Getaroom.com – typical search & book site, but often has good deals. I recently read on Emily Gerson’s “Maiden Voyage” blog that you can get better prices if you call their reservations number. Read Emily’s blog to understand why.

Hotelscombined – also a very simple to use website. It’s not cluttered with the information, which makes your experience become much more pleasant. I’ve also found some better deals for hotels comparing to few other sites out there.

Twihotels – twitter is now being used as an opportunity for hoteliers to grab guests looking for a place to stay by offering special services or deals. Twihotels is an application through twitter where the user says what they’re looking for and hotels contact the guests directly. Not the best approach for those loyal to a hotel chain, but could be useful if you’re looking for a deal or have no clue where to stay in your next trip. I’m curious to see what hotels are willing to do to get your business… please let me know if you’ve used it already! Read more about it on Adam Kirby’s blog

Inoqo: haven’t used it yet, but am tempted in trying soon. Focused on last minute reservations – they also connect you to hotels through twitter and claim to offer better last minute deals as hoteliers don’t want empty rooms. Update: read more about Inoqo on Adam’s blog

Priceline & Hotwire – their ‘name your own price’ or blind booking can save you a lot of money if you’re not looking for a specific hotel. Choose by location and star rating, confirm & pay your reservation, and they tell you where you’re staying after. I’ve stayed at Hudson Hotel in NYC for $110 through Priceline, which saved me about 60% from the $260 rate on the same day/room. Check BetterBidding to find tips on how to bid on Priceline & Hotwire.  You’ll also find descriptions of hotel amenities to match with the description of the hotel your bidding and try to guess where you’re staying before giving them your credit card number…

Online Hotel Reservations, Reviews & Twitter is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Related posts:

1. Online Hotel Reservations, Reviews & Twitter
2. My Favorite Travel Twitterers
3. How To Tweet Your Way to Amazing Deals

@airfarewatchdog

@flyfromwas; @flyfromnyc; etc (@flyfrom _ _ _ 3 letter airport code)

@rickseaney

@bestfares

@virginamerica

@aairwaves

@fareologist

@wendyperrin

@garyleff

(work in progress post… more twitterers and description of each to come soon)

My Favorite Travel Twitterers is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Related posts:

1. Online Hotel Reservations, Reviews & Twitter
2. My Favorite Travel Twitterers
3. How To Tweet Your Way to Amazing Deals

by Wendy Perrin | Published October 2009 | Condé Nast Traveler

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/501669

Twitter isn’t just a networking site, it’s a powerful tool that can save you money and change how you plan your travels

One evening last summer, 450 people snagged round–trip airline tickets to Europe for a mere $250, including taxes. The spectacularly low fares were available for only a few hours; by the next morning, Delta had discovered its pricing glitch and hiked the fare again. How did those people learn about the deal in time? By following Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, on Twitter. Other lucky travelers last summer were able to nab $9 JetBlue tickets from JFK to Nantucket and $444 round–trips on United from the West Coast to Australia. How? By watching JetBlue and United onTwitter: Those airlines are giving their followers first dibs on some of their steepest sales.

You may know Twitter only as the butt of late–night comedians’ jokes, and if you haven’t spent much time on Twitter, it’s easy to dismiss it as a silly social–networking fad for narcissists telling one another what they ate for lunch. But I’ve been on Twitter for more than a year now, and I’m here to tell you that the perks you can glean from it are no joke. Ignore it and you’ll miss out on significant travel benefits, including deals you can’t find elsewhere.

The trick to Twitter is figuring out who to follow—meaning, whose Twitter updates (“tweets”) to receive. Follow the right people and you’ve got an instant personalized travel news feed on your mobile phone or computer. You’ll be among the first to hear about airfare sales, get access to steep Twitter–only discounts on hotel rooms or last–minute island–vacation packages, hear timely advice from travel experts, maybe even win a free hotel night, a day pass to an airline lounge club, or bonus frequent–flier miles. Morever, if you’ve got a complaint about a travel company that has a presence on Twitter, you can lodge it via a tweet. If the company doesn’t resolve the issue, the viral nature of Twitter means that thousands of others can know about your gripe within minutes.

Although you’ll find a gazillion travel entities on Twitter—from tourist boards (e.g., @VisitBritain) to airline lounge clubs (e.g., @AdmiralsClub) to hotel company CEOs (e.g., @SimonFCooper of Ritz–Carlton)—you’d have no reason to follow most of them unless you’re headed to a specific destination. Some, however, are worth following regularly for the information, assistance, or perks that they offer and which you can’t easily find elsewhere. These people and companies use Twitter to answer travelers’ questions, to sell distressed inventory, and/or to resolve complaints.

How To Tweet Your Way to Amazing Deals is a post from: www.kristraveler.com

Related posts:

1. Online Hotel Reservations, Reviews & Twitter
2. My Favorite Travel Twitterers
3. How To Tweet Your Way to Amazing Deals