Here's a tip on how to settle all that - before flying off to that distant land of wonders that mesmerizes, an ethereal place of beauty beyond wonders.
Read on...
LUXE ACCOMMODATIONS
It is easier than you think with a number of websites now offering exclusive sales
A WATER villa at the Six Senses' Soneva Gili resort in the Maldives, usually US$1,040 ($1,460) a night, reduced to US$840. An ocean-view room at the Gansevoort Turks & Caicos, usually US$460 a night, slashed to US$285.
Luxury hotels have long aimed for an image of exclusivity - setting prices beyond the reach of most travellers, allowing wait lists to build for restaurant reservations and carefully generating buzz with a well-placed celebrity guest in the gossip magazines.
Now, a growing number of websites are offering "private sales" of 20 to 60 per cent off luxury accommodations to select travellers on an invitation-only basis.
In October, the Gilt Groupe, an invitation-only retail site that has been a hit with fashion devotees, spun off Jetsetter.com, which offers discounts several times a week on yachts, villas and hotels. Soon after, TabletHotels.com, a booking site for fashionable hotels, started its private sale from Tuesdays to Thursdays or until inventory sells out. So did Kayak.com, the popular meta-search site. Ruelala.com, another fashion-focused invitation-only site, also has begun to offer hotel sales.
Sale specs
Unlike last-minute sales, which offer deep discounts to travellers who can take off at the spur of the moment, the members-only deals generally offer a longer travel window.
For example, the Gansevoort Turks & Caicos, on the island of Providenciales, was recently offered for US$285 a night (nearly 40 per cent off) on Jetsetter. A booking calendar highlighted the dates for which that rate was available, with options through December, more than 10 months out.
Travellers have only a limited time to book, however, and that creates a sense of urgency and spontaneity around the offers. Members, generally invited to join the group by a current user, can sign up for weekly email alerts about when the bargains will go live. And all sales are upfront and non-refundable.
Fans of private sales say such caveats are a small price to pay for access to exclusive luxury bargains. "There are plenty of discount hotel booking options online, but rarely do they include any true luxury accommodations," said Jason Klein, 31, a Jetsetter member who said he saved an estimated $2,000 on a weekend getaway in February to the Banyan Tree Mayakoba in Mexico.
"It's not as though the prices were cheap by any means," he added, "but relative to standard rates I had seen for these hotels in the past, the discounts were significant."
Hotels like the private sales, too. Because of the membership requirement, such sales generally don't appear in online searches or aggregator sites. This helps maintain the idea of a velvet rope around the deals. The nature of the sales allows hotels to maintain control over inventory, listing only dates for sale when they have empty rooms for a limited booking window.
The sites also do a good job of curating popular hotels, which makes hotels feel like they are part of an elite group and keeps members checking back to see what new hot spot is on sale. Tablet Hotels and Jetsetter hand-select properties featured in their private sales.
"We only want to run sales with things you're going to brag about to your friends when you come home," said Jetsetter chief executive Drew Patterson, reciting some of its recent sales, which included the Hotel Plaza Athé*ée in New York and the Four Seasons Costa Rica. "It's got to be exceptional."
How do you become a member?
It's easier than the sites make it sound. Tablet Hotels, for example, says there are three ways to access the special discounts - book your next stay on the site, be invited by a member or pay US$195 for a Plus Membership, which includes 24-hour advance access to the private sales and other perks such as free room upgrades, airport transfers or breakfast, depending on the hotel. But a Google search for "Tablet Hotels + private sale + invite" in March led me to the site's Facebook page, which offered a limited-time invitation with the code FBNOMAD.
Travellers who want to be invited to Rue La La's private sales can go to the homepage, click on the link "Not a member?" and enter an email address to be notified when space is available. With Kayak, it's as easy as registering an email address.
How good are the deals?
In a far-from-scientific check of several private sales, the sites beat the hotel's website and other travel booking sites such as Expedia.com and Orbitz.com nearly every time, often by a significant discount.
Still, travellers should make their own comparisons before they buy to be sure the deal is their best option.
For example, a king room at the Sunset Tower Hotel, popular with the Hollywood crowd, was recently offered in a private sale on Kayak for US$221 a night (non-refundable), down from US$295. But a queen room could be had for US$245 on the hotel's site without the strict cancellation policy. The New York Times
From TODAY, Travel - Thursday, 25-March-2010
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