A Spanish Island Idyll

PRACTICAL TRAVELER
WhentoBuyThatPlaneTicket
ByMICHELLEHIGGINS
WHEN is the best
timetobookthat
flight?It’soneof
the most fraught
decisions travelers
face, as ticket prices often
fluctuate right up to departure
time.
Recent fare analysis by the
Airlines Reporting Corporation
seems to challenge the conventional
wisdom that the earlier
youbook,thelessexpensiveyour
fare will be. In January, the corporation,
which processes ticket
transactionsforairlinesandtravel
agencies, reported that over
the past four years passengers
paidthelowestpricefordomestic
flights when buying just about
sixweeksinadvance.
To determine if that six-week
sweetspotwouldholdtrueforinternational
routes, I asked the
companytoanalyzefaresforseveraltrips,likeasummervacation
to Europe and a winter escape in
Last-minutedeals
arehardertofind
thisyear.
theCaribbean.
Not only did the six-week period
fail to stand up, but the findings
indicate that the window for
booking the cheapest ticket for
these trips has increased over
the past three years; in some
casesit’supto24weeks.
“Consumers have been getting
the best prices a bit further out
year over year,” said Chuck
Thackston, managing director of
data and analytics at the Airlines
ReportingCorporation.
Sure, it’s possible that if travelers
pull back on spending, airlines
will be forced to cut prices,
allowing travelers to nab a cheap
summer flight to, say, Barcelona,
aslittleasthreeweeksout.
“Iftheydon’tseebookingsmaterialize
the way they’d like, they
will put the route on sale,” said
Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel industryanalyst.
But Mr. Harteveldt and other
travel watchers agree that booking
well in advance is a safe bet.
So far this year, airlines have
raised rates three times, said
Rick Seaney, chief executive of
Farecompare.com, which tracks
ticket prices. “I think pricing is
going to be crazy,” particularly
thissummer,hesaid.
So if you place stock in historical
trends, the message is clear:
actnow.
For guidance, here are the
booking windows during which
passengers paid the lowest price
for flights to popular vacation
destinations last year, based on
data from the Airlines Reporting
Corporation.
EuropeinSummer
LAST YEAR’S SWEET SPOT: 21 TO
22 WEEKSIN ADVANCE You may
already be too late to score a
cheap flight to Europe this summer.
The booking window for the
cheapest tickets has moved further
out, from 11 or 12 weeks in
advance in 2009 to 21 or 22 weeks
in2011.(Averageround-tripfares
rose to about $1,500 last year
from $1,100 in 2009; this year’s
outlookisnobetter.)
To boost your savings, take the
least expensive route to Europe
you can find. Then concentrate
on getting to your ultimate stop
cheaply.
“I look into the cheapest fare
into a hub like Berlin,” said
George Hobica, founder of
Airfarewatchdog.com, which
scours the Web for bargains.
“ThenIfigureitoutfromthere.”
He said this may involve taking
the train or flying a budget
carrier like easyJet or Ryanair to
the final destination. Spanish airports
like Madrid tend to be
cheaperthanLondonorParis,he
said. Dublin and Shannon also
tend to be cheaper jumping-off
points.
Whatever you do, don’t wait
until the last minute. Last year,
average fares for tickets pur-
THENEWYORKTIMES,SUNDAY, APRIL15,2012
chased less than a week before
travel were about $2,600, almost
double the price of those bought
atleast28daysinadvance.Andif
you’revisitingLondonduringthe
Olympic Games, July 27 through
Aug.12,expecttopayapremium.
CaribbeaninWinter
LAST YEAR’S SWEET SPOT: 11 OR
12 WEEKS In 2009 and 2010, the
cheapest airfares went to procrastinators
who purchased tickets
just two weeks in advance at
a saving of about 8 percent. But
last year, the pattern took a sudden
shift, with the cheapest ticketsboughtmuchfurtherahead.
“Certainly you’ll want to start
shopping plenty early to get a
gauge on pricing,” said Mr.Seaney
of FareCompare, who recommended
hunting for airfare as
early as three months in advance,
especially for hot spots
like Costa Rica and out-of-theway
islands, which lack the airline
competition that tends to
keeppricesincheck.
BusinessorFirstClass
ToAsiaorEurope
LAST YEAR’S SWEET SPOT: 23 TO
24 WEEKS While the majority of
premium travel is purchased by
business travelers booking within
six weeks of departure, leisure
travelers with the flexibility to
buy well in advance have been
able to find bargains. Travelers
paidabout$3,113,orabout20percent
less than average, when
buying premium tickets to Asia
or Europe 23 or 24 weeks ahead
lastyear.
A good time to take advantage
oflowbusiness-classratesisduringpeakvacationtimeslikesummerorthewinterholidays.While
coach class quickly fills up with
leisure travelers, the cushy seats
at the front of the plane can be
empty. Rather than give those
seats away as upgrades, airlines
often try to fill them with sales,
accordingtoJoeBrancatelli,publisher
of the travel Web site
JoeSentMe.com, which alerts
memberstosuchsales.
For travel to Europe in summer,forexample,“itlookslikeall
gateways and all destinations between
the United States and Europe
are on sale,” he stated in a
recent newsletter, with roundtrip
business classprices as low
as $2,327 from Newark to Brussels
and $2,359 from New York to
Frankfurt, if booked by May 31.
But, he warned, “Fares seem to
be higher in August than in July,
and there are some days when
prices soar above $4,000 round
tripfromtheEastCoast.”
GeneralTips
LEO ACADIA
Beyond historical trends, there
are also some useful online tools
that can help you evaluate fares.
For example, Bing.com offers a
Price Predictor that uses algorithms
to determine how likely a
fare is to rise or fall during the
next seven days. It applies to
flights from more than 250 cities
in the United States and to top
domestic destinations and major
hubsinEurope.
If you decide to wait in the
hopes of a price drop, sign up for
fare alerts offered by practically
every travel site, from American
Airlines to Travelzoo. Yapta.com,
another price-tracking service,
alerts travelers when the price of
theirplaneticketsdropafterpurchase,
allowing travelers to request
an airline voucher for the
pricedifference.
For the cheapest dates to fly,
go to Itasoftware.com, which allows
you to scan an entire
month’s worth of fares. To buy,
you must go to the airline’s Web
siteoronlineagencieslikeTravelocity.
Finally, buying two one-way
fares on separate airlines can be
cheaper than the best round-trip
price. Kayak.com calls such tickets
“hacker fares.” A recent
searchonthesiteforaflightfrom
Boston to San Juan, P.R., turned
up a fare of $313 on Delta to San
Juan, returning on US Airways,
comparedwith$349roundtripon
USAirwaysalone. Æ
Q&A
AHotelInsider
SharesSecrets
AnthonyMelchiorriof“HotelImpossible.”
THINKofAnthonyMelchiorriasacapeless
crusaderforailinghotels,swoopingintotroubledpropertiesandconjuringcures.Heisthehostanddrivingforcebehind“HotelImpossible,”anewshowontheTravelChannel,and
fixingwhatailshotelsisaskillhehasbeenhoningover
decadesintheindustry.AsgeneralmanageroftheiconicAlgonquininNewYork,heoversawamajorrenovationofthebuildinganditsimage.Heisalsoaformer
vicepresidentofTishmanHotelsandisthefounderof
ArgeoHospitality,ahotelmanagementandconsulting
firm.
Hereareexcerptsfromaconversationabouthowto
findagreathotelandwhattoexpect—andsometimes
demand—fromit. RACHELLEEHARRIS
Q.What’sthebesthotelyoueverstayedin?
A.Acleanone.
Q.Whataresomeofyourfavorites?
A.IlovetheVenetianinLasVegas,Shuttersonthe
BeachinSantaMonica.TheWaldorf-Astoria—what
EricLong,thegeneralmanager,hasbeendoingthereis
justtremendous.Andwhodoesn’tlovethePlaza?
WhenIleft,IliterallycriedbecauseIdidn’twantto
leavethatbuilding.
Q.Anyboutiquehotelsonyourlist?
A.TheBenjamin,hereinNewYork,andanyofthe
Kimptonhotels—theyreallyknowhowtotreattheir
customersandtheyarealwaysonthecuttingedgeof
conserving.
Forbusinesstravel,three-starhotelsaredoinga
muchbetterjob.They’regettingbettermattresses,
they’recleaner,andtheyaretheonesgivingyoucomplimentaryInternetandwater.Istilldon’tunderstand
whyfive-starhotelschargeyouforInternet,when
that’sthebiggestcomplaintcorporatetravelershavein
theindustry.IdemandfreeInternetorIwon’tgoback.
Q.What’sthebestwaytofindagreathotel?
A.Goonlineandlookatreviews.Ifindthemtobeextraordinarilyaccurate.Gotothird-partyWebsites,
oyster.comorTripAdvisor.
Q.Willpeoplegetbetterdealsthroughathirdparty?
A.Attheendoftheday, bookonthehotel’sWebsite.If
youfindadealonanothersite,youwillrarelyfindit
higheratthehotel’s,andyou’llhavemoreflexibility
withreservations.
Q.Wherecantravelersfindthebestdeals?
A.Socialmediaisbigrightnow.Notalotofpeopleare
bookingthere,butthegoodboutiquehotelsaredoing
promosontheirFacebooksitesandonTwitter.
Q.Anytipsforhowtogetagoodrate?
A.Checkthecompetitors.Ifyouchecktheratesata
comparablehotelandtheyarelower,thehotelwilloften
meettheircompetitor’sprice.
Q.What’sthebestwaytogetanupgrade?
A.Alwayspackyoursmile.Afrontdeskagenthasalot
ofcontroloverwhatroomyouhave,soalwaysbepolite
nomatterhowbadyourtriphasbeen.Theymighttryto
up-sellyouandofferabetterroomatadiscountedrate.
Or,ifyou’rereallynice,theymightgiveyouacomplimentaryupgrade,withthehopethatyou’llreturn.
Q.Whoandwhenshouldyoutip?
A.Tipyourhousekeepereverydaybecauseit’snotalwaysthesamepersoncleaningyourroom.Ifit’sa
three-starhotel,give$3or$4;ifit’safour-star,givea
littlebitmore;ifit’safive-staryoucanafford$20or$30
aday.Adoormanmakesanhourlywageandit’sless
thananyoneelse’sinthehotel.Ifhedoeshisjobandis
makingmylifeeasier,Ialwaystiphim.
Q.Willyougetbetterserviceifyoutiptheconcierge?
A.Agoodconciergedoesnotexpectatip.Inbigcities,
theywon’tputyouinabetterrestaurantbecauseofa
tip.Ifyou’retryingtogetintothebestrestaurantin
townorgetticketstoaBroadwayshow,alittletipup
frontdoesn’thurt.
TR 3