Booking seperate hotel and flights

jonnyb1978

Getting a wide variety of quotes in for a 2 week holiday next year.
I found the cheapest quote from a reputable independant agent but i have also found doing them seperate gives the largest saving.
Hotel through Expedia and flights directly through the company saves around £700 from cheapest overall package.

Whats are the disadvantages of this. I know I will have to purchase flights all in one go, but would i be still protected etc.
Hotel part offers free cancellation up to the time of holiday.

Any advice on booking seperate.

Thanks

Moto2

Take out travel Ins and all should be good

You'll have to sort your own transfers but on the plus side you won't be pestered by incompetent holiday reps

blindman

jonnyb1978 wrote: »

Getting a wide variety of quotes in for a 2 week holiday next year.
I found the cheapest quote from a reputable independant agent but i have also found doing them seperate gives the largest saving.
Hotel through Expedia and flights directly through the company saves around £700 from cheapest overall package.

Whats are the disadvantages of this. I know I will have to purchase flights all in one go, but would i be still protected etc.
Hotel part offers free cancellation up to the time of holiday.

Any advice on booking seperate.

Thanks

Assuming the flights are the cheapest ticket-i.e non refundable then as advised- Take out Travel insurance as soon as you book the flights.

Hotel:- As you have done, make sure this is fully refundable up to a certain time before arrival. Make a note of this cut off date\time

Home-Airport-Hotel
Look for cheapest and\or most convenient options for transfers.
Lots of airports have shuttles\buses\metro etc.
Depending on luggage and pax sometimes a taxi is a better option. Check out taxi fares.

Airline\hotel-Sign up to their loyalty schemes if they have one.
Usually free-don't expect anything-but can't hurt.

Advanced points
Look for freebies or Info on Headforpoints (Ubertaxis\Credi card sign ups) or Flyertalk (airline seating\lounge access)

I see no disadvantages in DIY holidays

PompeyPete

Jonny1978

If you said what your plan is, where to, when, from which UK airport, what board arrangements do you want, budget?

Then it'd be easier for people to give you objective advice, and perhaps answers to questions you've not even thought of asking.

davetrousers

When I've looked at (and booked) flights and hotel with British Airways it has been a very competitive price. Worth looking at imo.

Dizzy_Ditzy

There's a place I go to where it would be at least half the price if I booked the same as a package, but direct bookers get free transfers, air con and safe.

Doing it independently means that the hotel owners get all of the money at the time if your stay rather than waiting until the end of the season to get the pittance from the tour operators. In places like Greece with the financial situation as it is, every little helps :cool:

photome

DIY is the way to go!!

Marmaduke123

photome wrote: »

DIY is the way to go!!

Usually, but not always! Check DIY prices against flight/hotel packages always, and make sure you take account of freebies with one or the other.

That's assuming you're going to a popular holiday destination and are happy with a fairly standard hotel. If you've found a little gem of a hotel somewhere off the beaten track, or even in a popular place, DIY will serve you best!

budgetflyer

I cant remember the last time I booked a package holiday. We always book flights/hotels/transfers separate.
Quite often we will fly out with 1 airline and return with another.
We dont have a favourite accom provider. Just who ever does our chosen accom at the cheapest. Loyalty often costs you.
I always pay by credit card. That way we have protection against them going bust or getting scammed. If they dont have that facility I wouldn't book. Bank transfer is the most common way of waving bye bye to your money through scammers.

boliston

Much prefer booking independently especially as most hotels do online booking these days. I tend to go with local independents rather than chains (novotel, radisson etc) as you often get more for your money and chains can be boring and generic

lady1964

We book almost all of our holidays separately - that is hotel & flights - apart from the very occasional BA holiday.

We're going to Australia in January for 3 weeks & have booked everything separately; flights to/from Sydney, internal flights, car hire and accommodation.

As has been said, travel insurance is vital, check cancellation dates of any accommodation; we can cancel all of our accommodation with no charge up to 24 hours before we're due to arrive, we pay on arrival whenever we can & use credit cards to pay for as much as possible.

Packages have their place but it's always worth comparing costs.