USA multi-destination break - book ourselves?

lawtz04

Hi folks

In sept next year we are looking to go to the usa for a month taking in cali, vegas, florida, new york. We have aquote from virgin for all flights and hotels but are considering booking it all seperately ourselves. Virgin warned us of hidden costs in hotels in america.

What are these and what else should we consider if we do book it ourselves??

DeeLasVegas

Ask them what hidden costs they mean? I can't think of any apart from the obvious state taxes that are added on to published price. My parents/friends have always found booking hotels directly/separately is cheaper......something about being charged per person per room in the UK and being charged per room per night over here.

ferf1223

resort fees may be another - while they are disclosed up front - sometimes people think they are sneaky...Vegas in particular.

Parking could be another (certainly LA if that's on your list, San Francisco I think too, probably NY)...

And on hotels - try pricing direct with the hotel itself, not through a UK 3rd party- many times for US hotels you will pay just a deposit of one-night up front...and you can cancel anytime up to XX hours before arrival - 24, 48, 72 are common. Vegas hotels are a bit different as there are so many deals out there and it's worth looking around a bit.

Go ahead and price it up yourself - that's what we would do...we can pick exactly what hotels we want, know the relationship is between us and the hotel - not some 3rd party.

For the flights - try to book one multi-city journey on one airline or code share partners - so all on one ticket...or at least leave plenty of time between your arrival in the US and your flight to the next US city...and from your arrival in the last US city and departure home...just to make sure that you don't have any connection issues.

claire16c

I would book it yourself. I once used Virgin for a multi centre holiday and it was a complete disaster from start to finish of the booking process. They booked me one flight that left before the previous one had landed, for example!

have a look at South West airlines, american airlines, delta etc.

blindman

lawtz04 wrote: »

Hi folks

In sept next year we are looking to go to the usa for a month taking in cali, vegas, florida, new york. We have aquote from virgin for all flights and hotels but are considering booking it all seperately ourselves. Virgin warned us of hidden costs in hotels in america.

What are these and what else should we consider if we do book it ourselves??

This thread is trying to be a FAQ for all things (Southwest) USA. Some good info and links to other threads.

ferf1223 has highlighted the "hidden" costs, no great biggie TBHO unless it's parking.

Yes, book it all yourself, follow advice from ferf1223 re flights if possible

IMHO you are trying to fit too much in a month.
Miss out Florida and you may be OK.

BTW
What was the cost of the Virgin Package?

claire16c

I agree you are probably trying to do too much in 1 month. You'll get less than a week in each. I would also skip florida because its out of the way of the other places in terms of flight routes.

ferf1223

blindman wrote: »

BTW
What was the cost of the Virgin Package?

I'd be interested to know how the Virgin package price compared to the DIY price - like for like, even ignoring the fact that DIY you can pick and choose from more options.

Every time we've looked at anything via Virgin holidays it's been shockingly more than the same thing DIY.

Now we do it for fun - price up the holiday we have booked ourselves on VH...and then we high five each other and stuff.

zagfles

The "hidden extras" tend to be taxes which in the US are rarely included in the quoted price - same applies to shops, sales tax is added to the price you see. Usually around 10% or so. It'll still be far cheaper to DIY rather than a package.

ferf1223

zagfles wrote: »

The "hidden extras" tend to be taxes which in the US are rarely included in the quoted price

Disagree - they are included in the final quoted price - with a breakdown...they may not be in the initial price per night, totally agree on that...but the total including taxes is set out in detail before you finalise your reservation.

zagfles

ferf1223 wrote: »

Disagree - they are included in the final quoted price - with a breakdown...they may not be in the initial price per night, totally agree on that...but the total including taxes is set out in detail before you finalise your reservation.

I don't usually pre-book accomodation in the US, except perhaps for the first night, so you may be right, can't really remember. And I've not been for 10 years so may be out of date...

But when stopping at motels etc, and "negotiating" a price, the price agreed was invariably before taxes, eg an agreed price of $40, end up paying $42.50 inc taxes or whatever. Same in shops, something labelled as $10 will end up being $10.70 or whatever once the sales tax is added at the till.

travellerboy

All stores and Hotels in the US quote their prices excluding taxes. Their State and Sales Taxes are added to the prices, not hidden, thats the way they do it. Just remember state/sales tax can be as high as 15% or low as 6% depending which State you are in, also if in Vegas there is also a Resort Fee ( most Hotels on the Strip) added which can be as much as $20 pppd.