Finding Last-Minute Bargains in Cyberspace

Banishing the midwinter blues with a spur-of-the-moment vacation is more tempting than ever this year, thanks to an avalanche of 11th-hour deals in cyberspace. A variety of hotels, ski resorts, airlines and other suppliers are capitalizing on the Internet’s immediacy and lower distribution costs.

But caveat emptor: Some online bargains (most notably the weekend fares launched by American Airlines last spring and copied by several competitors) represent the lowest prices in the marketplace. Others, though, may be duplicated or even surpassed by a local travel agent or toll-free reservation line. A sampling of sites aimed at last-minute travelers:

* Several airlines sell Internet-only fares between selected cities at up to 80% off already discounted, advance-purchase rates.

Northwest (https://www.nwa .com) posts weekly deals on its Web site, while Continental (https:// www.flycontinental.com), USAir (https://www.usair.com) and American (https://www .americanair.com), which just added international destinations, send subscribers e-mail updates.

* TravelWeb (https://www.travelweb.com), a Dallas-based reservation service providing online bookings for nearly 13,000 hotels in 110 countries, now offers a discount program that guarantees the lowest published rate at selected hotels for the following weekend. Listings in “Click-it! Weekends” appear on Monday and change weekly; so far only Hyatt, Sheraton and Howard Johnson are participating, though TravelWeb says other chains will join the program by the end of February.

Last weekend (Jan. 4), for example, the Hyatt Arlington (just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.) was charging $59 per weekend night if reserved through “Click-it!” A call to Hyatt’s toll-free reservation line garnered the same price, with no prompting for special discounts.

* Each week the “Last Minute Travel Bargains” section on American Express’ site (https:// www.americanexpress.com) highlights about 30 Internet-only deals.

Participants have included Continental Airlines (which recently offered a $150 round-trip fare between Houston or Newark and London), Renaissance and Crystal cruise lines, Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions and Hilton, Inter-Continental and Wyndham hotels.

* Cyberspace pioneer Rosenbluth Travel (https://www.savtraveler.com) has added a twist to its time-sensitive “Hot Deals”: a 10% Internet discount, less a fee of $25 to $100 per booking. Example: Web browsers who spotted Rosenbluth’s “Hot Deals” offer of $349 per person for a Feb. 9 four-day Carnival cruise from Port Canaveral would pay $327, plus a booking fee of $25 per cabin. Rosenbluth also plans a mid-January auction of 11th-hour packages.

* Travelocity’s “Last Minute Deals” (https://www.travelocity .com) links cybertravelers to Web sites run by Northwest, Avis and Hilton. In early January, for example, Hilton was offering $85 per night for a room at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside Jan. 19 to 22; the normal rate is $190.

* A growing number of ski resorts and tour operators are offering last-minute discounts via the Internet. SkiNet (https://www.skinet.com), one of the industry’s biggest and best-researched sites, e-mails readers time-sensitive specials across the country.

Another site, iSKI.com (https:// www.iSKI.com) highlights specials in its “Travel and Resorts” section. Recent example: A five-night package to Jackson Hole, Wyo., including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, for $789 per person (a savings of 17%).

* While not specifically geared to spur-of-the-moment bargains, Electronic Travel Auction (https:// www.etauction.com) and Travelbids (https://www.Travelbids.com) rely on an auction format that could yield significant savings.

Travelers make a reservation with an airline, cruise line or resort, then pay $5 to list their information on the Travelbids site. Within one to 72 hours, depending on the travel supplier’s reservation policy, one or more of Travelbids’ participating agencies makes a bid to take over the reservation; the agent who offers the highest discount wins.

Electronic Travel Auction, which launched Jan. 6, has had a slow start. When I checked the site earlier this month, only a handful of packages were listed, each with few or no bids. But the concept, which allows suppliers to auction unsold inventory to the highest bidder, has already proven successful for American and Cathay Pacific (https:// www.cathaypacific.com). With such suppliers as Hilton Hotels coming on board this month, Electronic Travel Auction is worth a return visit.

Bly welcomes reader comments; her e-mail address is Laura.Bly @latimes.com. Electronic Explorer appears monthly.