Weekly round up: Europe's Rising stars, NYC hotel for under $100 a night???, JetBlue getaways and more.

Another eventful week in the travel business. So I thought today I would catch you up on some of the deals, news, stories and articles that came out this past week.


Jetting for less: JetBlue currently has a 40% off select getaways that include such destinations as Aruba, Cancun & Nassau. These "beachy keen" deals include 4-star accommodations and nonstop flights from such locales as Boston, New York & Orlando.For more information head on over to JetBlue.

NYC Hotel for $89/night???: Whoa...recession pricing is in full effect with this great deal from TravelZoo and Best Western. The new Bowery Hanbee Hotel, which is located in the hip and trendy SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, is offering a jaw dropping special. For select dates through April, travelers can enjoy a great room for only $89/night! In order to get this low rate you must book with TravelZoo's special code, which is...well..."TravelZoo"...not hard to remember. Click here for more information. Hurry because you must book by March 9.


Luck of the Irish: While not "new" news, it is worth mentioning the current sale and prices that Ireland's most popular airline Aer Lingus currently has on their website. Sales at a stunningly low $199 each way to/from Ireland in the spring and $229 in the summer. Simply amazing considering how expensive flights to Europe were just 8-12 months ago! But Aer Lingus is not just good for flights to the Emerald Isle. In fact they have dozens of European cities at lower than normal prices right now. I booked a 3 week trip to Krakow in June for about 40% lower than the competition. More for information on the Ireland sale click here, to check out all of the other great destinations that Aer Lingus flies to click here.

(Another)Southwest sale: In what seems to be a regular occurrence these days, Southwest is offering a sale. But this sale is unique as it covers all of the airline's destinations. Some of the cities that the low cost airline flies to include New York (Long Island Islip), Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago (Midway) and Seattle. The Nationwide sale has fares that range from $49-$129 one-way. Check out Southwest for more information. Hurry though, this sale ends Monday March 2.

Europe's other great cities: Fodor's has a great article about "Europe's Rising Stars", which includes a look at such amazing, yet sometimes overlooked, cities like Galway, Ireland and Valencia, Spain. These particular cities offer all of the same excitement and culture of their more popular neighbors, but often times To check out the full article, click here.




So much is going on these days in travel. Airfare sales seem to pop up every 7 minutes (or at least it feels that way) and hotel prices are plummeting worldwide. Who would have thought a year ago that you could stay in a nice hotel in Manhattan for under $100/night? Madness. It is safe to say that the term "Staycation" is officially retired. To that I say, GOOD RIDDANCE!

A True Blue Promise

JetBlue announced today a program that is starting to become pretty common among major companies in light of so many Americans losing jobs at such a drastic rate in this poor economy.

Similar to the program that car company Hyundai started last month, if you lose your job, you can get a refund without suffering any penalties or fees. Call it a recession proof deal by JetBlue by one of the more customer friendly domestic airlines.

Here is the lowdown straight from JetBlue's website:

The person seeking to cancel the reservation for flight(s) and request a refund under the Program must:

* Involuntarily lose his/her full time job on or after February 17, 2009
* Be aged 18 or older as of February 17, 2009
* Be a traveler on the reservation/itinerary for which a refund is sought; and
* Have personally paid for the travel for which a refund is sought.

Now before you wave your blue #1 giant foam finger in the air, there are of course some exclusions to this deal (I mean they are an airline after all!):

* Excludes corporate bookings, group bookings, Getaways vacation packages and cruises
* Excludes the following forms of payment: Gift Cards, Vouchers, TrueBlue Award Travel, Travel Certificates

For full details of this unique promotion, head on over to JetBlue.

Let's make a (travel) deal.

Ok so times are tough. The economy is in the toilet and people are losing jobs left and right (600,000 jobs cut in January alone). This fear of consumer spending effects the travel business greatly. So in order to get people traveling in such weak financial times, airlines, hotels and even opaque travel sites are offering travelers coupons, promotional codes, money towards future trips and more.



Some of the great deals I found just today online include:


Expedia: Book your next hotel stay with Expedia and you will get a prepaid MasterCard debit card worth $50. Simply book either a 4-night stay or a flight with a 4-night stay and then a few weeks later you will receive the gift card in the mail. Click here for more information on this promotion.



Alaska Air: Book your next getaway at alaskaair.com/vacations and you'll save 10% when you enter promo code AS9SAVETEN. Just purchase your package by February 28, 2009, and complete travel by April 30, 2009, to take advantage of this great offer.



Spirit Air: You have until midnight tomorrow (Feb. 10) to take advantage of this deal and get $35 off your next Spirit Airlines flight. This deal is good for travel through mid-December. Enter the promo code SAVE35 on the homepage when booking. You must be a member of the Spirit’s “$9 Club” - but non-members do receive a $17 discount. Click here for more information.



Travelocity: This is one deal where you do not have to enter a code. Travelocity has simply lowered prices on hundred of hotels worldwide. Click here for more information.




Orbitz: What happens when one site offers a sale? Of course the competition answers with their own version. So here is 50% off hotels worldwide through Orbitz.



Hotwire: What also happens when a site starts a sale? Another site comes out with a bigger and better deal to match it or beat it. Hotels are up to 60% off at Hotwire.com right now



JetBlue: A different kind of sale is taking place at JetBlue right now. To commemorate their 9 year anniversary, the low cost carrier is celebrating with games and prizes on their website. If you play their memory game they will even give you 9% off your next flight. Click here for more information and be sure to sign up as a TrueBlue member (it's free).


If you are indeed looking for a deal or an idea of a place to visit that is "on sale", check out locations like Hawaii, Poland, Iceland, Las Vegas & Canada where your money will go farther.

Safe travels,

Andy