Talk about a brilliant business model that even Ralph Nader could get behind, FareCast has become my starting place for finding great airline prices.  The site was built to give consumers inside knowledge on when to purchase an airline ticket.  We have all seen shows and read articles about the varying prices people pay for the same flight, all based on where they buy and how far in advance they book.  The “where to buy” question has been all but answered by the industry…buy direct from the airline websites.  It is possible at times to get a better deal from travel sites like Expedia, but booking direct usually offers incremental benefits (more frequent flier miles, better cancellation or ticket change policies etc).  When to buy is still a great question.

Farecast was built upon a sophisticated algorithm that allows the site to parse through gobs of data in search of patterns.  They collected data on ticket prices for specific routes over a long period of time (years), searching for patterns on when an airline would raise or lower rates for that route.   Applying their algorithm to the historical data creates a base pattern, which is then adjusted on the fly as demand factors influence the airline’s pricing behavior.  What does all this mean for consumers?  When you run a date search, the site will tell you whether to buy now or wait, and why.  For example, I recently looked for a flight from SLC to Chicago.  The site graphed the lowest ticket price for that flight over the past 60 days, gave me the best current price from various travel sites, and suggested I buy in the next 7 days.  Farecast predicted that prices would increase $50+ pver the next 7 days, and gave the prediction with 69% confidence.

With consumers looking for more information, more ways to get third party unbiased information, Farecast should do well.   We have all found their predictions to be accurate, and in a short period of time they have saved me thousands of dollars.  Kudos to Farecast, just don’t let it get to your head and decide to run for president.

Hey Y’all! It’s GoEverywhereTravelGirl and I’m a web based travel agent. I check out travel blogs on a daily basis for great deals I can pass along to as many people as possible.  I found this unbelieveable deal for the new Hotel Sax in Chicago. It’s supposedly a “true gamers paradise.” They have a entertainment center on the 6th floor of the hotel called “The Studio - experience by Microsoft.” It’s managed by a technology butler, and has XBOX 360s, Zune Music Players, cutting edge PCs, and a movie studio. They have all the latest games including Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and this is the best part as far as I’m concerned…it’s for adults. They’ll serve you beer and wine, and you can order food from the restaurant. My husband is a business traveler, and he just returned home from a trip to the hotel and was absolutely amazed! He loved the Studio so much, that the next time we visit Chicago, we’re staying at Hotel Sax. He also went right out and bought Rock Band the next day…typical.Here’s the best part. He made friends with one of the people from the hotel, and as a result, got a “special code” to get 20% off the room rate.  And now, I’m passing it along to everyone I can. The code is “cache08″ and all you do is put it in the promo box when prompted. I don’t know how long it’ll be valid, so use it as soon as you can. Especially if you live near, or are traveling to Chicago anytime within the next month or so. Book it now and take advantage of that code, and pass it along to anyone you know. It’s not often that we stumble upon such things.    www.hotelsaxchicago.com                                                                                                                      The next hotel I have to tell you about is the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, Connecticut. I was researching spa hotels for a client and came across this amazing place. I haven’t been yet, but my client is scheduled to go this weekend, and she’ll do a write-up when she returns. The website makes the place look and sound unbelievable. It was rated the #1 Spa Hotel in the US by Conde’ Naste Traveler. You can’t get a much better recommendation than that. I plan on visiting the hotel as soon as humanly possible. You’ve got to check out the site…there’s no way I can do it justice on a blog.  www.mayflowerinn.com           Those are my top picks for the day, and I hope you’ll check them both out and enjoy the amazing services they offer. They’re two totally different hotels, but both rated “tops” in their areas of focus.     GoEverywhereTravelGirl�

eTravelMuse is populated by a group of people connected in various ways to the travel industry.  Each of us has friends and family we call all the time, looking for “insider information” on how to travel better.  We quickly realized how valuable the information we come across is.  Whether it’s secret deals a hotel we work with is offering, or the best time to book a plane ticket; our insight has helped those we know save money, and find new/better ways to travel.  Now, against our bosses better judgment, we are sharing this knowledge with the world.  If you are in the travel industry, help us by sharing your insight.  If you are frequent traveler, check back often as we plan to be very active.TravelDude