Special Edition: New Year Sales?

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to another Special Edition.

I had planned to send out a roundup of any Boxing Day/New Year sales or offers, but in honesty, not many of note appeared.

British Airways had a Boxing Day sale - but well, it’s still British Airways and it was only on for a limited time. Other ‘deals’ and sales seemed a bit, ‘meh’ "🤷‍♂️

So I thought it may be better to offer a bit of insight and advice, especially if you are likely to be tempted to book if you see the flurry of travel adverts from agents.

I’ve also posted a few tips and links for hotel bookings, that will cover a range of ‘buyer needs’. If you want ‘just a bed’, or perhaps you’re more swayed towards a ‘selling off site’ deal or a ‘VIP partner program', there’s something for everyone.

As always, if you’d like to provide further feedback, including which content you’d like to see more of (or not!) do let me know by clicking here

Thanks for reading, see you in 2025! 👏

Shaun

PS. If you liked this (non-Dubai) Special Edition, and want to see more content like this, please check the poll at the end & let me know your thoughts.

I ‘do a lot more than just Dubai’, and I’ve been looking to ‘scratch that itch’ about how to share my tips, ideas, thoughts, experience etc. that have helped me over the years - and still continue to do so. Should it be another newsletter, another medium such as YouTube, or a book or maybe even an online course …. let me know your thoughts!

Please note: some links in this newsletter may be affiliate links, and will be denoted with an asterisk (*). This is a link to a partner site that may pay me a commission - at no further cost to you - and if so, helps to support me & this newsletter. For more info, please see Disclosure and Policies

COMMENT

When Is a Sale Not Really a Sale?

When it’s January. This is only a personal opinion, but I’d suggest a good chunk of travel agents are spending the savings they could be passing onto you on their advertising budget.

January is traditionally when travel agents go ‘soup to nuts’ spaffing budgets advertising on TV, print, social media or anywhere. Remember when the Xmas TV magazines used to have a big section in the middle full of adverts? Who pays for that?

You, is the unpopular but truthful answer.

Agents know January is the peak month people start looking at travel plans for the year, and as hardly anyone has any cash left after Xmas, those ‘payment plans’ start to look more enticing. Often more than the ‘pound for pound’ value you may be getting on the holiday.

If you’re looking for an early booking and getting your holiday plans locked in, by all means look to commit with a travel agent. But do so knowing the possible pitfalls:-

• You’re unlikely to be getting the best deal on the hotel aspect, regardless of what agents may be ‘throwing in’ (eg. half board, transfers, upgrades etc.).

• Flights often can be worth booking well in advance, especially if the agent can offer a fare basis that may not be available to the general public (as on some Emirates flights for instance).

• If any agent is offering low deposit and payment plans, think to yourself how they are covering the cost of that and what you may be missing out on the ‘open market’.

Last but not least, many of these so-called sales are often either ‘scarcity marketing’ (i.e. here’s a deal, you have a very limited time to book) or re-hashes of previous campaigns, set up to cycle at certain points in the calendar (eg. each quarter, Black Friday etc.). It’s also debatable - if my experience with one airline during Black Friday is anything to go by, and as Jumeirah seem to do with their promos - if the rates available during promo periods are uplifted prior, with claimed discounts then being a bit spurious.

By way of a few tips, at least do these before you commit your hard-earned cash.

• Do shop around on the open market to compare ‘like for like’.

• Consider using an agent for a flight and book your hotel separately yourself (potentially a better deal). There is value if your agent is ABTA in having a ‘package’ or linked travel in terms of convenience, but often not on the numbers (as you’re likely paying more for the hotel than ‘gettable’ prices).

• Always be mindful that when using an agent, you’re often adding at least one other third party into something that could be done by only two (ie customer and hotel/airline) parties. Which is fine if nothing goes wrong, but …

• For flights, use Google Flights price alerts and price history to see what gettable rates may be.

• For hotels, use Google Maps/Google Travel to research price history, plus rates across main providers.

• For hotels, use Pruvo* and a dummy booking on a cancellable rate to see what gettable prices actually are, and how they vary over time, and to be alerted when prices drop.

• Price hotels on Room Only or Bed and Breakfast to get the most comparable rates, thus the most potential for price drops/variance. Agents will often add things like Half Board so you can’t compare or get to a ‘like for like’ (ie apples to apples comparison.

• Consider negotiation; ask about price matching and best rate guarantees, and don’t feel shy to ask for an escalation to get a discount. A line I often use is, “I don’t take a no from someone who can’t give a yes”.

• If you really must chase a dining package, DO call the hotel directly to double-check the information an agent may offer. Ask about exclusions, supplements and restrictions, and think about seasonal closures (ie in Dubai, some restaurants may close during Summer/off-season so your ‘value proposition’ of a dining package is then reduced accordingly).

HOTEL OFFERS

Opening Up My Travel Tips: Here Are Some Hotel Sites to Check

Here are a small sample of hotel booking sites I use that could be worth your while checking out, if only to see what else is around. There are many more ways to find deals other than using specific sites, though maybe they are subjects for another day, newsletter or other (see poll below).

Please let me know your thoughts on this using the poll below.

BookingCom Late Escapes* - save up to 15% on stays up 07 Jan 25.

Agoda* is another OTA (Online Travel Agent) that’s an ‘aggregator’ or third party site. Whilst there are often good rates available, just as on BookingCom or HotelsCom, just bear in mind these are often wholesale bookings so you’ll hardly get the best rooms available in each category, as they will often be allocated by hotels to direct bookings or loyalty program members.

QX Travel Deals - Virtuoso Travel Agent, offering the best benefits inc free nights, upgrades, F&B credits, member-only perks especially on Marriott hotels such as EDITION Dubai, Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, St Regis Dubai, Ritz-Carlton Dubai, Al Maha etc. but also other brands and chains such The Lana, Conrad and Waldorf Astoria.

These aren’t your typical travel agent, as they specialise in programs such as Hilton Impressario, Jumeirah Passport to Luxury, Marriott STARS and Luminous etc. that are not widely available.

Read more about ‘VIP Partner Programs’ below, and why they could be a great deal for you - especially if you like elevated experiences and benefits, or the best service touches like manager’s welcome letters.

Similarly, also try Classic Travel* - as with QX Travel, these are the agents to go with if you prefer an elevated experience and premium benefits. You will pay Best Available Rate, but you’ll receive benefits and service touches that are often worth the uplift. In many cases, a hotel such as Grosvenor House may be available on a ‘VIP partner program’, which is an exclusive rate condition that will offer you far more and higher benefits than general travel agents will be able to offer.

Example: last year, a few readers booked Jumeirah hotels (JBH) in Dubai via Classic Travel on Passport to Luxury rate conditions and still got a lower price than Jumeirah directly could offer. Additionally, as they were on Passport to Luxury and Jumeirah Escapes or Jumeirah Flavours, they effectively got a ‘double bubble’ by having the benefits of two packages at once - including elevated service touches like upgrades, transfers, welcome from GM etc - and a lower rate. This may have been an anomaly or a blip, but this is why it’s worth shopping around.

Voyage Prive are a members-only ‘selling off’ site, ie they list offers at specific hotels that are often discounted, and usually with added benefits (eg breakfast, half board, upgrades etc.). Join up for free with email address, as the offers aren’t publicly viewable otherwise.

Luxury Escapes* are another selling off site like Voyage Prive, though the offers are publicly visible and include many added benefits, inc HB, upgrades on select hotels:-

• Raffles The Palm Dubai - 3 nights from £749

• Westin Dubai Min Seyahi Beach Resort - 5 nights from £1,029

• Raffles Dubai - 3 nights from £569

• Atlantis The Royal - 5 nights from £2,757

• Sofitel Dubai The Palm - 1 night from £139

• Shangri-La Hotel - 5 nights from £679

• FIVE Jumeirah Village Dubai - 1 night from £131

Hotel Slash is a new-ish site that offers super-low deals (or ‘Slashes’). Sign up for a trial, and try it out. I’ve found decent deals on it, but it’s more of a ‘one shot’ deal ie you may find a deal you have to click there and then to book that’s an exclusive rate.

It’s an offshoot of a car hire service that compared rental rates, then ‘slashed’ down the prices and made an offer/incentive for you to book. As always with these things, do two things - shop around to compare and ALWAYS check the rate conditions/small print.