Last Minute Travel - Cost Saving

If you have ever had to travel at the last minute, you know it can be hectic and expensive. 

Go soon without breaking your budget:

 If you surf the usual places — Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak, a few airline and rental car sites — but they all came back with similar numbers. Barring inconvenient timing or lousy connections (Seattle–San Diego, by way of Denver?).

Try lastminute.com, the Travelocity subsidiary that specializes in travel over the next two weekends. Enter

your preferred plan and be surprised.  The results maybe surprising. 

The system, notes communications manager Giovanna Garlati, is pegged to the availability of distressed inventory, i.e., those airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars that are in danger of going unsold by their original providers. “They usually release it two weeks beforehand,” she says, “when they see it’s not selling.”

A steeply discounted seat (or room or rental car), after all, provides more revenue than an empty one.

Once the inventory is released, lastminute reassembles it (via software developed under the site’s predecessor, site59) and prices it for quick sale. Generally speaking, users can book travel from 14 days to three hours before departure. Says Garlati, “You can book right now and head to the airport straightaway.”

Additional Resources:

If you are using your points or airline miles, I quick review of http://www.flyertalk.com/ maybe useful.