Okay.
So I can teach you how to figure skate. I can clean a closet like a boss. You want a book recommendation? I’m your girl. But when it comes to booking airplane flights and hotel rooms, I’m a quivering, confused mess. I log into twitter and everyone is constantly tweeting about their great deals on flights (granted, they don’t live in Canada- aka: THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE), but I’m always panicked I’m missing out.
I need to fly into Norfolk airport for the August 12th weekend (hi Steph Tanner!) where my internet little sister and I plan on wearing lots of sequins and reciting lines from Full House. I also would like to go to Chicago when everyone is going to be there for the 20sb summit (which is August 19-21st). Obviously it is far more cost effective to stay in the states and fly from Norfolk to Chicago and then fly home after. I’m just wondering, where should I start in terms of airfares? (I will be flying out of Edmonton). Also, does anyone have a good hotel recommendation for Chicago? (I plan on setting up a blogger shantytown at Renee’s for a few days but if I fly into Chicago on the 15th, I still have days and days before the event actually starts, I thought I’d be a proper guest and not take over her place. I’m thoughtful like that.)
Anyway. Any help or insight into this would be appreciated. I plan on rewarding you all with advice on how to organize your closet. I know what you are thinking, WHAT AN INCENTIVE.
(Also, if you are going to be in Chicago, let me know so we can squeal and jump around in person and if you are very lucky, I shall fake a Canadian accent to delight you. Ask Nic, she’s heard it.)
You don’t have a real Canadian accent? Boo.
When we book trips, we are just always checking the airlines. EVERYDAY. it’s annoying but it works for us. And if you see something with a good price, in your budget, snag it. And don’t check rates anymore after (just in case the drop again but I doubt that will happen).
As for hotels, Im a Hilton girl (I like Hampton Inns and Embassy Suites since they have breakfast included). I’ve never had a bad experience with either one of those and Chicago has lots of ‘em.
Hope that helps!
Apparently I DO have the accent, but I like to pretend that I don’t. Actually, I don’t think I really do, but Nic seems to think I do.
As for the advice, thanks girl! Now that school is out, I have the time to check but I just wasn’t sure if prices really varied day to day.
p.s. Anytime I watch Cupcake Wars I think of you.
I highly recommend hipmunk.com to check on rates for both hotel and especially flights. I used it to book my Ireland vacation in April with a new hotel every night! Good luck and safe travels – love the blog
I use bookit.com and kayak.com. I’ll try pricing the whole thing in a package then pricing it out with separate flight and hotel and see what’s cheaper.
The only acceptable thing to do between the 15th and the 19th is to fly to California. YOU’RE WELCOME.
I don’t live in Chicago anymore AND when you visit Shaba, you’ll still be 3.5 hours away from me. *sob, sob, sob* Some day I’ll get to meet you.
I have no words of advice about booking plane tickets, because I am just as panicky as you. Sigh.
hmm… i suck at this.
and im sad boston isn’t on this list of places. boo.
Zach always books flights through expedia, but I think that’s because he has a corporate travel agent through them.
I am blissfully unaware of how booking flights actually work because I have never, not once in 25 years, booked my own.
There are certain things I just like boys to do for me. Like book flights. And squish bugs.
Feminist fail.
Second vote ‘Embassy Suites’ for Chicago. Four of us Torontonians stayed there in April for three nights at a full suite with a kitchenette. It was spacious, immaculate, good service and the location was really perfect (right across from Starbucks and grocery store). The free buffet breakfast is huge but really not very good unless you line up for the chefs to make you an omelette. BUT the Manager’s cocktail hour every night is AWESOME! Unlimited Free drinks from 5:30-7:30pm which is perfect for pre-dinner drinks.
‘Fontera Grill’ or its low key branch next door ‘XOCO’ is a MUST visit for food!
How about you rent a car and drive from Norfolk to Chicago so you can visit Wild, Wonderful WV??
I’ll be there! YAYYYYYY
Can we have a Baby Sitters Club meeting while we’re out there? ;)
I use Bing Travel (travel.bing.com) which has a price predictor and it tells you to either Wait or Buy and the confidence % for each prediction. I think they also have some sort of a prediction guarantee where they’ll reimburse you some amount if their prediction is off.
It used to be US only, but now I see they added Canada as well :D
Tanya
Kayak.com is great because it compares the rates from all the other sites (including the airlines themselves). You can set it up to search based on your exact dates, as well as flexible dates (ie. +-1 day and it’ll tell you if it’s cheaper to leave a day earlier or later). You can also search for “nearby” airports and it may save you a load to fly into a closeby airport. And, you can set it up to send you alerts if prices reach a certain level. They also have a hotel search, a car rental search, and “package” searches. And final awesome – they have apps (I use iPhone, but i’d bet they have apps for other smart phones, too).
You might check into Hostelling International in Chicago – I’ve not stayed there, but in several other cities. Inexpensive, safe, clean, rub elbows with all kinds of people (or ignore them, your choice). They have certain standards and certifications to be part of them, so it’s a few steps above stereotypes of hostels. Looks like Chicago is $30/night range.
http://www.hichicago.org/
I’ve always had really good luck with http://www.hotwire.com for hotels. Also, YAY for Chicago and the @20SB summit! I’ll be there, too, and am currently in the same situation with a hotel and figuring out where the hell I’m going to be, as I’ve never been to Chicago before. So if you find any good info, could you send it my way, as well? I’ll teach you how to eat crawfish. :D
Silly girl. You can stay with me! And Wendy! And my boyfriend, whom I have not asked but whom will be happy to have you stay because you are delightful and make me happy. Plus, the lake is across the street and gelato is two blocks away.
Oh! And for flights- maybe check out vayama.com. They seem to have some interesting international options and you can search multiple airlines with multiple stops.
Noah and I stayed at Hard Rock right in downtown Chicago and it was a great place to stay and pretty cheap!
I almost always use expedia.com. It’s been very, very good to be in the past. I’ve heard good things about hipmunk.com, but I’ve never really used it. With expedia you can select multiple destinations which makes this sort of travel SO MUCH EASIER. They’ve been very nice to me whenever I’ve had customer service issues as well.
Also, I’m going to be in Chicago for the 20sb Summit so YAY! Sqealing, etc.!
Omg, I am 5 hours from Chicago and would drive over there just so I could meet you in person. lol, that would be hilarious! And none of my friends would get it, but that’s okay! ;)
I recommend using Travelocity’s “Top Secret Hotel” deals for Chicago. Look for something in the 4-star range. Last year my partner and I used that and got a room at the Hard Rock Hotel in The Loop, one block from the Magnificent Mile for $115/night. That was a steal in downtown Chicago. 4-Stars on Travelocity are usually Hiltons, Sheratons, and the like, so you’re pretty safe.
I’ve had good luck with Hotwire too. Plus, if you use this: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=642&, you can usually figure out what hotel you’re getting. I’ve done it here in Toronto, in Halifax and in Memphis and it’s worked out well everytime.
Another option is vacation rentals, which is my new favourite thing — end up with an apartment or condo for less than what you’d probably pay for a nice hotel room. I’ve used both TripAdvisor and Home Away.
(sorry, which *are* my new favourite thing. Total grammar nerd.)
I think that kayak.com is the best for comparing flight options. You can do a multi-city trip where you fly from middle of nowhere Canada to Norfolk, Norfolk to Chicago, and Chicago home.
Hotwire is good for hotel deals. I feel like you’d be one who’d enjoy couchsurfing too (couchsurfing.com).
I’ve been using Southwest for the last year now. I’ve had better luck with them than other airlines, and it also help that they don’t charge you for baggages (two for free, more shoes!). One thing I LOVE about them is having the ability to cancel or change my reservation without getting charged AND I get to keep the credit. I had to cancel one before when I got offered a job, so I decided to use the credit toward a different flight in the future.
Another great example: My man and I are going to Florida and a better flight time’s fare just dropped to the same price to what we originally paid, so we were able to switch! So yeah, I just love Southwest so much now, it’s worth checking if their fares are any better, if they fly to/from your area.
ALL OF THIS CHICAGO TALK IS MAKING ME VERY JEALOUS. CHICAGO = NOT BOSTON.
Hi! Like many others, I use kayak.com to do a search for flights as it searches many different travel sites. I have also had a great deal of success finding the cheapest flight on travelocity.com (love that travelling gnome).
Obviously, travelling on week days (like Tuesday or Wednesday) usually saves some money BUT, and I’m not sure if this is just my own superstition or what, I have found that actually searching for/purchasing flights on a week day is a little cheaper than if you waited for the weekend.
As for hotels, I usually use a travel site like travelocity.com or hotels.com to do a search for hotels in an area so you can see a price/amenity comparison in one place and then check the hotel’s website directly, becuase sometimes the hotel has cheaper rates on their website.
I have also used airbnb.com to rent an apartment with great success. I did theat when I travelled to Portugal, and I also rented out my apartmemt over a holiday.
Good luck and have fun!
Southwest has good flights out of Norfolk. Does it matter if you fly into Midway or OHare? Check southwest.com first. Also: Newport News is about half an hour north, so compare flights out of there too.