The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
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How do you know a holiday bargain really is a bargain? Here are my three strategies…
LCONSUMER TRAVEL EXPERT
ast week I was arguing that, despite all the current political and economic uncertainty, this could still be the best month to buy your holiday. The point was taken up by one of our readers, Ian from East Sussex, who emailed to say he remained unconvinced. How, he asked, could he be sure that the seasonal offers he was getting from websites and tour operators really did represent a good deal?
It’s a fair point: holiday pricing is now so opaque, fluid and confusing and “special offers” so ubiquitous that the customer is often left floundering. Everything we book, from hotels and packages to flights and car hire, seems to be discounted in some way – and any concept of a standard price against which you can judge relative value is long lost.
This phenomenon is not just restricted to travel, of course. I tend to buy shoes from the same shop which regularly holds “up to 50 per cent off ” sales. As a result, each time I walk away from the premises I think I have got a bargain. If I had any sense, I would realise that since every pair I buy has been marked down, the real price is much lower. (In fact, now I think about it, I have a nagging feeling that the shoes I bought last week were distinctly overpriced, even after the discount).
In effect, we are buying in a free-forall market place, constantly assailed with questionable incentives, never sure if sellers who have just closed the deal are rubbing their hands under the desk in delight, or smiling through gritted teeth. So Ian is definitely right to be wary. And buying holidays is particularly difficult because prices are so fluid and so unpredictable; because they are expensive; and because we buy them relatively rarely, we tend not to be in touch with the way prices are moving.
But there are at least three strategies you can use to try to keep your head straight and blot out some of the noise and confusion. The first of these sounds obvious enough, but as I found out when buying that last pair of shoes, it is easy to lose your
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grip on. Quite simply, take a good look at the bottom line price (including all extras) and – putting all supposed deals, discounts and incentives out of your mind – ask yourself whether it seems reasonably fair?
The second strategy you may find more controversial, but it nevertheless helps me to stay sane. It’s important not to obsess about getting the lowest possible price. That way madness lies, for one thing – you will never know whether you really have got the best possible deal. But also, by focusing purely on price, you risk forgetting about the concept of value.
This week, I paid extra to rent a car through a firm that I know to offer particularly good customer service. It cost me 10 per cent (£35) more than the very cheapest deal available, but I believe I got better value. And I
JANE ARCHER
CRUISE EXPERT
Antiques Roadshow can relax, knowing that if anything goes wrong I will be able to speak to someone reasonable, rather than battle with a faceless website that may not even have a customer service department, let alone a telephone number.
The third strategy – which is technically covered by number one, but is still worth considering separately – is to be wary of certain pricing complexities or apparent incentives, over and above specific “discounts”. These are particularly prevalent at this time of year, as the travel industry tries to make its deals look as attractive as possible. In particular beware low-deposit offers and “free child places”.
The former are a subtle ploy to tempt you into booking, without feeling you have made too much of a