Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[East Coast Flame]

Agreed, AirBNB has been pretty much all I have used for about two years now. Used it all over Europe last summer and it was fantastic.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by fotze

I use VRBO, is AirBNB the same thing but nicer looking?

AirBNB is certainly shinier and newer with a slicker, easier to use interface than VRBO (in my opinion).

The biggest difference might be the demographics of people attracted to listing their property on VRBO. Whereas VRBO kind of became known for weekly rentals of someone's vacation home in a business-like fashion, I think AirBNB initially attracted (and made it possible) for people to to rent out a room in a place they actually live in, and for as short as 1 night.

You can almost think of it as AirBNB making it possible for the 'amateurs' to rent out their accommodations vs the 'professionals' on VRBO.

But I'd say AirBNB has since grown beyond that, to attract all types of listings, from renting just a room in someone's house for one night, to a whole house/apartment/cabin/castle/cave to yourself for a week or a month.

I would guess a lot of the 'professionals' who list their place with VRBO now list on AirBNB as well, as it's popularity grows. (Unless perhaps the listing fees are a lot more on AirBNB ?)

VRBO made it possible to choose browse a variety of vacation homes & apartments, usually in markets or areas where you would find a lot of vacation homes. I would say one difference AirBNB has made is that it's now tempting people to stay in someone's apartment or home, in markets or areas where one would normally have chosen a hotel (downtown urban areas for example).

On AirBNB, I'd say there's a higher chance of finding a gem of a deal. I find the prices aren't always as efficient as they are on VRBO. That could be one effect of so-called 'amateurs' pricing out their place, vs the professionals.

One other reason a lot of people seem to like AirBNB over VRBO is that they hold the payments in escrow, and release them to the owner after your stay. As opposed to using VRBO, where each owner has their own payment terms. Some ask for all of the money up front; others 50% up front. Some demand cash. Booking on AirBNB feels more like booking with a standard hotel site. Every listing has the same process, enter your dates, credit card info, and you're done.

But on either site, I would say the key is definitely to rent a well reviewed place, to avoid mishaps.

[Ozy_Flame]

BTW, if any of you are in the reverse situation and want to sublet your place while you're gone for a few months, flatbook.co is a great resource. They're a Canadian startup as well.

http://www.flatbook.co

[BBQorMILDEW]

What's the best and cheapest to fly to Dubai?

I'm thinking December would be amazing.

[DeanOMac]

Hey Chris or if anyone happens to be a frequent Toronto flyer,

I am looking at non-stop flights to Toronto, from Calgary, during the Christmas season and don't really have any flexibility (World Juniors trip). I can appreciate that time of year is always quite busy and therefore there aren't a lot of sales or deals to be had.

The current quote for a round trip flight with the dates and times I want is ~$800 (i.e. morning depature and arrival) or ~$660 if I sacrifice the time, but keep the dates.

My question is, do you think there is any chance at all that between now and December these flights could get any cheaper, even by $100, or should I just bite the bullet and book at whatever I can get, given it is the Christmas season?

Thanks in advance.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by DeanOMac

Hey Chris or if anyone happens to be a frequent Toronto flyer,

I am looking at non-stop flights to Toronto, from Calgary, during the Christmas season and don't really have any flexibility (World Juniors trip). I can appreciate that time of year is always quite busy and therefore there aren't a lot of sales or deals to be had.

The current quote for a round trip flight with the dates and times I want is ~$800 (i.e. morning depature and arrival) or ~$660 if I sacrifice the time, but keep the dates.

My question is, do you think there is any chance at all that between now and December these flights could get any cheaper, even by $100, or should I just bite the bullet and book at whatever I can get, given it is the Christmas season?

Thanks in advance.

Personally, I think it's just too hard to predict whether a fare will fluctuate by $100. Even if someone were to offer a prediction, what is the percentage chance of it being correct?

I can tell you that ...

A) Calgary-Toronto is one of the top 5 routes traveled from YYC, and with 2 airlines monopolizing this popular route full-time, prices don't generally budge a whole lot, and genuine sales are rare, even on low demand dates.

and

B) The dates between December 20 and January 7 are where price drops go to die. Of the entire year, this is the date range the airlines are the most reluctant to relent on their prices.

and

C) Promo codes from WestJet/AC will never apply to Christmas dates. Nor will WestJet's Blue Tag Thursdays.

There's probably a much better chance of a price going up by $100 around Christmas dates, than down by $100. If I were betting on it at a casino, I'd probably put my money on Up.

But that being said, one just never knows! Even the airlines don't know, until they see what the demand has been like at the price levels they've set for individual dates.

You could look at booking with Flight Network. I've heard genuinely positive reports from people about their 'Price Drop Protection' (which are often a marketing scam that are impossible to redeem). Might want to make sure your fare would be covered by their terms & conditions though.

[cmyden]

YYC Deals Alert: Calgary to Las Vegas - $259 roundtrip including taxes, direct flights

Recent promo codes from our nation's two airlines, combined with some already pretty low prices on this route, are resulting in some cheap non-stop flight prices from YYC to LAS today.

Good deal if you can stand the sweltering summer Vegas heat!

WestJet's '30% off' Las Vegas Promo Code:

Promo code: WJP35
Coupon code: BXBVSAB
Book by: June 20, 2014 (2:00 p.m. MT)
Travel from: July 3 to September 30, 2014
link: http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...t1-bt-20140619


Air Canada's '30% off' Las Vegas Promo Code:

Promo code: 30LAS
Book by: June 20, 2014 (2:00 p.m. MT)
Travel from: July 3 to September 30, 2014
link: http://www.aircanada.com/en/offers/air/discount/discount2.html?icid=fl|achome|las_ny|caen|140619|t xt#YYC-US

more details: http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-l...direct-flights

-

[DeanOMac]

Thanks Chris, pretty much confirms that I should just book now. I will look into flight network.

Originally Posted by cmyden

Personally, I think it's just too hard to predict whether a fare will fluctuate by $100. Even if someone were to offer a prediction, what is the percentage chance of it being correct?

I can tell you that ...

A) Calgary-Toronto is one of the top 5 routes traveled from YYC, and with 2 airlines monopolizing this popular route full-time, prices don't generally budge a whole lot, and genuine sales are rare, even on low demand dates.

and

B) The dates between December 20 and January 7 are where price drops go to die. Of the entire year, this is the date range the airlines are the most reluctant to relent on their prices.

and

C) Promo codes from WestJet/AC will never apply to Christmas dates. Nor will WestJet's Blue Tag Thursdays.

There's probably a much better chance of a price going up by $100 around Christmas dates, than down by $100. If I were betting on it at a casino, I'd probably put my money on Up.

But that being said, one just never knows! Even the airlines don't know, until they see what the demand has been like at the price levels they've set for individual dates.

You could look at booking with Flight Network. I've heard genuinely positive reports from people about their 'Price Drop Protection' (which are often a marketing scam that are impossible to redeem). Might want to make sure your fare would be covered by their terms & conditions though.

[malcolmk14]

Booked NYC today for August 11-22.

[mdubz]

Hey Chris, any good deals to Mexico in mid-july for around 700-800 per person? (Cancun preferred)

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Looking for honeymoon all-inclusive destination/resort recommendations.

Looking to go for 4-5 nights (Tues Aug 19 to Sat Aug 23 preferably, possible to go as early as Monday and come back as late as Sunday). Looking for about ~$2,000 total (for the 2 of us) or up to as much as $2,500.

Anybody know of any good places, or suggestions with this criteria?

If anyone knows, please let me know, thanks!

[Flabbibulin]

Anyone ever used Allegiant Air of the States before? Thinking of booking a flight/hotel combo, but some pretty nasty reviews online. As is the case most of the time, people more likely to write bad reviews than good ones, but still curious...

[brocoli]

For comfort Allegiant isn't great. But you get what you pay for. You pay for EVERYTHING. We have used them for trips to Phoenix as well as Las Vegas. They are great for the price and have always been on time (probably just jinxed myself for my next trip).

[tvp2003]

Do a search for Allegiant in this thread; I think it was also discussed in the Las Vegas thread.

For us, we've used it twice and both times had no major issues. Just understand that you will pay extra for everything, so don't assume it's included and then write a bad review when you find out nothing is. We even bought a luggage scale to make sure our luggage wasn't overweight (and it wasn't -- barely), or else you'll pay extra.

One other important tip -- I would check in very early (i.e. 1.5 hours before your flight) because you don't want to be left stranded (I understand the staff will stop checking in people 45 minutes prior to departure because those same staff will be the ones manning the gate to let people onto the plane).

[cmyden]

Calgary to Paris or Amsterdam | $793 roundtrip including taxes

This morning Air Canada unexpectedly dropped the price of their flights from Calgary to Paris, France (CDG) and Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) down to $793 roundtrip including taxes.

It's been a *long* time since Calgary has seen sub-$800 flights to Paris or Amsterdam. What's even more interesting is that these prices are available for September travel (the airlines usually don't like to discount Europe flights that take place before October).

There are even some decent prices around Christmas dates (although it looks like you need to depart by December 16).

Overall the cheaper fares look to be available between mid September 2014 and December 2014.

full details: http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-p...ncluding-taxes

[stazzy33]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Calgary to Paris or Amsterdam | $793 roundtrip including taxes

This morning Air Canada unexpectedly dropped the price of their flights from Calgary to Paris, France (CDG) and Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) down to $793 roundtrip including taxes.

It's been a *long* time since Calgary has seen sub-$800 flights to Paris or Amsterdam. What's even more interesting is that these prices are available for September travel (the airlines usually don't like to discount Europe flights that take place before October).

There are even some decent prices around Christmas dates (although it looks like you need to depart by December 16).

Overall the cheaper fares look to be available between mid September 2014 and December 2014.

full details: http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-p...ncluding-taxes

Chris, do you foresee KLM trying to match these prices? A direct flight to Amsterdam would be a lot more appealing.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by stazzy33

Chris, do you foresee KLM trying to match these prices? A direct flight to Amsterdam would be a lot more appealing.

Unfortunately I don't think this one was around long enough for KLM to match. Sometimes you'll see an airline match after a fare has gone back up. I'll be sure to mention it on here if I see KLM matching.

[stazzy33]

Flights to Paris, France and Frankfurt, Germany are down to $600 - $700 on KLM right now. If you ever wanted to go to Europe this would be a great way to do it. Plus I think KLM allows you a free stopover in Amsterdam on your way there or back.

https://www.google.ca/flights/#searc...7;r=2015-04-27

[something]

Its showing up at 1000 for me when I click your link, Stazzy

[stazzy33]

Originally Posted by something

Its showing up at 1000 for me when I click your link, Stazzy

Yeah, that seems to be the way these things go sometimes. I am sure cmyden can explain better, but sometimes these prices drops last only a day or even a few hours. That's why you have to jump on them right away.