{"id":1319,"date":"2010-02-20T18:30:40","date_gmt":"2010-02-21T02:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelsitecritic.com\/reviews\/?page_id=1319"},"modified":"2012-09-14T15:16:59","modified_gmt":"2012-09-14T22:16:59","slug":"online-travel-auction-sites","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/travelsitecritic.com\/reviews\/articles\/online-travel-auction-sites\/","title":{"rendered":"How do online travel auction sites work?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Online<\/a>Our\u00a0guide to online travel auction sites will help you find legitimate auction sites to bid\u00a0on travel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Use our auction tips for bidding\u00a0on travel\u00a0and hotel rooms online.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an online travel auction site, and are they legitimate?<\/h5>\n

There are quite a few online travel auction sites that have come out in recent years.\u00a0\u00a0 These auction sites allow you to bid on hotel rooms, vacations, and sometimes even cruises.\u00a0\u00a0 According to travel auction site Luxury Link<\/a>, you can save up to 65% off the retail travel cost by using their service.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Due to the huge amount of savings that you can get, many people are wary to bid and fear that travel auctions are scams.\u00a0\u00a0 It is not that legitimate online travel auction sites are scams, it\u2019s just that they do have restrictions and fees that you need to be aware of before you start bidding. That being said, there are scammers out there.\u00a0\u00a0 To find out if an online auction site is legit, do a little research.\u00a0\u00a0 Any travel auction site worth its weight should be registered with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 You can also read customer reviews of auction sites<\/a> to get a real feel for the business and how they treat their customers.<\/p>\n

Where can I bid on hotel rooms?<\/h5>\n

LuxuryLink.com<\/a>\u00a0travel auctions are primarily for bidding on luxury resort and hotel room stays.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Additionally, Luxury Link auctions off select cruises, but these are rare.\u00a0\u00a0 Auctions are generally between 3 to 14 nights.\u00a0\u00a0 Thousands of hotel auctions are taking place right now, and several have current bids under $500 for 2+ nights<\/a>\u00a0for 2 people.\u00a0\u00a0 In addition to their regular hotel room auctions, Luxury Link offers a daily \u201cMystery\u201d travel auction with a $1 starting bid<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 Know that the bidding escalates quickly and does not stay at $1 for very long.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A vague\u00a0destination is disclosed, but the hotels name is a \u201cmystery\u201d and may not be what you bargained for.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nonetheless, you can sometimes snag cheap luxury hotel deals by bidding on these $1 mystery auctions.\u00a0\u00a0 To save even more, Luxury Link will give you $100 off your first reservation if you use coupon code LUXLINK100<\/a> (which may expire any time).<\/p>\n

What if I have a large group or family?<\/h5>\n

FamilyGetaway.com<\/a> is a new website, by Luxury Link, that auctions off hotel deals for families, even large ones.\u00a0\u00a0Simply plug in the number of kids in your family to view hotel auctions that will accommodate your entire family.\u00a0 You can bid on deals for\u00a0families in popular vacation spots such as Disneyland and Florida.\u00a0 It’s owned and operated by the same guys over at LuxuryLink.com.\u00a0\u00a0 FamilyGetaway.com has their own coupon code: FG100<\/a>, which will save you $100 off your first reservation (may expire at any time).<\/p>\n

Where can I bid on airfare?<\/h5>\n

I’ll note that SkyAuction.com<\/a> (Sky Auction) has airfare-only auctions that do not include a hotel stay.\u00a0\u00a0However,\u00a0I notice that they currently have an unfavorable BBB rating<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To bid on airfare, there\u00a0are also what I call pseudo auction sites, like Priceline<\/a> and Hotwire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With Hotwire<\/a> you don’t actually bid at all… so it’s not really a travel\u00a0auction.\u00a0 It’s still worth mentioning that Hotwire claims to sell\u00a0last-minite unsold seats, which they call Hotwire Hot Rates<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 These Hot Rates disclose the\u00a0fare price\u00a0prior to booking, but the airline’s name\u00a0is hidden until after purchase.\u00a0 These flights are not refundable, but they can be great deals on par with auctions.<\/p>\n

Priceline<\/a> claims that you can save up to 40%* off lowest published airfare prices when you choose your own price.\u00a0\u00a0 Bidding on Priceline is extremely simple.\u00a0 You just enter in the price you are willing to pay for your flight<\/a>, without taxes or fees.\u00a0\u00a0 The exact airline and flight times are disclosed only after your “bid” is accepted (and that is, if\u00a0your bid\u00a0is accepted).\u00a0\u00a0 All “Name Your Own Price<\/em>” sales are final, but Priceline’s best price guarantee helps to protect you.\u00a0\u00a0 Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price<\/em>” guarantees that if you notify them of an exact flight that’s cheaper within 24 hours, you get a 100% refund and a $50 coupon off a vacation package booking*.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each of these sites have their own policies, fees and penalties that you need to be aware of before bidding, which takes us to\u2026.<\/p>\n

What do I need to be cautious of on online travel auction sites?<\/h5>\n

First and foremost, there will be restrictions on when you may travel and blackout dates apply.\u00a0 You can win an auction, but if your desired travel dates are not available you will be forced to choose new travel dates.\u00a0\u00a0 Even if your desired travel dates are not \u201cblacked out\u201d, your travel is still subject to availability.\u00a0 On top of that, travel auctions are typically not refundable.\u00a0\u00a0 I really recommend that you only bid on a travel auction if your dates are very flexible, otherwise you may find yourself winning a trip that you cannot take.\u00a0\u00a0 You must be willing to read through the policies on the travel auction site prior to bidding, because every site is different.<\/p>\n

Do you have tips to begin bidding for travel online?<\/h5>\n

As every auction site is different and the type of auction may vary, these are just some general auction bidding tips to get you started:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Search for travel auctions in which the bidding is set to expire in less than\u00a024 hours<\/a>.<\/strong> You can do this by filtering the search results by \u201cending time\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 These last minute auctions are close to closing and give you a better idea of the real price you may pay in the end.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scroll down and see if you are interested in any of these last minute auctions. If so, pull up the full details. Make note of blackout dates, travel dates, full name of hotel, and any added perks that you get with your reservation.\u00a0\u00a0 Many of Luxury Link\u2019s auctions give you extra perks such as massages, free dinners, tax included, ect. .\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, you will want to choose an auction that will give you at least an hour or so to move on to step three\u2026<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Visit the hotels own website (make sure you are on the hotels corporate booking site, and not an agency site), and see how much it would cost to book this exact deal directly with them.\u00a0\u00a0 Trust me; you don\u2019t want to skip this step. Usually the price is less on Luxury Link, but you need to double-check.\u00a0\u00a0 Make note of how much the extras (perks) that Luxury Link is giving you cost in addition to the hotel rate, and weigh the difference.\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, if Luxury Link\u2019s price is the same as the hotel but I also get a free massage with Luxury Link, then I\u2019m going with them.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If the price is right, it\u2019s time to watch.\u00a0\u00a0 And\u2026 wait.\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t bid right away, because you do not want to alert other auction bidders that someone else is in.\u00a0\u00a0 There are many different theories on how long you should wait, in my personal opinion you should wait until the last 30 minutes to bid.\u00a0\u00a0 This will give you just enough time to re-bid if necessary, but it\u2019s not so long that you can\u2019t watch the auction closely.<\/p>\n

Do you have some online travel auction tips of your own?\u00a0 Post them in the comments below.<\/p>\n

Quick Links<\/strong>:\u00a0 Priceline<\/a>, Hotwire<\/a>, Luxury Link<\/a>, Family Getaway<\/a>, Sky Auction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reviews of LuxuryLink.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Read our disclosure<\/a><\/p>\n

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