According to Christopher Elliott’s post on the topic, CO has joined the game too. I love Continental, but paying to book on the website is insane. As I said last time, it’s not like the airlines are paying a fee or commission, as the online agencies do. Sheer insanity is what it is.

I used to like booking directly through CO for the booking bonus, but apparently that’s now gone too. Web 2.0 is supposed to bring convenience, not more fees. Is it a good or bad thing that word is quickly spreading about these new policies?

What will be interesting to watch is whether these stick when the recent fare increase did not.

I still maintain this is as ridiculous as a brick and mortar store charging us to walk in the door and use their cash register. As always, I’ll vote with my $.

I like how he handled the contact, an actual question about the content of the blog post rather than just a random comment and a promotional link as some companies have been known to do, so I responded and it led to a further comment (wonderful information there about some less-than-obvious benefits to Vayama) and an e-mail exchange. I decided I wanted to think some more about vayama and my thoughts on online agencies and booking fees in general.

Net result:

• I still love Vayama’s specials especially since their searches/specials include HPN.
  • Although the fares include their own negotiated and consolidator rates, it seems that tickets purchased from Vayama willbe eligible for mileage accrual. That’s a personal favorite since I’m still steaming over the miles I lost on a flight from KIX to JFK and back via Vancouver.
• I love the “Getting Around” sections which seem to be quite comprehensive and accurate. A wonderful tool especially since their searches include some off the beaten track destinations.
  • Possibly my favorite part of this section is the blogs link, allowing a potential visitor to see what others have seen/thought about the destination. This comes from a partnership with TravelPod. My only complaint here, and this may be due to the TravelPod feed, is that the blog posts don’t seem to be in any order.
• I’m still not sure what I think about the booking fees. But then again travelocity has booking fees and I booked the Vegas trip through them. I think it would come down to as it did then…travelocity including the fee was cheaper than buying the plane ticket and booking the hotel separately.
  • It appears, however, that the booking agents aren’t the only ones charging fees. According to a CrankyFlier post, US Airways has implemented a booking fee when you book directly via their website. I don’t get it. I can *almost* buy the argument for a fee when calling the phone center because they have to pay to staff them, however to use their website? What’s next? Paying to use a cash register at a store? Booking fees when purchasing directly make no sense. None. At least the agencies’ is explained via commissions and fees that they pay…what is US Airways doing? Paying itself a commission?

Bottom line, I’d still shop around, and if Vayama was cheaper I’d book through them. I’ll certainly use them alongside SideStep and Kayak for my initial searches. I like their site, and I like how they handle their interaction with the blogosphere. I’d love to see them do well.

I wouldn’t book from Vayama due to their fees and the fact that the rates aren’t always the best, but their search allows what neither Sidestep nor Kayak do: search open-ended. When I was first planning my birthday trip, I had no idea where I wanted to go. I would have loved to have been aware of Vayama so I could have plugged in JFK or Newark and seen the options for my travel dates (including Athens for $450).

What I also like is the fact that you don’t need to specify a leaving date either — very useful for planning a trip without details. I know I want to go somewhere, but I don’t know when or where. I think I’m going to be using this site more and more.

This is why I need to be a little better about keeping up on all blogs: Spontaneous Tourism posted about Vayama on September 10th. I would have known about the site in time for my birthday planning if I’d been caught up. Now that I moved everything to Google Reader, it will be easier.

ETA: The birthday trip decision has been made. Going to Vegas. Should be a lot of fun.