TRAVEL IDEAS Going Direct Offers Bevy Of Deals For Travelers (NAPSA)—Increasingly, travelers are finding that by visiting both portals and individual company Websites, they are likely to find someof the best deals available. In fact, the number of people making at least one stop to an e- travel Web site jumped 27 percent by one count in the year ended October 2001, underscoring the degree to which consumers want to save money whentraveling. These budget-conscioustravelers are discovering that by “unbundling” the travel-planning process andgoingsite by site, they can save on every leg of the trip. Helping them do this have been upgrades to sites such as avis.com. The high-traffic site, which gets more than one million visitors a month, is one of the most visited rental car sites on the Web. Here are some of the advantages awaiting those who “go direct” to rental car sites: * Deals found nowhere else. Special promotions are offered regularly. For example, check “special deals” sections wherecity or region-specific offers reside. Lower rates. Because Avis and others have lower transaction costs when taking reservations online, consumers can regularly save 10 to 20 percent by booking on companysites. No hidden costs or surprises. A completed reservation online includes all taxes and applicable fees, so there’s no shocker when you return thecar. The personal touch. Check out features like MyAvis. Once you establish a profile, the site tailors its content to match your specific interests. Customers can review upcoming itineraries, note their car preferences, update contact information, review past rental use and even print duplicate receipts. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO— Breaking up the trip-planning into airline, hotel and car rental, travelers can save on every leg of their trip. * Convenience: Making booking a car faster and easier, the redesigned avis.com requires only three quick steps to book car. If you enroll in the Avis Preferred Service, you get V.I.P. treatment—a faster check-in process, the best parking spaces and other perks. Special trip-planninginformation: Rental Guide sections include information on vehicle types, airport terminal maps, pick-up and drop-off location addresses, and even weatherfore- casts. The avis.com site even has detailed information on child passengersafety. The beauty of the Internet is that all the information needed to rent a car is accessible on a home PC. Sites like Trip.com and Hotwire.com are great places to start your plans. But savvy travelers should also visit avis.com and other service-specific sites to makesure they find the best vacation bargains.
