Think of it as your 2009 adult advent calendar, and each day you get to open a new travel gift. Today is the last day of Starwood's 3-day sale and tomorrow Fairmont posts their monthly great rates for Presidents Club Members (free to join).
With the onset of Advent, travel operators will be spending major dollars hoping you'll want to escape the bleak winter weather for a hot holiday or cool getaway. With the spread between Christmas and New Years being one of the biggest, most profitable travel times for trip providers, they are hoping you'll be caught by the imagery of the blue ocean lapping against a white-sand beach and decide to throw caution to the wind and book on impulse.
There's a catch. Due to recession worries still top-of-mind, high season prices will likely be lower. This makes it easier for you to justify a jaunt down south.
Normally I like to stay away from traveling in high season, but last year we bit the bullet and paid a little too much to lounge on the beach and sip bevvies at an all-inclusive in the Bahamas (more on this in a later post). While at our resort, the Assistant General Manager said "we pray for bad winters in the US + Canada, this way, our bookings increase."
It's rare that the weather is great between Christmas and New Years, so if you want to escape for warmer conditions, here are a few tips:
- figure out your budget before you start looking for your winter getaway!!!!
- peruse your newspaper's travel section for competing offers
- if you are part of a hotel group's loyal club, check out their internal rates
- if you want a package vacation, look online:
- Canada: itravel2000.com, jubileetravel.com, exitnow.ca
- USA: applevacations.com, expedia.com, vacationstogo.com