Sell off Vacations ?? to Mexico

[MR.K]

Looking for a best bang for the dollar 1 week trip to P.V. Mexico.
Never used Sell Off Vacations or other avenues of this sort.
Anybody from experience have an angle on this.
I want to travel in about 3 weeks time.

[omega50]

Looks like you can get a week at the 5 star Hilton Puerto Vallarta for $1468 departing Calgary on Halloween on Redtag

Have used Redtag about 5 times for last minute trips to Scottsdale and Vegas

[Greatwest]

You should be able to find some good deals for last minute short notice trips like you are trying to plan. I have used Sell Off before but it was for flights & hotels for Vegas. It was last minute and we ended up getting a pretty good deal.

[MR.K]

Thanks
All info is good info

[Grizzly Adams]

I've found , booking directly is still the best way to get a deal, a lot of Come on offers out there that don't materialize.

Grizz

[tbiddy]

This article explains that every Canadian travel site has identical all inclusive prices.

https://www.yycdeals.com/where-all-i...time-searching

From the article:

The mistake people most often make is thinking that 'The Websites' have control over the prices. They do not. It is the '6 Suppliers' who dictate the prices. 'The Websites' cannot and do not compete against each other on price.
For that reason, the all inclusive package prices displayed on each of 'The Websites' are identical to each other (unless a site is a little behind on getting the latest price updates from 'The Central Hub').

And since The Websites are all displaying identical prices, people often waste a lot of time searching multiple websites.

Adding to the confusion for Canadian consumers is the fact that The Websites all dearly want you to search for and book your next all inclusive vacation through them, to earn a commission from one of the 6 Suppliers.
Their marketing goal is to try and convince you that you will get the best deal exclusively through their website, which is clearly at odds with the technical fact that they are displaying the same prices from the same 6 Suppliers as every other site.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by tbiddy

This article explains that every Canadian travel site has identical all inclusive prices.

https://www.yycdeals.com/where-all-i...time-searching

From the article:

The mistake people most often make is thinking that 'The Websites' have control over the prices. They do not. It is the '6 Suppliers' who dictate the prices. 'The Websites' cannot and do not compete against each other on price.
For that reason, the all inclusive package prices displayed on each of 'The Websites' are identical to each other (unless a site is a little behind on getting the latest price updates from 'The Central Hub').

And since The Websites are all displaying identical prices, people often waste a lot of time searching multiple websites.

Adding to the confusion for Canadian consumers is the fact that The Websites all dearly want you to search for and book your next all inclusive vacation through them, to earn a commission from one of the 6 Suppliers.
Their marketing goal is to try and convince you that you will get the best deal exclusively through their website, which is clearly at odds with the technical fact that they are displaying the same prices from the same 6 Suppliers as every other site.

So who are the 6, how do I book direct with one of the six and will it be cheaper if I do?

[GENINC]

Originally Posted by Dean2

So who are the 6, how do I book direct with one of the six and will it be cheaper if I do?

You won't because it's a bunch of bs. Pretty easy to verify, check prices for same hotels and dates on different sites. All sites will track you with cookies however, and will raise prices the longer you look for vacations. Also, a lot of websites seemingly independent are often part of one company such as expedia.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by GENINC

You won't because it's a bunch of bs. Pretty easy to verify, check prices for same hotels and dates on different sites. .

I know, that is why I asked for specifics. They are always completely lacking in these kinds of expose pieces. What you will find however is that Hotels and many other of the big chains are starting to fight back against Expedia and will actually book you a room direct for 10 to 15% cheaper than the best online prices you can find. Since they have to pay 25% or more as commission to the Expedias of the world, they are still ahead of the game. They should have started this a long time ago as now they have lost a lot of control to the intermediaries.

Same stuff is going on in the restaurant business right now. Skip the dishes and their ilk take 25% to 30% of the food bill off the restaurant. This is driving up restaurant prices big time because there just isn't that much margin. If the restaurants don't start to fight this trend soon, Skip, Uber etc. will be dictating a lot more than the exorbitant commissions they charge.

[riden]

I like TripCentral.ca.

Once you become good with the site you can manipulate the tables quite well and see what different companies are offering. You can narrow your dates to a week since some days are cheaper than others. You can also focus on towns and resorts as well.

For example, I just looked at PV in 3 weekish and Wednesdays are clearly the cheapest day to travel. That is usually the case, but you do see exceptions.

I also find the Riu resorts good value and often have good last minute prices. Two to three weeks is usually considered last minute. The prices are as likely to go up now, as they are to go down.

[walker1]

I have used Sell Of and even booked with them last year for a Mexico trip. But as mentioned here, the prices are pretty close. I booked saturday for April break and expedia was a 100 bucks more but had direct flights. Well worth it for me my family IMO.

There were good prices for the Mayan on the weekend and we jumped on it.


Wish I was there today!!!!!

[ORV]

Originally Posted by MR.K

Looking for a best bang for the dollar 1 week trip to P.V. Mexico.
Never used Sell Off Vacations or other avenues of this sort.
Anybody from experience have an angle on this.
I want to travel in about 3 weeks time.

where are you leaving from?
have been to p.v a lot

p.m. me if you want some more info

Orv

[tbiddy]

Originally Posted by Dean2

So who are the 6, how do I book direct with one of the six and will it be cheaper if I do?

It’s in the article.

Air Canada Vacations
Westjet Vacations
Transat Holidays
Signature Vacations
Sunwing Vacations
Nolitours

[tbiddy]

Originally Posted by GENINC

You won't because it's a bunch of bs. Pretty easy to verify, check prices for same hotels and dates on different sites. All sites will track you with cookies however, and will raise prices the longer you look for vacations. Also, a lot of websites seemingly independent are often part of one company such as expedia.

That’s a myth too:

https://www.yycdeals.com/travel-book...-just-wont-die

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by Dean2

I know, that is why I asked for specifics. They are always completely lacking in these kinds of expose pieces. What you will find however is that Hotels and many other of the big chains are starting to fight back against Expedia and will actually book you a room direct for 10 to 15% cheaper than the best online prices you can find. Since they have to pay 25% or more as commission to the Expedias of the world, they are still ahead of the game. They should have started this a long time ago as now they have lost a lot of control to the intermediaries.

The other benefit of dealing direct is that the hotel or airline is actually going to have to deal with you if there’s a problem. When you use a 3rd party all you’re gonna get is “call Expedia” or whomever.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Same stuff is going on in the restaurant business right now. Skip the dishes and their ilk take 25% to 30% of the food bill off the restaurant. This is driving up restaurant prices big time because there just isn't that much margin. If the restaurants don't start to fight this trend soon, Skip, Uber etc. will be dictating a lot more than the exorbitant commissions they charge.

That is extortion ...... I hope that number you reported is overstated .... but I wouldn't doubt it.

I see the Skip prices are, on average $1 to $2 more per dish ..... which is nowhere near that % - so they must be getting it back from the resturant too .......... holy cow .........crooks.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by EZM

That is extortion ...... I hope that number you reported is overstated .... but I wouldn't doubt it.

I see the Skip prices are, on average $1 to $2 more per dish ..... which is nowhere near that % - so they must be getting it back from the resturant too .......... holy cow .........crooks.

Not overstated at all. The other thing Skip insists on in the contract u have to sign is that the menu prices on their site must be exactly the same as the in restaurant prices so the restaurant can't even get part of it back from delivery customers. I have no idea why so many restaurant owners are stupid enough to fall for this crap. Under this setup the more you sell the less u make. Path to bankruptcy sure as hell.

[does it ALL outdoors]

Originally Posted by EZM

That is extortion ...... I hope that number you reported is overstated .... but I wouldn't doubt it.

He's right on the money. And if the restaraunt is "late" in getting the order out it costs them even more.

Not to mention they consider their drivers contractors instead of employees, good thing since the drivers I talked to claim that if you can make $12 an hour BEFORE your expenses that's a good night. A few of them said they have just broken even many times. They are exploiting new Canadians that can't get employment elsewhere. If any company deserves to go out of business it's them.

[thing]

Originally Posted by midgetwaiter

The other benefit of dealing direct is that the hotel or airline is actually going to have to deal with you if there’s a problem. When you use a 3rd party all you’re gonna get is “call Expedia” or whomever.

THIS!!

It's massively important, especially with regards to flights.