Travel Trend :: Plan my Trip

The way we book travel has evolved once again. First there were travel agents. Then there were online DIY travel agencies. Now there's a hyrbid of the two. Recently a few travel sites have surfaced offering agent-planned itineraries based on travel seeker specifications. The catch: agents/agencies bid for your business.

How it works

• Travel seeker goes to the agent trip planning site
• Enters travel preferences: dates, destination, departure city, interests, etc...(in your own words & using check boxes)
• Preferences are reviewed and itineraries put together by travel agents and tour operators
• Trip plans are then submitted to traveller
• Traveller purchases best plan and bookings are made

3 Personalized Trip Planning Sites Catching my Eye - Zicasso - Tripology - Offer Me a Trip (coming soon, but here's the development site)

Travel Trend :: Secret Hotels

Whether you call this travel trend secret hotels, undercover hotels, blind booking or opaque booking, it's all the same 'educated risk' formula: price-conscious consumer books or bids on a hotel without knowing its exact location.

Popularizing Undercover Hotels Companies like Hotwire and Priceline popularized opaque booking, but recently others have jumped on the bandwagon. At the end of March, Travelocity launched 'Top Secret Hotels' in a direct move to compete with the aforementioned blind booking giants, while Last Minute Travel's Undercover Hotels* share the same goal. Both Travelocity and Last Minute Travel's 'secret hotels' recipe mirrors Hotwire's approach: travel seeker knows the hotel's area, star level, amenities and price, but not it's brand or exact location.  It's only when they've committed to the listing (by entering credit card info) that they unlock the secret: the hotel and its location.

Blind Booking Sites - Priceline.com (learn how to get a great deal on Priceline here) - Hotwire.com - Travelocity.com - Lastminutetravel.com - GermanWings.com (German airline)

*Travel Tip: One not-to-miss feature of Lastmintuetravel.com's undercover hotels is the map located at the bottom of each individual listing. The regular map view shows a fairly large radius where the hotel in question could be located, but if you click on the "bird's eye" view, the area suddenly focuses on a small geo area allowing you to figure out what hotel you're going to get.

[photo by sepblog]

Travel Trend :: Pod Sleepovers

[trip style = budget]

Compact, pod-like hotels have gone beyond a fleeting trend into a phenomenon of small spaces designed with the efficiency of Asia and the stylishness of Italy. People have been sleeping over in pod hotels for years in Asia, but like most things, we've been slow to catch on in North America.

Rooted in Japan, the popular capsule concept has been around since 1979. The originator created a capsule hotel which--pardon the comparison--offers little, morgue-like sleeping blocks and communal bathrooms. Pods have come a long way since then, growing in size, stature and geography.  I had the opportunity to stay in a pod room earlier this year and I'd totally indulge again! See pics of my windowless room above and below. I was only staying overnight and had just arrived in London from Nairobi. All I wanted was a bed, and a bed, a little space to place my bag and a cruise ship-style bathroom was what I got. And that was all I needed. Off to bed I went, but not before I caught a nightly showing of Wicked, which sent me to bed in song {Po-pu-u-lar...}.

Where's the Sacrifice? This is a serious question. Do we always need lavish offerings like 10 different types of towels, plush terry robes and seven restaurants with celeb chefs? There's a time and place for that trip style. What if you're just passing through and only need a simple place to crash?  So you lose out on space around the bed, big deal. What were you going to do there anyway?  Sit-ups? Yeah right, you're on vacation.

I only stayed in the pod hotel for one night, but I would've stayed longer. It was clean and simple. I wasn't in London to sit in my room; I was there to enjoy the city and sleep when needed.

Finding a Pod Hotel Yotel - At Heathrow, Gatwick and Schiphol Amsterdam airports. A 669-room Yotel is also planned for NYC in 2011. Ironically, the company's flagship property will feature the largest outside terrace space of any hotel in NYC.

Easy Hotels - All over Europe with a strong presence in London. Part of the Easy suite of companies. If you know anything about the company's color scheme, you'll wake up with a strong desire for orange juice.

Qbic - In Amsterdam, Antwerp and Maastricht. Features funky cube-like design, mood lighting, Philipp Starck bathroom finishes and self check-in.

Capsule Hotels - Going to Osaka? Try Asahiplaza. Headed to Tokyo? Check out Capsule Inn Akihabara

Trip Styler Tip: If you're selecting a capsule hotel other than two listed above, check the policy. Some don't allow westerners and given the shared bathroom and sleeping facilities, some aren't set up for women.

Travel Trend :: Carry-On Changes Coming?

[trip style = packing light]

Recently, Spirit Airlines, a sizable US-based discount carrier announced plans to charge people up to $45 for carry-ons. Needless to say, a large public outcry ensued in similar proportions to RyanAir's announcement to charge for toilet use.  Channeling my inner grandma: what has our world come to?

The Future of Travel Based on the left pic, is this how Spirit wants us to travel, avec multiple accoutrements hanging from every limb and buried in every pocket?  [More pics below.]

Making Good on Bad Promise? Multiple US-lawmakers have jumped on the lobbying bandwagon trying to stop Spirit from making good on their bad promise to charge for carry-ons and set an unfortunate precedent.  I was almost convinced that the Government would overthrow the idea, yet yesterday morning Spirit Airlines's CEO was on the Today Show defending it, noting that the costs would be off-set by the airline lowering ticket prices.

Like a Fart in Church... Matt Lauer was kind and complimentary to Spirit's CEO, but noted "you had to know this idea would go over like a fart in church."  In response to Spirit's defense of their proposed carry-on bag fees, Senator Schumer discussed the bigger issue which he predicts will be all airlines following suit.  In support of his point, he referenced Spirit as the pioneers in charging for checked baggage--well, we all know how that turned out...$25, $30, $40, $50 dollars later.

Driving Home the Point Although I understand Spirit Airlines' faster-out-of-the-gate motivation in leading the fee-for-carry-on bags, I'm not a fan. Fees never go backwards and airlines will always seek new profit centres. To drive home this point, I've taken the liberty to personally illustrate how people might start showing up at the airport for Spirit flights. Items on my person: hat, comb (attached to hat), toothbrush (in my hair), lipstick (in my hair), undergarments, t-shirt, sweater, jacket, jeans, shorts, two belts, shoes, flip flops, iPod, clear toiletries case, bathing suit, book, umbrella, bracelet, watch & camera.

Loving Low Season Price Battles

[trip style = sun + beach]

Occasionally companies fight for your business.  In the travel industry, April is one of those times.  For the past two weeks twitter and traditional media outlets have been buzzing with airlines and travel co's going to head-to-head on flight deals and vacation packages that could even make a homebody drool!

Low Season Last time I wrote about low season it was early December before rates went sky-high for the holiday season's winter escape artists. Now it's April, the sun's shining longer and people are venturing outside more. Airlines and resorts know that people are more interested in spring cleaning than sitting on white-sand beaches sipping mojitos with crushed mint and a hint of simple sugar...not sure why.  So, flights and hotels are being discounted--in some cases up to 60% off high season rates--in order to entice vacationers to travel south.

Competing with Price Because people travel less in shoulder season, travel companies aren't competing with give-aways or extras. April is when they simply offer really low prices, typically for travel in April, May and June (depending on the destination). WHY? Airlines and resorts need travelers to protect their passenger loads and occupancy rates and would rather discount a little than operate a ghost town. Because airlines don't stop flying and resorts don't close, they still need people to book travel during the spring time.

A Sample of April 2010's Travel Deals [I've opted to post a sampling of spring travel deals vs 'how to find spring travel deals' because everywhere you look, travel to europe and sunny destinations is currently discounted. If you want to travel in the next 2 months, check your favourite travel website; chances are, you'll find a great trip for an excellent price.]

Packages Expedia.ca - Caribbean Sale. Save up to 50%; travel now through September 30, 2010. Book by April 27. Travelocity.ca - Hawaii Sale.  Save up to 60%; travel now through June 6, 2010.  Book by April 30.

Cruises Vacationstogo.com - save up to 75% on Caribbean and early-season Alaskan cruises. [sign up for a free account to see "90-day ticker" rates]

Flights WestJet.com - From $29 one-way. WestJet's Spring Fever sale is here: cheap flights to all destinations. Book by midnight (MT) April 14, 2010. VirginAmerica.com - From $49 one-way.  Book by April 19, 2010.  Fly with 14-day advanced purchase April 26 through June 20th.