to four women to share one hotel room or suite, "slumber party" style. The fellows on a mancation often each get a room of their own, translating into savings.

Rack rates

Rack rates are like sticker prices on new cars: No one pays (or should pay) the price listed on the vehicle window or on the back of the hotel-room door. In today's marketplace, you can find deals that are based on "best available rates," which refers to the lowest price you can book on the hotel's own Web site. (Hotel consolidator sites and other travel sites may sometimes offer even-lower rates.)

The freebies

Hotel packages sometimes tout free breakfast, Wi-Fi or afternoon wine-tasting. Or maybe they say that kids can stay and eat free. These may be special amenities for one particular promotion — or these may be amenities that the hotel offers on a regular basis to all guests. Check the Web site to be sure.

Per-room vs. per-person rates

Most hotels quote per-room rates. But many beach and ski resorts quote per-person prices. Be clear on the number of guests before you do your pricing. Also, many beach resorts include meals and/or beverages. And many ski packages include lift tickets and transportation to the slopes. Factor those savings in too. Sometimes they can be substantial.

Phone vs. online

Some deals are online-only; some are telephone-only; some may be booked either way. So if the phone agent doesn't know about the deal you are trying to book, try the Web site. And vice-versa. If you still have trouble, contact the marketing office of the cruise line, hotel or tour group.

The hassle factor

It's wise to weigh the convenience of a package against any savings of money and time you might achieve by booking parts of a trip separately. And if you aren't super-fast on computer searches, consider letting a travel agent come up with options for you.