Travelocity posts

Travelocity Canada in-house travel expert Brian Simpson says that while there are great deals out there for last-minute travellers, people still need to be aware and alert, especially when purchasing a trip for a special occasion.

Whether its a business trip or a week-long vacation, its becoming rare for many of us to walk in the doors of a travel agency and work with a travel agent.

According to a recent survey by Swedish travel website Tripl, social media is rapidly changing the way we view travel. Tripl's Social Travel Revolution analyzed how travelers using Facebook and Twitter, as well as how access to the internet is changing.

The numbers reveal that we're all getting more connected, checking our fave social media sites and more than likely to do it from a mobile phone than any other electronic accessory. According to Tripl, 72 per cent of us access social media daily when we're traveling.

But does that preclude expert advice?

While everyone is focused on gathering together family and friends for the holiday season, are you the one watching for the deal to get out of town? For many of us, escaping the whirl of parties and shopping is best done by boarding a plane and taking a vacation.

With numerous options such as Travelocity.ca, Expedia.ca, Cheapflights.ca, Travelzoo.ca and Travellastminute.ca, there's no shortage of websites offering up deals - so where are the best places to go?

Ah, summer! How long do we, as Canadians, wait for the long, lazy days of summer? The kids are out of school, the office is a little quieter, and many of us just can't wait to get away. In fact, these are peak travel months. Last summer was a bit of a downer for the travel industry (not surprising, considering what the economy was like at the time), and many airlines and hotels were offering deep discounts to entice travellers. That's not the case this year. A recent Travelocity study showed that 49% more people plan to travel this summer than last. This increase in travel means we can say goodbye to those wonderful discounts.

If you're hoping to travel for less, there is an option. Discount travel sites like Hotwire, Travelocity, and LastMinuteTravel.com are easy to use and offer better prices than you'll get directly from any hotel or airline. Like travel agents, discount travel sites have partnerships with hotels, airlines, and rental car companies. Unlike travel agents, these sites are mostly selling excess inventory. In other words, hotel rooms, seats on flights, and rental cars that would otherwise be empty because nobody bought them. Ideally, everybody wins with these sites. The travel partner gets to unload the excess inventory, you pay a discounted price, and the discount travel site makes a sale.