China is one of those places where there has long been a real appeal to being on a tour. Having expert help to organize the logistics (and a bilingual guide on the ground) takes some of the anxiety out of visiting what can be a fairly overwhelming country.
When Allison Fagerness' flight to Rome is canceled, she's forced to call off her vacation and return home. Her online travel agent, Expedia, promises a refund, but her airline, Alitalia, won't pay. What should she do?
A couple of years ago, online travel-booking sites such as Expedia and Travelocity began issuing service-related manifestos -- the idea being that you could contact them with problems before or during your trip, much like you would a travel agent. But read further, and you'll discover that these are promises to provide good customer service, and aren't built to protect you from the fees and penalties you may incur due to last-minute cancellations.
For years, I've persuaded my family that it's my very important job that causes me to put off booking trips. But the real problem is twofold: I'm often convinced that if I plan too far ahead, something better will come along; and I'm as addicted as an online gambler to last-minute offers.
Travelers treat searching for hotel rates online like a game of roulette: try enough combinations (dates, locations, travel agencies), and you'll score the perfect one. But it's easy to forget that booking a room through an online travel agency means that if you need to change your travel dates or find a better deal, you may pay a penalty, often upward of $25. Add to this the fact that hotels don't reward loyalty points for stays reserved through discount booking sites, and that bargain-basement price doesn't look so appealing. Avoid pitfalls by following these approaches:
I don't know how innkeepers do it.
Our anonymous confessor has been in airline public relations, marketing and customer relations for a decade now.
It's increasingly popular--and surprisingly affordable--to set sail with the kids in tow. Find out ways to save when planning, booking, and cruising.
Holiday travelers are as likely to have record high oil prices bite them at 30,000 feet as they are at the gas pump.
Expedia confirms a reservation for one night in a New York hotel. But there's just one problem: the booking doesn't exist. That leaves one unhappy traveler homeless for the night -- and Janice Japa, the person who made the booking, is trying in vain to get her money back.
China is one of those places where there has long been a real appeal to being on a tour. Having expert help to organize the logistics (and a bilingual guide on the ground) takes some of the anxiety out of visiting what can be a fairly overwhelming country.
When Allison Fagerness' flight to Rome is canceled, she's forced to call off her vacation and return home. Her online travel agent, Expedia, promises a refund, but her airline, Alitalia, won't pay. What should she do?
A couple of years ago, online travel-booking sites such as Expedia and Travelocity began issuing service-related manifestos -- the idea being that you could contact them with problems before or during your trip, much like you would a travel agent. But read further, and you'll discover that these are promises to provide good customer service, and aren't built to protect you from the fees and penalties you may incur due to last-minute cancellations.
For years, I've persuaded my family that it's my very important job that causes me to put off booking trips. But the real problem is twofold: I'm often convinced that if I plan too far ahead, something better will come along; and I'm as addicted as an online gambler to last-minute offers.
Travelers treat searching for hotel rates online like a game of roulette: try enough combinations (dates, locations, travel agencies), and you'll score the perfect one. But it's easy to forget that booking a room through an online travel agency means that if you need to change your travel dates or find a better deal, you may pay a penalty, often upward of $25. Add to this the fact that hotels don't reward loyalty points for stays reserved through discount booking sites, and that bargain-basement price doesn't look so appealing. Avoid pitfalls by following these approaches:
I don't know how innkeepers do it.
Our anonymous confessor has been in airline public relations, marketing and customer relations for a decade now.
It's increasingly popular--and surprisingly affordable--to set sail with the kids in tow. Find out ways to save when planning, booking, and cruising.
Holiday travelers are as likely to have record high oil prices bite them at 30,000 feet as they are at the gas pump.
Expedia confirms a reservation for one night in a New York hotel. But there's just one problem: the booking doesn't exist. That leaves one unhappy traveler homeless for the night -- and Janice Japa, the person who made the booking, is trying in vain to get her money back.
It would be easy to imagine Reno, Ohio, as the type of place that would be hit hardest by outsourcing - a small American town losing out to the invisible hand shifting jobs to places like Bangalore and Guangzhou. Instead, outsourcing is bringing the jobs to Reno. Across the street from an Army Reserve center and next to a farm, a customer-service call center hums, its 250 workers answering phones for online travel agency Expedia. The center's owner? Indian conglomerate Tata Group.
Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp. posted disappointing quarterly results on Tuesday on lower revenue at its key HSN shopping channel and unexpected weakness at its Ticketmaster box office service, sending shares down more than 5 percent.
Expedia Inc. said Monday it was cutting its plan to buy back its own shares by almost 80 percent, blaming a lack of attractive financing available in credit markets.
Shares of Orbitz Worldwide Inc. Friday fell more than 3 percent in their market debut in what may be an ominous sign for the online travel agency, which has changed hands four times in four years.
Beth Zukowski books six airline tickets on AirTran Airways through Expedia. The online agency charges her a booking fee and bills her for flight protection insurance, but fails to buy her tickets. The reason? Her credit card was declined, it says. But her credit card company disputes the story. Now AirTran wants her to pay more than $200 extra to buy new tickets. What should she do?
Stocks failed to find their footing Tuesday morning after a mixed reading on housing starts and disappointing corporate results - despite a dip in the price of oil.
Not again!
Unless you're looking to buy a new home right now, you may be having a hard time imagining the upside to the bursting of the real estate bubble. Well, here's one: There are a lot more places to rent at the beach.
While the average traveler is as comfortable reserving a flight online as he or she is buying a book at Amazon, cruise sales are still largely the domain of travel agents. Only 8 percent of passengers book cruises online. But now that you can buy cruises through online agencies such as Expedia, and the meta-search engines Kayak and SideStep make it easy to do research, it's time to reevaluate your approach.
On the night of the French Presidential election, CNN followed the work of popular French bloggers. You can find background on each below, along with links to their blogs.
This is what usually happens the first time you visit Zillow.com: You type in your address to check out the Zestimate, an approximation of your home's market value. It appears in a little pop-up su...
Airfares rise and fall in ways that are impossible to predict -- until now, according to a company called Farecast. Its crystal ball is historical airfare data -- some 150 billion (and counting) "airfare observations" -- that the company uses to deduce whether prices will go up or down on a particular route. Farecast is just one of several Web sites taking aim at answering the age-old travel question of when you should buy an airline ticket. We tested the sites over the course of several weeks to answer an equally important question: Can they actually do what they promise?
Money Magazine writer and travel expert Donna Rosato lets novices in on what the pros already know - flying in style is easier than you think.
From cell phone use to high-speed Internet access, the connected life is spreading to the skies.
See the travel secrets gallery
CNN's "American Morning" helps navigate the latest airport security rules and shows travelers how to get the best deals, whether it's a trip to a spa or a family vacation to Disney World.
It's going to be the busiest Thanksgiving travel period ever. There will be 25 million people taking to the skies and over 38 million hitting the highways.
When a major storm hits the Caribbean, most airlines and hotels eventually wind up waiving the usual restrictions so that customers can change or cancel their plans free of charge. But because policies have traditionally been announced on a case-by-case basis -- and at the last minute -- you had little choice but to wait and cross your fingers. Now, after two brutal hurricane seasons, a few airlines and tour operators have taken steps to ease travelers' concerns.
It's nearly August and if you haven't planned your summer vacation yet, you're not alone: 64% of leisure travelers plan at least one of their getaways within two weeks of taking the trip and 26% plan all their vacations at the last minute, according to a poll by the Travel Industry Association.
As summer heats up, more business travelers are veering off their regular schedules for some much-needed time off.
Hotels.com -- to pick just one major booking engine -- says it allows customers to search among and make reservations at "more than 25,000 properties worldwide." Sounds impressive, until you realize the United States alone has more than 47,000 hotels with at least 20 rooms.
The 6% real estate commission has been under assault awhile, but the hits just keep coming - and are getting more sophisticated. Three Internet upstarts are the latest to take a shot.
When it comes to taking vacation days, a third of U.S. workers apparently aren't members of the clean-plate club.
As long-distance revenues plummet and customers disconnect phone lines in favor of cell phones and VOIP, DSL has provided burgeoning broadband revenues for local phone companies. But could DSL be slowing down? Business 2.0 senior writer Om Malik notes that, according to research by investment bank UBS, fewer households are signing up for DSL as a percentage of homes where the service is available. That has AT&T, for one, scrambling to provide other options, including satellite broadband, high-speed fixed wireless connections, and fiber-optic lines. The new initiatives could help AT&T serve another 11.5 million households, the company estimates.
There's a saying in the private jet business: If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it. But it's possible to charter your own jet without spending a fortune.
Flyby Math
Long days and a light dusting of pollen are sure signs that summer vacation is just around the corner. With hotel rates on the rise, you can find the best deals if you use the right strategies.
Airfares are up and there are fewer seats up for grabs. And if that isn't enough, airlines are padding their fares with some extra "gotchas".
Say "goodbye" to appraisers -- and possibly real estate agents. At least that's the promise of Zillow.com, launched Wednesday, which is headed by the founder of Internet travel company Expedia.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Google. Yahoo! eBay. Amazon. You know what all these Internet giants do.
During the winter doldrums, we all tend to hibernate a little bit. But now is the ideal time to start thinking about your summer vacation.
Does preparing for the holidays make you wish you could just hop on the next plane to Hawaii?
A group of Icelandic executives, tired of wasting hours looking for low-cost flights on travel Web sites, have taken matters into their own hands by building their own portal, which now looks poised to challenge the industry's giants.
FREQUENT FLIERS OF THE world, unite! Or at least get to know each other, says Peter Shankman, a publicist/entrepreneur who flies more than 150,000 miles a year. Shankman says he's tired of "sitting...
In August, InterActiveCorp spun off Expedia, and in a reverse stock split, shareholders were given one share of each for every two shares of IAC stock. Both Expedia (EXPE) and IAC shares are down s...
You've researched, reserved and deposited. Losing it all to an unforeseen event or illness would be disappointing -- not to mention expensive.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Expedia is back.
If you're dreaming of one last getaway while the weather is still nice, dwindling crowds and low airfares make this a good time to plan that trip.
Had a bad trip? It could have been a delayed flight, a cruise from hell, a hotel room in need of an exterminator...whatever the complaint, we hear you.
Search aggregators and supplier Web sites are continually changing the rules of online travel, and staying on top of these trends can help you make the most of your online reservations.
Does anyone actually take vacations anymore? Pack up the wife, Alice, and the kids, go to the Grand Canyon, get lost, meet an Indian boy named Jimmy?
With Memorial Day around the corner, many are going online to research and plan their next trip. Now might also be a good time to look at one company that could stand to benefit as eager consumers rush to book flights and hotel rooms.
Which would you rather have: more time off or a $5,000 raise? When the folks at Salary.com first posed this question in 2001, 33% of respondents said they'd want more time. The rest said, "Show me ...
Which would you rather have: more time off or a $5,000 raise? When the folks at Salary.com first posed this question in 2001, 33 percent of respondents said they'd want more time. The rest said, "Show me the money."
Since building InterActiveCorp into an Internet giant, Barry Diller has been dogged by a persistent question: What's it all about? With businesses ranging from online travel to TV shopping to inter...
In an increasingly do-it-yourself world, more of us are becoming DIY travel agents. Online-travel revenues hit $54 billion last year—a quarter of all industry bookings—with $24 billion of that goin...
There's a saying in Italian, dolce far niente, which means it is "sweet to do nothing."
Winter has gotten to you.
Stocks climbed early Tuesday as strong quarterly earnings from two large Wall Street banks helped cheer investors looking for a traditional 'Santa Claus' rally.
Investors will be looking to see if there'll be a 'Santa Claus' rally after all this year with just four days left until Christmas, following the market's big run up since late October.
Getting ready for the holidays is bound to involve some shopping, whether it's finding a perfect gift, a festive outfit or decorations and refreshments to prepare for the season's guests.
It's well known that deeply depressed stocks often enjoy a rally as the year comes to a close. This used to be called the "January effect," but the phenomenon has occurred as early as November in recent years.
Within Barry Diller's online empire, InterActiveCorp, there's no business more vital than IAC Travel—which makes Erik Blachford his most important lieutenant. Overseeing Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwir...
Alfred Dominick knew it was time to switch travel agencies when, during a business trip, he found himself stranded in Newport, N.H., without a hotel room. Turns out the agency had booked him into a...
Online travel stocks enjoyed a nice takeoff Wednesday after news that Cendant agreed to buy Orbitz for about $1.2 billion.
If anyone could get you a sweet deal on a vacation to Rome, you'd think it would be New Jersey-based Perillo Tours. After all, the company's website says it "pioneered the concept of the package to...
Worries about a supply shortage that sent crude oil prices soaring left U.S. stocks stumbling in early trade Wednesday.
Online travel giants are ratcheting up their spending to attract more customers. And that has Wall Street worried.
One day last Fall 400 investors and analysts gathered on Wall Street to hear a full day of presentations given by Barry Diller and the cadre of top executives at his Internet company, InterActiveC...
For travelers, it is the best of times. Discount airlines are rapidly expanding, bringing their low fares, simple pricing, and perks like extra legroom and live TV to dozens of cities and hundreds ...
Once focused on out-of-the-way airports and flying short distances, discount carriers are swooping into territory that was once exclusively dominated by majors. In the process, they're bringing fares down 30 percent to 50 percent compared with two or three years ago.
Is there such a thing as a cheap Internet stock?
The recent spate of good news confirms that the U.S. economy is on track for a full recovery. Real gross domestic product expanded at an 8.2% annual rate in the third quarter--the fastest pace in 2...
When booking a business trip or vacation online, most people spend hours concentrating on getting the lowest airfare or the cheapest hotel room just to save 10 bucks here, or 20 bucks there.
PENALTY POINTS
WHAT'S THAT CREAKING NOISE? The days are dark and cold, and everything and everybody seems worn down--that's the sound of midwinter.
--These days, it's been easier than ever to find a great travel deal: SARS in Asia and Canada, a backlash against the French that sent tourism in France reeling, a tough economy that left many Amer...
DOUBLE THE FUN Believe it or not, you can hit the links and the slopes on the same day. The catch is that skiable runs can be limited this time of year--but the prices compensate for that. For $169...
Any avid reader of the business press has seen endless variations on this tired theme: Internet business is dead. It was all a dot-con, and it dot-bombed.
Online booking sites were a boon to "rogue" travelers who didn't want to listen to a travel agent. Now sites like Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity want to cater to a business clientele, notably sma...
For truer car-rental price comparisons, head to Travelocity.com. Unlike Expedia and Orbitz, the site now quotes a rental price that includes taxes and fees. The service is especially valuable if yo...
Sure, browse the brochures for a glossy glimpse of paradise -- just ignore the prices. As with hotels, there's no reason to pay list. Here's how to get the most for your cruise dollars.
When Delta announced in March that it would eliminate travel agent commissions, and five major carriers followed suit, you probably figured the move would cost you money. You were right. Expect to ...
If you were teaching Investing 101, here's the first thing you would probably warn your students: Never, ever, go near an Internet stock. Between April 2000 and October 2001, the Morgan Stanley Int...
You've no doubt heard stories about what it's been like to travel since Sept. 11. Interminable lines snaking through airports. Rifle-toting National Guardsmen. Random bag checks and body searches. ...
This was supposed to be the year of one-stop online shopping for airline tickets. No longer would we have to slog through countless websites to find the best deal, we were told. We could simply go ...
It started with Los Angeles. I needed to get there and back, and quickly. So I called my travel agent, and she punched in my itinerary. About 96 seconds later I had an aisle seat on a major airline...
Forget air rage. Nowadays airport rage may be the more prevalent syndrome. One out of every four flights is delayed, canceled or diverted, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT), and f...
Getting travel advice from the Internet doesn't have to end when you leave home. With a cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA) as your travel companion, you can tap into the Net for mapping...
If it sometimes seems that there are more travel-related websites than places to travel to, well, it's indeed nearly the case: According to Web research group PhoCusWright, there are now more than ...
The struggle between old-fashioned travel agencies and Internet travel sites such as Travelocity and Microsoft's Expedia has been among the bitterest of the collisions between the new and old econo...
It seems everywhere you turn, someone's getting a deal on an airline ticket. An auctioned fare. A last-minute fare. A dirt-cheap fare. For any particular flight, there are a multitude of ticket pri...
Pity the travel agent. Not only have airlines been slicing their commissions thinner than the mystery meat on an in-flight sandwich, they've also had to contend with an assault from online travel s...
With companies cutting costs in order to boost earnings by every last penny, business travel has come under heavy scrutiny. Corporations have issued long lists of restrictions and slashed executive...
When it comes to helping drivers reach their vacation destinations, TripTiks--those individually tailored, compact but gloriously detailed maps from AAA--have long been the gold standard. As a free...
Last year Web surfers booked over $900 million in travel reservations. That's less than 1% of the total travel market for 1997. But Jupiter Communications predicts that total online travel sales wi...
There are a few things you can say with confidence about the CEO of a typical big American company--he's rich, white, and Republican, for instance. Now you can add another: Increasingly, he's afrai...
Shopping hasn't changed too much since stripmalls transformed the roadsides of America. Catalogs, which have been around for a century, are convenient, but for most of us shopping still means getti...
E-commerce seems like gee-whiz stuff, but when it works, it's simple. Think of Amazon.com, Microsoft's Expedia travel Website, or the Wall Street Journal's wsj.com. Each makes it easy to buy someth...
With all the hype about online stores such as bookseller Amazon.com, which recently raised $54 million in an initial public offering of stock, you may be wondering if it's time to take the plunge a...
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