‘Traveling’ has always been the best medicine for all kinds of fatigue/ diseases since the dawn of civilization. Catching up a fresh gale to a distant place far from your native livelihoods indeed works like an energy booster.
Here arises another concern. Traveling is not a unanimous concept rather it’ is an amalgamation of several important aspects namely budget, accommodations, and so on. Lots of travel agencies namely Booking.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor, and alike those profuse every single day with a concern of providing the best travel trips and packages within affordable ranges. Thereby, in this article lets’ undertake a comparative analysis of top 3 renowned travel agencies which significantly lead the global tourist markets, loaded with perks and mind blowings services.
Booking.com
Came first public in 1996, Booking.com was started as a Dutch startup with a focus on knotting popular global tourist spots within a single node and availing the best comfort to the users under pocket budget. Today, the store is tied up with all 7 continents and myriads of islands, and archipelagoes with a registered list of 28 million accommodation options.
Nature of services
Booking.com imparts its entire service into 4 categories; flight tickets, staying options, travel packages, and local cab rentals.
Flight tickets are available both for domestic and international air routes which can be purchased at significantly lower discounts than the original price tag. For example, in general, a rebate of 15% to 20% is available on any air route across the world. The discount will ladder up more if the booking is commenced 3-4 months earlier. Despite these, class preferences; economy, business class, seat preference, courses of vibrant menu is being generously entertained to all boarders.
In the case of accommodation, a list of 7 options is available. These are hotels (3 to 5 star), private villas, cottages, cabins, apartments, bunks/ hostels, and glamping. Just keep in mind that the availability of these accommodation options does vary according to places and density. For instance, while all these options are equally accessible to a metropolis, a remote hilly area may only have the options of homestay, whereas in the beachside area the density will more coil around bunks, hostels, hotels, etc. At the same time, you’ll also enjoy decent discounts and cashback and long-fat payment options in INR, Euro, USD, Canadian USD, etc. The good news is, that Booking.com presently offers a 50% discount to all worldwide hotels.
Nature and cost of Travel Packages
The cost of travel packages or the gateway deals varies as per requirement and is customizable. For instance, at this moment, for Indian citizens, a 2N/3D travel package starts onwards from Rs. 449 whereas a 5N/6D staycation package is handy onwards from $425 for US citizens. A variant list of packages is being released by the store. For example Solo trip packages, holiday home family packages, and weekend gateway packages.
Along with the above services, the store also levers up immersive additional perks. Take a clear view from these examples; users will enjoy an extra 10% discount being a lifetime member, can indulge with the agility of cancellation their reservation 3 days to1 week prior, and so on.
Travel tips and destination travel spots
Being hesitant, and obfuscated in choosing the travel spots is quite normal before finalizing where to board for! To subside the concern, Booking.com takes an efficient initiative in releasing multiple lists of destinations for tourist sports targeting a vast audience. Whether for a solo trip or by group journey, these lists are indeed enticing commencing what users are questing for. The best part is, that the lists encompass around the globe keeping a sharp eye on the seasonal impact as well. For example, providing travel tips on cherry blossom season in Japan, the ideal time to visit the Netherlands, the best Spring travel destinations, etc.
Tripadvisor
Established in 2000, Tripadvisor has also raised the imperatives of providing feasible trip advice to users without denting their budget range. Today the agency has spread its business across 43 global markets and teamed up with 43 languages. Despite the accommodation, Tripadvisor always keeps its users updated with both offbeat and on-demand popular destination travel spots through its newsletters and blogs.
Nature of service
Tripadvisor mainly provides accommodation services. This includes hotels, homestays, vacation rentals, restaurants, etc. Along with this, the store also grows funds for philanthropic purposes. For instance, currently, it has raised a $1 million USD fund to help Ukraine refugees and residents.
However, all types of accommodation via Tripadvisor are accessible on a pocket-friendly range. For instance, for a trip to the Indian peninsula, hotels start as low as $48-51 with a holiday package of 2N/3D costs onwards from $248. Similarly, a fresh summer trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic can be gripped onwards from $400-500. Along with it, the store suggests advice on activities, what to explore, and more. In a nutshell, Tripadvisor is a single-hand board that combines affordable accommodation and trip advice of the respective place together.
Trending travel packages
Tripadvisor keeps on upwelling its travel packages all the time based on concurrent demand. For instance, currently, the trending travel places have shown a focal interest in these locations: Maui, Hawaii island, Orlando, Florida, Coastal places of Mexico, and various locations of India, Missouri, Nainital, Pushkar, etc.
Expedia
A folk while inspecting for a budget-effective travel agency–is unaware of Expedia, is simply impossible to digest! Got exposed in 1996, as a sub-part of Microsoft the store has been promoting the best travel comfort, accommodations, cruise-trip, since the day of establishment. The services later are extended to flight tickets, car rentals, and so many others.
Nature of service
Expedia segregates its services into 5 parts; accommodation, flight tickets, holiday packages, car rental, and holiday activities. Simultaneously with it, it keeps on releasing trending travel deals. For example, currently, it avails a 20% instant markdown on all partnered hotels, resorts, flight tickets, and holiday deals. Along with it, the exclusive members will be assured of a 10% extra cashback across all bookings. In case a package is booked 60 days earlier, the gain will be increased by another 20%. And finally, if a package or any booking is being commenced via the Expedia app, the users will be reverted with another 10% extra price-off.
Travel package and tour guides
Despite bestowing travel guides and tips, the store keeps its users engaged by disclosing the latest holiday activities. For example, currently, it’s carrying out a special holiday campaign for Arabs. In the same way, you can find information about lots of other tantalizing holiday packages and trips. Therefore, being accompanied by Expedia duly in the process of shortlisting a travel package would undoubtedly be a blissful experience.
So, this was a comprehensive overview of these three stores above. While going through it, you can also personally head out to ensemble one-on-one reviews about them. So, let’s get set for a planned holiday package under budget. All the best!
