More Ways to Cut Travel Costs

In the Sunday NY Times, the Practical Traveler (author Michelle Higgins) lists 10 steps you can take to cut your spending on resorts, airlines and car rentals.

Things like traveling off-season or considering other airports (Albany vs. JFK, Laguardia and Newark) or using sites like priceline and lastminutetravel.com are popular ways to cut your budget.

But there are other alternatives I didn't know about. Like, who knew that airlines would refund you a voucher if the price of your flight dropped after you bought it? A site called Yapta.com tracks fluctuations in prices and alerts you via e-mail if you're eligible for a refund from an airline or a hotel.

I was also surprised (and happy) to see that AirBnB.com made the list. It connects budget travelers with locals who offer up their spare bedrooms for a small price.

I can understand that not everybody is comfortable with welcoming strangers into their homes and generally this option only works in big cities like NYC and Boston but my friend Jennifer has had tremendous success with it. She lives on 56th and 8th in NYC, in a 4-story walk up and rents out an extra bedroom/bathroom for $100/night. She's made friends with travelers from all over the world.

Lastly, this tip was not included in the list but I think it's important to know. There is a site called Academic Ambassadors that provides discounted hotel and rental car rates for academic and other non-profit travelers.

Like their website says: "So, if you work for or are otherwise associated with any non-profit (as a volunteer, congregant...), you are now eligible for pre-negotiated discounted rates at selected hotels around the country."

The service has been around for seven years and comes highly recommended by users including Beth from Virginia who says, "I have gotten the best rates and the best treatment at hotels I've booked through Academic Ambassadors. I've received room upgrades on a number of occasions and VIP treatment. I'm thrilled to have found this resource and will always look here first when I have to travel."