Booking Competition Travel

[TakeTwo]

Spurred by the latest Southwest fare sale... for those of you who are thinking about OSB, Columbus is on the list of cities with low fares ($49-179 one-way).

For the budget-conscious who have an idea of their competition itineraries for the year, how do you go about booking travel? How far out do you book?

- Do you wait for fare sales? If so, do you keep record of fare sales from the previous year and count on a repeat around the same time frame (and is that actually dependable)? Do you have a self-imposed booking deadline where you book travel and accomodation no later than XX amount of time before a comp? What if there isn't a fare sale and you're stuck booking a high far last-minute?

- Do you fly one airline exclusively and travel on points (throw in credit card reward program of choice here, etc.)? If that's the case and your airline doesn't go where a competition is, is the competition off the list?

- Ever book flight/hotel together and actually save? I've never tried this but am curious.

- Any other hotel tips/strategies? I occasionally book stays during a double- or triple-point promo, but that's only by chance.

As soon as I have an idea as to where I'm going, I set up alerts on Hopper and Kayak for my flights - unfortunately neither of these pull data from Southwest, and with Hopper I can't filter out airlines I'm not interested in. I also subscribe to a couple of travel newsletters such as Travelzoo and Airfarewatchdog and the airlines/hotels where I've joined the rewards program to keep an eye out for sales.

 

[Dancey]

Depending on the location, in the past I've been able to narrow down the Hotwire hotels (the ones you can't see until you book) so that I was 99% sure it was the competition hotel. Got a great deal, although it is non-refundable, so I'd only do it if I was positive it was the right hotel, or the area was small enough that I would be close by! Lots of cross-checking prices and amenities on google and trip advisor

 

[TakeTwo]

Depending on the location, in the past I've been able to narrow down the Hotwire hotels (the ones you can't see until you book) so that I was 99% sure it was the competition hotel. Got a great deal, although it is non-refundable, so I'd only do it if I was positive it was the right hotel, or the area was small enough that I would be close by! Lots of cross-checking prices and amenities on google and trip advisor

I have always wanted to try this, but paranoid I'll end up somewhere else (and staying at the comp hotel is a huge stress reliever when traveling)! Might have to look into it for a future comp.

 

[s2k]

I'm not Daddy Warbucks by any means, and we don't fly enough to really accrue points on a particular airline. What matters to me is how many stops the flight has. I like direct flights, and I'm willing to pay a bit more for a non-stop or 1-stop. Because this varies from airline to airline, I tend to use travelocity to compare the lowest rates for nonstops or 1-stops.

I tend to buy airfare about two months out, on a Tuesday morning, as I've read that's when fares can be lowest.

We always stay at the comp venue because we're in agreement we like the low-stress method but again, we budget to be able to do this.

 

[danceamandadance]

I work in the hospitality industry and can now say I will only book either through the hotel chain's site or (preferably) directly with the hotel. I've witnessed, on the hotel end, too many issues that can cause MAJOR headaches to the guest and to the hotel (ex: our inn is small and all our outside booking sites- Expedia, etc- are set up to not allow bookings with in 24 hours of check in. Well, a glitch occurred and we had someone book a room last minute after getting stranded at the nearest airport- how you got us instead of any of the 8 million cooperate hotels between us and the airport, we'll never know. He showed up at 1am in the morning. We don't staff the front desk overnight, so he ended up sleeping on a couch in our lobby. That should have NEVER happened! Poor guy). So. I don't trust those sites. I may use them for prices, and most hotels, when you call them directly, will work with you on price. I think it also pays to talk to the staff that's on the ground, particular for this type of situation, especially if you aren't staying at a competition hotel. Good guest services will be able to tell you if they are convenient to the competition, may be able to help you figure out a good route, or help set up transportation. Operative word there being GOOD.

Travelzoo is a really great place to look for deals (and one of the few websites), but check availability with your hotel of choice before getting one of their deals.

I love Southwest and will always do my best to use them.

All of this is said with the caveat that I am a newbie dancer who has not competed yet...and my first competition next month is local-ish (I will be staying the night before and the night after I compete, just because it's an hour away and DC traffic is a BEAR). And my former competitive life often had me just getting the closest, cheapest room I could find, hoping it wasn't an hour away. Sometimes we even just camped in our horse trailers, since some venues were in the boonies!

 

[MaggieMoves]

I usually book with American Express points. Like another person here, I don't spend enough time with one airline to really accrue points... but I do put 99% of what I spend on my AmEx card. They usually let me book things which are sold out on google, so I'll take it. The price (if I were actually spending cash) is actually cheaper too.

 

[TakeTwo]

I usually book with American Express points. Like another person here, I don't spend enough time with one airline to really accrue points... but I do put 99% of what I spend on my AmEx card. They usually let me book things which are sold out on google, so I'll take it. The price (if I were actually spending cash) is actually cheaper too.

Interesting that it's cheaper to book with points. I have a different CC but will have to look into the "exchange rate" when it comes to booking reward travel.

 

[3wishes]

Hi take two. I travel a lot, not just for comps.
My younger brother is a 777 international flight captain so I had hints from him decades ago that still hold true.
1) non-stops with a first lift off in first thing in the morning are key. Typically the equipment is already at the gate from the previous evening.
2) airlines tend to buy their fuel 6-12 months out. One big reason SWA can offer the fares they do.
3) if your not sure your pro is going to go, or plans might change after you book in advance, think about travel insurance for refunds, but most airlines will give you credit towards another flight.
4) air/hotel pkgs are at times good deals, especially if your competition is during the hotels slack/shoulder season and your competing on a week day and not a Friday or Saturday.
I tend to get notified by jet blue, virgin america and SWA especially their flash sales. I make every attempt to not fly into hubs but rather a smaller airport just out of preference, I like SWA air as they go non stop from my locations to a comp location, and no charge for several things including air flight routing changes and yes I tend to remember or note the previous year time frame of their sales. Several times I've saved Pro from hundreds more in fare since he tends to book within a week of flight, but on the other hand he is savy about hotel prices and their notifications.
I've used points from Marriott hotel chains and Jet blue but for comps, more for personal travels and it has saved a lot of money on the air/hotel combo as well. Expedia is my choice for a search engine so I can eliminate what I do not want to view and I get notices from it as well. Seat guru dot com is also a great site to check out if you want to get that detailed.