Travel Auctions

travel auctions

Internet travel auctions exist for several reasons. Vendors, among them cruise lines, airlines, travel agencies, car rental agencies, all-inclusive resorts and bed-and-breakfast inns, want a quick, cheap way to sell what’s known in the business as “distressed inventory” – unsold beds, berths and seats (primarily those requiring close-in departures or off-season visits).

The biggest risk in a travel auction is failing to read the fine print — blackout dates, commissions, fees, surcharges, taxes or other catches that can boost the price or lower the value of your winning bid.

Auction Tips
• Before you bid, read the fine print on the site. What are the commission fees, taxes, blackout days, extra fees, and rules about refunds or changes?
• Consult a travel agent to find out if he or she can get you a better deal.
• Compare the auction deal with what you could get directly.
• Does the auction reveal the name of the company offering the trip?
• Use Pay Pal or a credit card. Never wire money to anyone.
• It is up to you to see that your passport is in order and that you have proper I.D.
• Before bidding, check www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com and read the section on online auctions.

Here are a few major travel auction sites. If you’re careful, you may find good deals:

eBay (ebay.com/travel), based in San Jose, Calif., guards against fraud by limiting who can sell travel on the site. For instance, vacation packages, cruises and airline tickets must be sold by licensed travel agents or businesses that own travel property (an airline, for example). There are other restrictions as well. Satisfactory Better Business Bureau record.
Typical offer: Two nights at Embassy Suites Niagara Falls in a suite with whirlpool and falls view. Starting bid, $350. Same package: $416 on hotel’s Web site.

SkyAuction (skyauction.com) is a New York-based site that auctions hotel rooms, trips, airline tickets and more. In business since 1999, it is popular with travel auction fans. Buyers pay a $20 commission.
Typical offer: A night at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston, blackout dates apply, for $200. Rates at the Copley run from $179 to $329 per night, depending on date.

Generous Adventures Travel Auctions (generousadventures.com) is a nonprofit site based in Homer, Alaska. The company donates 100 percent of profits (about 45 percent of income) to charities. Frommer’s describes it as “one of the good guys.” Not rated by the Better Business Bureau.
Typical offer: Three-day guided trek for two at Yosemite National Park, worth $1,100; high bid was $425 midway through auction.

Bidding for Good (biddingforgood.com), in Cambridge, Mass., auctions trips, airline vouchers and vacations (and other items) donated to nonprofit groups to raise funds. It is owned by cMarket, which has a satisfactory Better Business Bureau record.
Typical offer: Two round-trip ticket vouchers on Northwest Airlines for travel in the lower 48 states, offered by Hillel of Metro Detroit. Vouchers sold for $673, raising money for the Jewish nonprofit. Hillel paid the site $450 to run the auction, plus 7 percent commission on items sold. In all, Hillel made $10,000 to $15,000.

If you take the trip or vacation and it does not match what you were promised, call your credit card company and complain to such agencies as the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the Better Business Bureau and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

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