Travel booking site Kayak aims to take the guesswork out of buying a plane ticket with its new Best Time to Travel tool. The site uses data from billions of travel queries to predict future flight prices and help travelers decide when the best time to go is—and when to buy for the best deal. 

How it Works

On the Best Time to Travel homepage, enter your destination and choose one of the preselected lengths of trip options (four days, seven days, or 14 days). There’s no way to filter down by airport here, only by city.

The tool will then tell you what month you should go for the best weather, the least amount of crowds, and the cheapest airfare. This can be helpful if you’re flexible on when you’re traveling, but if you have specific dates in mind, you’ll have to wait until the third step to get more customized data.

After you’ve completed step one, the tool allows you to narrow your trip down by month, and then will display the best dates to travel along with a price chart so you can see how fares fluctuate throughout the month. 

Once you’ve picked the dates you want to travel, scroll down to step three, where you can plug in your exact itinerary and Kayak will show you the latest date by when you should book your flight by in order to get the cheapest price.

The post This New Tool Will Tell You Exactly When to Book Your Flight for the Best Price appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Monitor Prices

If you want to book a flight or hotel yourself, monitoring the price can help you determine if what you’re seeing is really a deal or not. Have you ever walked into a place to buy something to find it conveniently on sale? Businesses are always running a “sale,” but is that sale really a good deal? The only way to know if you’re getting a good deal is to know your prices. Keep an eye on the average price of hotels and flights to help you realize when costs drop.

Flexible With Your Destination? Use the Explore Function in Google Flights, Skyscanner, or Momondo

When you’re looking for somewhere to go and just want a deal, you can use the explore function on Google Flights, Skyscanner, or Momondo to find the best prices on airfare. You can search with no destination in mind, or narrow it down to a region like Europe. 

Flexible With Your Dates? Use the Calendar Search

If you can be a little flexible with the time you take your vacation, you’ll be rewarded with very low fares and prices for the travel you want to do. Prices vary widely from day to day and the calendar search on Google Flights allows you to see which days are the cheapest to fly or book a hotel room. 

You can find the calendar search in the same place you found the Explore function. After selecting a destination (or not–there’s capability for that, too), simply leave the date fields blank. 

Just be sure the routing you pick works for your schedule and use filters to narrow down your trip based on number of stops, arrival time, or departure time. There’s nothing worse than buying a $300 ticket to Paris that requires multiple transfers and 27 hours of travel time. 

Sign Up for Marketing Materials From Your Favorite Travel Companies

Your favorite travel brands love to advertise to you. Every now and then, they’ll send incredible deals for their email list subscribers. These are different from the run-of-the-mill “We’re having a sale!” emails. You’ll get those, too. But if you’re checking prices to your desired destination often, you’ll know when a sale is much, much better than normal. 

This is how I booked two tickets to Tahiti this past summer. I clicked on an email from United Airlines advertising a fare sale using points. I tried some dates and destinations, and found an incredible points sale to Tahiti at about 40% off. I booked it immediately, knowing I could cancel within 24 hours without penalty. We ended up taking that vacation and saved a lot of money in the process. It never hurts to check prices when you receive those marketing emails!

Getting these promotions is easy. If you love the airline Southwest, for example, you would want to sign up for their email list from a button on their website. When you’re on the email list, you get the information about a sale first. Southwest recently had a 40% off sale and you would know about it sooner than everyone else if you were on their email list. 

Pay Attention to the News

This bit of advice might be unique to this year, but you’ve probably heard about woes the travel industry has encountered as travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. Sometimes, negative news can drive down the price of a plane ticket or a hotel room.

I’m writing this article the weekend after Southwest canceled thousands of flights because of operational issues. Yet, on their website, I’m seeing very compelling fares. Spring break in Hawaii for a couple hundred bucks from my home airport? You bet. And if you’re still worried about COVID-19, you can make changes with Southwest’s generous refund policy. If the pandemic takes a turn for the worse, it’s easy to change dates. Southwest has been a reliable airline for decades. They will work out their issues. Meanwhile, take advantage of the price break!

Set Fare Alerts

If you’re looking at a particular destination and a specific time, slide over the button in Google Flights to track the price. If you’re signed into your Google account, you can get these fare alerts automatically when you do this. When the price changes significantly (either up or down), you’ll get an email from Google about the change in price. A flight to Italy I was looking at started around $800. I set my Google alert and got an email when the price dropped to $307. 

Let Someone Else Find the Deals for You

There are countless services that work to find deals for you. They eliminate the need to sit at your computer and see if that email you received has really good deals or is just another marketing tactic you need to wade through. 

Some examples include:

• Travelzoo, an aggregator of travel deals with stellar prices
• Airfarewatchdog (SmarterTravel’s sister site), which sends out low fare email alerts to subscribers. NextVacay, Scott’s Cheap Flights, and others fall into this category
• Facebook groups focused on travel
• Online travel agencies, such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Cheap Caribbean, Kayak, or Funjet Vacation. 
• Warehouse travel agencies, such as Costco or Sam’s Club
• Travel agents

There are a lot of different ways to find a deal this fall. Just keep your ear to the ground and pay attention to your prices. You’ll be surprised just how good it is to plan future travel in the fall.   

The post 7 Secret Tips for Finding Travel Deals appeared first on SmarterTravel.

When do you find the lowest fares for Thanksgiving and December holiday travel? Right now, says the latest data from Hipmunk, derived from analysis of historical buying patterns. Specifically, you can find the lowest fares for both Thanksgiving flights and the winter holidays during the first week of September. But don’t give up if you miss that week:

• Thanksgiving flights are relatively cheap for the weeks of September 9 and 16 and again the weeks of November 4, 11, and 18.
• Christmas fares are relatively low again the weeks of October 6, November 18, and, surprisingly, the weeks of December 2, 9, and 16.

Why It Matters More This Year

These findings are in general agreement with reports from other sources for previous years: Your best bet is to buy about three to four months in advance. But buying early might be a particularly good idea this year: Airlines flying the 737 MAX will probably not have their full availability for the holidays so the entire system will have fewer available seats than airlines had planned. Hipmunk mined its purchase data to develop figures for average round-trip coach airfares for domestic travel.

When to Buy Thanksgiving Flights: The Details

Based on past data, Hipmunk found the lowest average Thanksgiving flights, at $417, for the week of September 2. But fares remained in the range of $425 to $440 through the first week of October, and dropped again to around $425 the first three weeks of November. Somewhat oddly, the worst week for low fares was October 14, at $476, and they rose again, to $465, the week of November 25.

When to Buy Holiday Season Flights: The Details

Christmastime fares seem to be more volatile, with larger week-to-week swings. No other time of year came even close to the average $389 fares found the week of September 2. The week of October 7 was next best, at around $408, with further drops to about $420 the week of November 18 and $450 to $470 the weeks of December 2, 9, and 16. You’ve already missed the worst week in the data base, when the average fares were around $490—even higher than last-minute—although the last minute average was almost as bad, at $480 during the week of December 23. And the weeks of October 21 through November 11 were also bad, with average fares ranging between $470 and $480.

The take-away is that your risk is lowest if you buy early. But if you’re willing to risk a small fare hike to wait for a great promotional fare, you can afford to delay buying your tickets for several weeks. As always, the best recommendation is: “When you find a good fare, pounce.”

When to Travel; When Not to Travel

Hipmunk also did a comprehensive breakdown of average fares for the mix of feasible departure and return days. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, conventional wisdom holds that the best times to travel are on the Thanksgiving Day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and that the worst days to travel are the Wednesday before and Sunday after the holiday. Hipmunk’s figures say that’s only half right. Sure enough, the three highest fares were on trips returning on Sunday. As expected, the Wednesday-Sunday trip topped the list. But for some strange reason, fares for a trip leaving on Wednesday and returning Friday were near the lowest.

The trip with the lowest average fares was leaving Thursday and returning on Friday, at $307. But other low-fare options included Monday-Friday, Tuesday-Friday, and Thursday-Saturday, at $310 to $323. The three worst trips were Wednesday-Sunday, at $483, Tuesday-Sunday at $459, and Monday-Sunday at $456. Fares varied narrowly from $395 to $420 for other date combinations.

With a midweek Christmas this year, there are no obvious weekend peaks. Still, the conventional worst-trip dates, Saturday, December 21 to Sunday, December 29, showed a top fare average of $547. The best trip by far, at $247, was leaving Christmas Day, December 25, and returning the next day. Next best was a big jump up, to $322 for Tuesday to Friday, followed by Christmas Day to Sunday, at $335. Other bad trips were Sunday to Sunday, at $507, and Saturday to Friday, at $491. Hipmunk did not extend its coverage to the following New Year’s week, but presumably fares are high on the Sunday following.

The conventional take-aways here for major holidays are:

• The lowest fares usually involve traveling on the holiday, itself—an obvious case, because those are the days travelers want to be where they’re going.
• The highest fares usually involve returning on the Sunday following the holiday—another obvious finding, given that most people want to maximize their vacation time but need get back for work or school on Mondays.

Fare differentials for other dates generally cluster in a narrow range between the maximum dates. Beyond avoiding the worst dates if you can, you’re probably better off timing your trip to meet your best convenience rather than shaving a few bucks off airfares. For more information, see The 12 Best and Worst Days for Holiday Travel This Year.

What to Wear on Your Next Flight

More from SmarterTravel:

• The 10 Best Flight Search Sites for Booking Cheap Airfare
• 8 Things You Should Never Do When Traveling Over the Holidays
• The 10 Best Christmas Vacations to Take This Year

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2016. It has been updated to reflect the most current information.

Consumer advocate Ed Perkins has been writing about travel for more than three decades. The founding editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, he continues to inform travelers and fight consumer abuses every day at SmarterTravel.

The post The Cheapest Time to Buy Holiday and Thanksgiving Flights for 2019 appeared first on SmarterTravel.

According to CheapAir.com, the average airfare changed 62 times last year before departure. With factors like dates and airport origins can’t always be flexible, it’s hard for the average traveler to know what they should be looking for when they’re ready to book a flight.

There are also tons of myths and debates circulating around booking flights, “Are round-trip fares really cheaper? Are non-direct flights always more expensive? Are budget airlines worth it? Is Tuesday really the best day to fly, etc.,” so I wanted to go straight to the experts and ask airfare analysts one simple question: What makes them click “book?”

Airfare analysts spend every day studying fare prices. In my interviews, it became clear there are a three determining factors for when to book flights that every expert analysts use: convenience, price, and timing.

When to Book Flights: Convenience

“According to our research, people are most likely to hit the book/purchase button when the flight is the best deal they can find with as little research as possible,” says Naveen Dittakavi, founder of Next Vacay, a subscription-based flight deal service.

Hans Desjarlais, founder of FlightList, says that layover time is a big factor of his decision-making process, “I don’t like waiting too long in an airport for my connecting flight so if the ticket is very cheap but has layovers more than five hours, I’ll go for a slightly more expensive flight.”

When to Book Flights: Loyalty Programs and Points

Loyalty programs and frequent flyer points or miles can also influence the decision-making process, even when the fare might not necessarily be cheaper.

“Purchasing airfare using frequent flyer points instead of cash really extends how far I can travel and saves me the most money. I compare every airline that flies to the destination that I want and book the flight which is offered for the smallest number of frequent flier points,” says Adrian Mederos, founder of Aerocred.com.

“Knowing the benefits of loyalty programs and miles I will receive plays a huge part in what airline I fly with. If I’m in a loyalty program with an airline that has a little bit of a higher fare, I will typically pay the extra amount because I know the benefits I will receive for that flight,” says Tom Spagnola, Senior V.P. of Supplier Relations at CheapOair.

When to Book Flights: Price

Tracy Stewart, an airfare analyst at Airfarewatchdog (our sister site), sums up the pricing game best, “there’s no guarantee that today’s fare won’t double in price tomorrow, or—on the flip side—drop even lower the second after you book … When a search turns up fares that are much lower than I expect, I don’t wait for something better to come along. I book immediately.”

Stewart used this reasoning to book a $150 round-trip fare to the Amazon, “which was clearly some sort of mistake, but was just too exciting to pass up. When you’re excited by how insanely low the fare is, that is a definite sign to book.” You can read more about “fat finger” or mistake fares, here.

Desjarlais, who considers himself to be a flexible traveler always books one-way flights, “Often, they can be found by traveling during the week, usually Monday to Thursday but certain destinations also have good prices on the weekends.” Desjarlais pointed me to an interesting study on the one-way flight trend, available to read here, which found that there’s an increase in the number of markets where one-way premiums are disappearing.

When to Book Flights: The Booking Window

Booking airfare usually comes down to timing and flexibility. In some cases you have the liberty to change your travel dates or the airport you’re flying into/from and can adjust accordingly, but sometimes you don’t. In these cases, understanding timing, or the booking window, can be helpful.

Here’s the low-down on the “prime booking window,” according to Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir and the company’s 2018 airfare study.

“It’s the period in which the lowest fares for a particular flight tend to be within five percent of its lowest point.” For 2018, CheapAir has determined the window to be 21 days to four months from departure. “Keep in mind, there are situations in which the lowest fare might not be the main mission. If your M.O. is more ‘I like to have the most choice possible,’ you will want to buy earlier, in what we call the ‘First Dibs’ zone (approximately six to 11 months in advance).”

In general, the sooner you can book, the better, Scott Wainner, CEO of Fareness, a flight comparison app advises, “Don’t wait any longer … the longer you wait to book, the more expensive the airfare will be.”

Especially with holiday travel, booking sooner is almost always better as demand only increases closer to the departure date.

When to Book Flights: Deal Alerts 

When you are set on your travel dates and destination, setting up airfare alerts on sites like Airfarewatchdog, Google Flights, and Next Vacay can help source deals and gives you a general idea of the average fare.

Stewart advises, “In the months or weeks before your ideal departure date, set up fare alerts across multiple sites and monitor prices to get a better sense of what’s available. If you don’t have the luxury of waiting, you may have to settle for reasonable over cheap.”

As with most purchases in life, it comes down to what you’re willing to pay for what you’re getting. And if you change your mind, don’t forget that you always have a 24-hour buffer window to cancel your flight.

More from SmarterTravel:

• How to Find a Free Stopover—or Even Save Money By Taking One
• 7 Shameless Ways to Make Your Flight More Comfortable
• 14 Myths About Booking Cheap Flights

Ashley Rossi is always ready for her next trip. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram for travel tips, destination ideas, and off the beaten path spots.

The post 7 Airfare Analysts Weigh in on When to Book Flights appeared first on SmarterTravel.

What’s on your smartphone? Have you downloaded the latest and greatest travel apps, to have them available to help research and book your next trip?

Do you know what the latest and greatest travel apps are?

While they won’t all be applicable to your circumstances and needs, these are the 25 most-downloaded travel apps from the Apple Store, according to an analysis by hitwise, an “audience insights” company:

1. Airbnb
2. Booking.com
3. United
4. American
5. Expedia
6. Southwest
7. Delta
8. Hopper
9. Hotels.com
10. TripAdvisor
11. Hilton
12. Marriott
13. HotelTonight
14. KAYAK
15. HomeAway
16. Delta (iPad)
17. JetBlue
18. trivago
19. Frontier
20. Priceline
21. Allegiant
22. VRBO Vacation Rentals
23. Skyscanner
24. Carnival
25. Travelocity

The report also includes a list of the 25 most-downloaded apps for devices using the Android operating system. Although there are some differences between the Apple and Android lists, the names are mostly the same, and Airbnb, Booking.com, and United are the top three for both platforms.

Predictably, the largest airlines are fully represented, as are the leading online travel agencies. More surprising, and interesting, the list reveals a number of apps from lesser-known travel services that bear looking into: Hopper, HotelTonight, trivago, Skyscanner. And how about Airbnb? While it has gotten plenty of traction with travelers recently, it was a revelation to find the home-sharing service’s app topping the lists.

Reader Reality Check

What’s on your phone?

More from SmarterTravel:

• Dine Out, Earn a $15 Gift Card from Amazon, Starbucks, Uber
• How to Use Hilton Points to Shop on Amazon
• American or Southwest: Which Is the Real No-Frills Airline?

After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.

The post The Top 25 Travel Apps to Upgrade Your Smartphone appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Ticket prices go up, ticket prices go down. That much we know. What’s less clear is the timing of those rises and falls. It’s the perennial savvy-traveler question: When is the best time to book flights, to lock in the lowest airfare?

For travel during the 2017 Thanksgiving holiday period, Skyscanner has the answer. Based on the travel-search site’s analysis of 2016 pricing data, the lowest airfares will be found between September 4 and the first week in November.

During that period, the very best airfares are expected to be on offer during the week of September 4, when Thanksgiving ticket prices should average around $300. That, according to Skyscanner, represents a saving of “up to 4%.”

Paying less always beats paying more, all things being equal. But that 4 percent figure—which, remember, is the maximum savings—leaves me wondering whether it’s enough to warrant much time and energy pursuing. If it were just me traveling, it would be the decidedly modest difference between a $312.50 ticket and a $300.00 ticket. I’d be fine with either, and I expect many others would be as well.

On the other hand, if I were booking travel for a family of four, the potential savings by buying during the lower-fare window would total $50. For that, I’d be more than willing to keep my eyes on the calendar and book 11 weeks out.

All of which is to say, the real importance of that perennial when-to-book question may be overrated. If the potential savings are significant, then it may be worthwhile setting price alerts and keeping a watchful eye on prices’ ebbs and flows. But in many cases, the savings simply aren’t worth pursuing. So book whenever you want, confident that the best price won’t be much lower than what you’re paying when buying at a day and time most convenient to you. No sophisticated data analysis (or airfare  voodoo) required.

Reader Reality Check

How much energy do you devote to timing the market to get the best airfare when booking flights?

More from SmarterTravel:

• Should You Book Directly with the Hotel? It’s Complicated
• On the Horizon: Higher Airport Fees
• Here Are the 10 Airlines that Charge the Most Fees

After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.

The post Here’s the Best Time to Book Thanksgiving Flights appeared first on SmarterTravel.

If you want to find the best price for a flight from Los Angeles to Boston on December 3, there is no shortage of apps and websites that will perform an Internet-wide search and display the results ranked in the order you specify.

Of course, the airfares displayed are those in effect at that moment. By the time you book your flight, prices may rise. Or they might fall. And it matters: No one wants to overpay by booking prematurely, or by waiting too long to lock in a fare that later increases.

In keeping with its stated mission, “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” Google this week added an enhanced airfare-prediction function to Google Trips. “Google Flights can now help you be more confident that you’re booking your flight at the right time to get the best price. We now show you when prices are expected to increase for some specific flights and routes you’re interested in.”

When searching for specific flights, Google Flights users will be notified if there’s likely to be a price increase or decrease, how much the price will differ, and when the change is expected to take effect. That last piece, the timing of the price change, is crucial to making bookings to optimize savings.

The predictions are based on “historic prices for that route,” and presumably other information available to Google in its vast storehouse of data. That means that the tips come with a degree of uncertainty; Google won’t always get it right. But the predictions are likely to be right much of the time, and the algorithm will undoubtedly become more accurate over time.

The new feature gives Google Flights a significant competitive advantage over competing apps such as Kayak, Hopper, and Hitlist. And, more significantly, it shows just how serious Google is about becoming a major player in travel.

The update will be rolled out over the next few weeks.

Reader Reality Check

Sound good?

More from SmarterTravel:

• 21 Things Flight Attendants Hate About You
• Need Help from an Airline? Don’t Bother Tweeting
• 4 Ways to Earn Loyalty Points for Airbnb Stays

After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.

The post Leapfrogging Rivals, Google Flights Now Predicts Airfare Changes appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Whether you want the best hotel money can buy or a great stay at a more realistic price, we’ve got you covered for your next trip to London. Because here we’ve compiled the very best of the oldest, most beautiful, most charming, and most luxurious hotels in the city and their more affordable—and we promise, still pretty awesome—alternatives. No matter your style, here are six iconic, luxe stays in the city, and nearby properties with similar vibes that come with a lower price tag.

1. The Classic London Pick: The Lanesborough

Located in Knightsbridge with Hyde Park on one side and Green Park (and Buckingham Palace) on the other, it’s no surprise that the stately Lanesborough Hotel is one of London’s most expensive and exclusive hotels. Rooms come with Sony tablets, 24-hour butler service, and an extensive in-house movie library…as well as marble bathrooms, naturally. Quintessentially London, here you’ll find Harrods department store a short walk down the road and be able to witness a steady stream of Rolls Royce and Bentley vehicles dropping off and picking up outside. This is high-rollers central.

The Alternative: The Town Hall Hotel

In a location that appeals with a different representation of London, Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel is a grand Edwardian-style building with contemporary style. In the heart of the old East End, it is surrounded by the coffee shops, artisanal breweries, thrift stores, and creative enterprises that make up a buzzing, young London. There’s a lot of exploring to get through in this part of town so the luxurious bathrooms and soaking tubs will be welcome after all that pounding of the pavement.

2. The Foodie’s Pick: The Langham

When you’re in London and looking for luxury with a foodie slant, why look beyond the place that claims it invented the most classic English culinary mealtime of all: the afternoon tea?! The luxurious Langham Hotel has a prestigious appeal without the pretension of some five-pearl properties, and its elegant interior is home to some exquisite period features. Make sure to indulge in the original Langham’s afternoon tea—around an hour spent waggling your little finger as you drink tea and eat cucumber sandwiches without the crusts.

The Alternative: Boundary Rooms and Suites

While afternoon tea is a heritage English tradition, London is a modern culinary capital. TheBoundary Rooms & Suites hotel is located midway between the curry mecca of Brick Lane to the south and the Vietnamese “Pho Mile” to the north. As well as being within short walking distance to some of the best Vietnamese, Indian, and Pakistani food in London, the Boundary Rooms & Suites offers creatively designed rooms within what was once a Victorian warehouse. And if you don’t want to leave for food then you can always try the rooftop bar and grill.

3. The River Thames Pick: The Savoy

The Savoy is a renowned London hotel with a history of celebrity guests (Marilyn Monroe was a fan), a beautiful decor that combines Art Deco and classic Edwardian features, and guest rooms so sophisticated they come with their own optional butlers. Oh, and it also has the River Thames running right beside it. Not all rooms come with river views so book wisely, or face having to commiserate yourself with cocktails in the famous American Bar; on second thought, that doesn’t sound so bad.

The Alternative: Mondrian London at Sea Containers

With nothing like the grand dame status of The Savoy, Mondrian London at Sea Containers plays to its strengths as a contemporary, sleek, design hotel that happens to have some stunning panoramic views of the River Thames to go with the package. Rooms are artsy and chic, and the restaurant and bars put you either on the river walkway or overlooking the water.

4. The Hip Pick: 40 Winks

When a hotel proudly advertises that it has space for just three people—one double room and one single room—you know that it’s hip. Thanks to the property’s exclusivity, rooms at 40 Winks are super difficult to book, which just makes the hotel even cooler, right?! Located in Bethnal Green, the intricately decorated 18th-century townhouse is a whimsical, romantic place to stay—if you can ever get a room, that is!

The Alternative: The Ace Hotel

All around the world, Ace properties are the hipster’s hotel and in London it’s no different. While you’ll need a room to sleep—they come with record players and vinyls, as well as instruments and radios—you’ll probably spend most of your time outside of it in the buzzing bar or next-door restaurant, Hoi Polloi. It doesn’t come with the price tag of its luxury alternative; instead, Ace Hotel London comes with more cool points than you’ll know what to do with.

5. The Boutique Pick: Blakes Hotel

Famously opulent and extremely discreet, Blakes Hotel draws a star clientele to its home in South Kensington. Designed by actress-turned-designer Anouska Hempel, Blakes Hotel features grand, sumptuous decor, intricately detailed to satisfy high standards. As well as 24-hour room service, the hotel has a fitness center and offers Bang and Olufsen electronics in its stylish rooms.

The Alternative: The Hoxton

Located in the vibrant neighborhood of Shoreditch, The Hoxton is a boutique venue that offers equally as much style and design as Blakes Hotel, just for a different type of crowd. Rooms each belong to one single category so you can expect comfort, quirky design, and sleek bathrooms whichever one you stay in. As well as free phone calls to UK numbers and select international numbers, each room gets a sack breakfast delivered every morning. The fast Wi-Fi and communal workspaces make it good for those who need to check into the office on occasion.

6. The Aristocratic Pick: The Goring

The hotel of choice for the English Royal Family, The Goring was the spot that the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) chose to stay in the night before her wedding to Prince William. Not that you have to be royalty to stay at the classic English hotel; you just have to have access to a healthy bank balance. Rooms come with marble-lined bathrooms and the benefit of being within close proximity of Buckingham Palace.

The Alternative: Dukes Hotel

Dukes Hotel in Mayfair may be a cheaper alternative to The Goring but not by much; still, you’ll save some cash when choosing this option. Home to a famously good martini, the hotel’s Dukes Bar was said to have inspired regular guest Ian Fleming to include the instructions “shaken, not stirred” in his James Bond novels. Along with elegant guest rooms, Dukes Hotel provides a Cognac and Cigar garden for refined guests to enjoy postprandial smoke and liquor.

—Toby Orton

More from Oyster:

• The 6 Best Bottomless Brunches in London
• 6 Luxury Hotels in Paris, and Their Cheaper (But Similar) Alternatives
• 5 Neighborhoods Where You’ll Find the Londoner’s London

This article was originally published by Oyster under the headline 6 Luxury Hotels in London, and Their Cheaper (But Similar) Alternatives. It is reprinted here with permission.

The post 6 Luxury Hotels in London, and Their Cheaper (But Similar) Alternatives appeared first on SmarterTravel.

You’d think that as long as you had money to spend, a destination in mind, and a decent Internet connection, booking a flight would be a piece of cake. Instead, often the opposite is true.

I see you over there banging your head on the computer keys, struggling to make sure you’ve searched every option and weighed every possibility only to discover—the moment after you hit purchase—a significantly lower fare.

I see you and I’ve been you. The good news is that, while mistakes happen, there are things you can do to make sure that it’s the exception and not the rule. These tips will help:

Booking a Flight to the Wrong Place

The Mistake: Flying to the wrong city.

How to Avoid It:  Check and then double-check.

I’ve done this one: Sat smugly awaiting a flight to Orange County (SNA) airport only to discover hours before leaving that I’d somehow booked to San Diego (SAN).  I blame the crazy people who set up the airport code system, but the blame game won’t help you if you make a similar mistake. Instead, skip your gut check and do a real check to make sure that the code on your ticket is actually the place you want to go. Tip: Want to go to Florence Italy? You want (FLR)—not (FLO), which is Florence, SC. And HON is Huron, South Dakota, not Honolulu (HNL).

Trying to Book Your Own Ultra-Complicated Flights

Mistake: Booking complicated flights yourself.

How to Avoid It: Consider a travel agent.

Just because you have the Internet doesn’t mean you always have to use it. If you’re losing patience trying to find a flight, there’s no harm in reaching out to a travel agent to see if their help might be worth your money. I did an around-the-world trip and relied heavily on an around-the-world flight specialist back home to help me find the best fares as I went…without the headache of trying to figure out each leg, or wondering when and where I’d need a visa for entry.

Not Clearing Your Cookies

Mistake: Pulling all-night search-a-thons for the fare you can’t actually buy.

How to Avoid It: Clear your cookies, switch browsers, or buy it when you see it

The jury is mixed on whether the tracking cookies that search engines leave on the sites you visit are smart enough to raise the price on you if you leave a booking site and come back later. Still, there are those who swear by it.

Why take the risk? Clear the cookies on your device before every new search (or switch browsers). Even better: Know what you want to pay and stop looking when you get close enough. Sure there’s a chance there’s a better deal out there, but there’s also a chance you’ll lose the deal (whether to evil cookies or just another consumer) if you wait.

Missing Out on Third-Party Perks

Mistake: Thinking the only thing a travel agent does is book flights.

How to Avoid It:  Consult a travel agent for additional perks.

I know you know how to search for airfares online, but often travel agents can offer than just a cheap flight. Upgrades at your hotel, a rental car at no extra charge, or simply peace of mind if something goes wrong and you need a quick re-route. Loyalty pays: If you’ve got an agent you love, and who loves you, you’ll quickly see the perks pile up.

Depending on a Single Flight Search

Mistake: Relying on one search engine exclusively.

How to Avoid It: Spread the wealth.

There are some great search engines out there that allow you to compare flight prices on multiple sites at once. But relying on any one of them would be a mistake. Instead, check out the fares at a few different sites. Some to try: TripAdvisor, Google Flights, Skyscanner, Kayak, and Hopper. And don’t forget to compare the fares you find with those offered directly from the airline.

Forgetting to Find Out the Real Price

Mistake: Comparing fares that really aren’t comparable.

How to Avoid It: Factor in taxes, fees, and extra costs.

That $50 return fare you’re drooling over might very well be a $500 ticket. Make sure you check to see if the rates you’re excited about include all taxes and fees. Also consider the other costs (baggage fees, seat choice fees, etc.) you may be facing once you hit purchase. Weigh all of the costs to know if you’re really getting a deal.

Not Getting Creative with Flights

Mistake: Booking round-trip flights all the way to your destination by habit.

How to Avoid It: Check out short-hop one-way options as well.

You’re going there and back so of course you’ll book a round-trip ticket, right? Wrong. Sometimes booking your major flight as a return and then adding smaller, short-haul flights on a play-it-by-ear basis can save you big bucks. Want to fly to Nice? Why don’t you find a great deal to Paris and consider a smaller commuter flight on a local carrier like Easy jet out to Nice? Sometimes the best deals are found when you are actually on the continent you’re looking to explore.  This option isn’t the easiest way to travel (it will mean looking hard at the fare rules and limitations, and leaving yourself plenty of connection time) but it can net some big savings.

Not Booking Enough Time Between Connections

Mistake: Assuming a plane will wait for you.

How to Avoid It: Plan for the worst.

Generally speaking, if you’ve booked your connecting ticket on the same carrier (for instance, one Delta flight to another Delta flight) the airline is aware of any flight delays and will usually act swiftly to help you connect to your flight (or rebook you ASAP). But if you’ve booked individual connecting flights, you’re on your own. Give yourself a fighting chance by leaving enough time between flights to allow you to make the connection, even with delays. (Different airports have different rules about how far in advance you need to be at the gate.) As soon as you realize you’re not going to make it, reach out to your connecting airline by phone, email, or social media so it can get started on the rebooking process.

Cheaping Out

Mistake: Booking a flight that’ll make you wish you’d paid a bit more.

How to Avoid It: Know yourself, and book accordingly.

Before you even open your laptop, consider what you want out of the flight you’re looking for. The super cheap red-eye flight or early morning option may come with a tempting price tag, but will it seem as attractive when you arrive in a destination exhausted, or so early that you won’t be able to get into your hotel room for eight hours? Choose carefully.

Paying Full Price

Mistake: Paying full fare when everyone else scored a deal.

How to Avoid It: Stay socially connected.

Technology is a traveler’s friend when it comes to scoring really great deals. You may not be at your desk checking websites constantly for deals, but someone is, and you want to know them.  Savvy travelers are finding deals and sharing the wealth. Social media groups like Nomadness Travel Tribe and SecretFlying often post incredible deals on Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for their newsletters and get to know the group members for additional tips and tricks.

More from SmarterTravel:

• Hey Big Spender, Redeem Those Travel-Rewards Points Now!
• How to Score a Flight Upgrade for Free
• Why You Should Never Go Barefoot in Airport Security

Heather Greenwood Davis is a lifestyle journalist and a National Geographic Travel columnist. Follow her on Twitter @greenwooddavis or keep up with her family’s adventures on GlobeTrottingMama.com.

SmarterTravel.com is a TripAdvisor Media Group property.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2016. It has been updated to reflect the most current information.

The post 10 Rookie Mistakes People Make When Booking a Flight appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Most of us have used coupons or promo codes when buying electronics or clothes online. But did you know you can also use coupons to save on hotel stays? Here’s where to find them–and whether or not they’re worth using.

Where to Look for Coupons

You’ve heard of Expedia, the online travel site. Well, Expedia Inc., its parent company, owns several travel brands online, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Travelocity, Orbitz, and CheapTickets.  Most of these brands offer coupons every day of the year.

• Historically, CheapTickets has had coupons with the deepest discounts–regularly 20 percent off.
• Both Orbitz and Travelocity regularly offer coupons for 15 percent off.
• And Hotels.com often has coupons discounting 10 percent off.

Subscribe to emails from these brands or similar sites to get alerts when new coupons are released, or head to their “Deals” page to find the latest.

Smaller travel sites may offer coupons as well. I often find substantial savings on sites like BookIt.com and TravelPony.com, once a coupon has been applied.

When They Work and When They Don’t

Once you’ve found your coupon, it’s never as easy as simply applying it at checkout.  There are often restrictions:

• Many of the larger hotel brands–like Marriott, Starwood, and Hilton–aren’t eligible for coupons on Expedia Inc. sites. (Even after the exclusions, there are still tens of thousands of hotels in North America that are eligible.)
• Often, a coupon will require you to spend a minimum amount or stay a minimum number of nights. I’ve found that coupons from CheapTickets are the least restrictive in these areas.
• There is typically a defined window in which you may not travel.

And that’s it.  The short of it is that with a little effort, you can count on saving of at least 15 percent on your hotel stays for the summer and beyond!

More From SmarterTravel:

• Make Travel Vouchers Work for You
• What Summer Travel Looks Like So Far for 2016
• New Site Brings Travelers and Shoppers Together

The post Do Travel Coupons and Promo Codes Really Save You Money? appeared first on SmarterTravel.