booking online via Thomas Cook

[Booldawg]

how does the price structure work; I've checked the price of a holiday and it seems to have jumped 100 pounds (sorry no pound sign on US keyboard!) since this morning.

Does the price get hiked according to website actions (eg bookings, quotes etc)?

[redcrx]

prices will change as rooms get sold / offers end / flights get full

sometimes the branch may be able to price match or beat the online price plus its often better to have a branch to deal with rather than online

[Booldawg]

yes, was thinking along those line crx. may pop in on saturday. I dont like really waiting last minute. Its just me and my 6 yr old daughter for a week in Tenerife in May. Cant seem to get anything for under 800 (with insurance)

[redcrx]

is that because of half term holidays? they are at end May/beginning of june and prices rocket.

also try thompsons which ive found to be cheaper.

Id be wary of trying many of the online only agents as so many seemed to go bust last year and leave people out of pocket or stranded.

[ummmm]

Def go to the branch. I've had some brilliant deals from TC and they do all the searching.

[Booldawg]

no crx, I purposely steered away from school holidays.

I'm tied to TC as I'm paying for most of it in vouchers (still not carte blanche for them to rip me off!)

[redcrx]

well if not in school hols and you are a bit flexible, dont forget the bank holidays affect it too then i would go to branch. They can change searches to different airports and dates

Youll be surpised at some price differences just by airport. I once checked one out that was £1600 at our local airport but at gatwick was almost double for same dates.

[theshedman]

Hi, the prices do often change on-line but you usually still get the best deal that way. Last time I went I got the brochures from TC, picked the holiday Then checked it out on-line and found it was a lot cheaper than in the branch. Then I went into the branch with the price from the net and told them and they said I could have it for the on-line price. I find it is best if possible to book it in the branch because if you have any problems or questions it is easy to ask in there. If you book on-line the branch do not want to help sometimes. Also meant I could pay in there and not have to pay the extra I would have had to if I had paid by credit card on-line.

[Booldawg]

thanks for all the advice. It will be more convenient for me to pay in the shop as I can hand over all my vouchers. Online need the 350 odd quid deposit paid on debit card then I have to post off all my vouchers to redeem against what I've paid already. Means having lots of money now. At least I can pay the deposit with vouchers in store and then save up the balance.

[ummmm]

In store I've had..

£115 Greece 3* B&B

£240 Egypt 4* FB

£236 Cyprus SC

None of which I found on the web.

[Playbill]

I have been advised to delete (or not allow) cookies when checking sites for travel, hotels, etc. The reason being that when a site sees you have returned and are checking similar details again, they know you are interested and can increase the price.

[Paul22118]

playbill is almost correct. The online booking industry will be monitoring the number of hits a particular package is attracting. When there is little interest they will drop the price, when there is a lot the price will creep up. Many years ago I saw the price on the screen change (for the better and much lower ) right before my own eyes! Snapped it up and a great cheap week was had in the Canaries.

[ganesh]

Yes,they change every time you look at it-and what a rip too,they charge £20 to be able to book a seat ,then another £12 if you want to do it before 2 months prior to flight. Then they add on £70 for a few more kg bagage and only allow 15kg basic!!