Brits booking their holidays online are being urged to use incognito mode when browsing for deals.
According to travel experts, booking holidays in private browsing mode can result in big savings as it prevents travel websites from tracking your search history and potentially inflating costs based on your interests. Holiday and travel websites will often use cookies to track your search activity and will quickly build up data on destinations you’re interested in. Repeated searches will mean sites can figure out your interest in a certain destination which can then result in flight and hotel prices being inflated.
But travel experts say this problem can be avoided simply by browsing holiday destinations while in incognito mode as this prevents websites from tracking your search habits, meaning prices won’t be inflated as a result.
Gemma Bird, MandM ambassador and money-saving expert, said: “Book holidays in private browsing mode. We all know that booking a holiday isn’t a walk in the park, but did you know that revisiting the same websites could be driving your prices up?
“Most travel and airline websites use cookies which track your searches and have been shown to bump up prices when you repeatedly search for the same trip in the hope that this will encourage you to panic book before the price increases even more.
“But by making the switch to private browsing/incognito mode, websites can’t access this information, meaning your prices won’t take a drastic jump, potentially saving you up to £50 per flight booking.”
Of course, this isn’t an absolute guarantee that you’ll find lower prices as airlines and travel sites may still be able to track your searches through other methods, such as your IP address.
Price fluctuations can also simply come down to demand and the time of day you are searching, so it’s always worth shopping around and doing your research to find the best deals.
Jason Higgs, Senior Deals Strategist at Proxy Coupons, says the best time to book flights is in the middle of the week, as weekend flights often carry a higher price tag due to demand, so being flexible with your travel time can pay off.
He said: “The middle of the week is your best bet for cheaper flights, particularly Tuesdays and Wednesdays. With weekend flights commanding premium prices due to high demand, shifting your travel to midweek can lead to significant savings.
“By tracking price patterns for your desired route, you can identify ideal booking times. Plus, midweek flights often offer more availability and flexible options.
“Planning three to six months in advance often yields early booking discounts and special promotions. Setting up price alerts on travel sites can keep you informed of price drops and deals.
“With some flexibility in your travel dates, you can take advantage of surprise discounts that typically disappear closer to departure.”
