Less service, more savings on the Web

THE low prices for packages to Ireland, London and Paris are one of the many ways the Internet has brightened our travel lives. Web specials to those destinations are selling for at least $150 per person less than would otherwise be the case, by my calculations. Why? Because people can book online, without ever talking to a human being.

Most Internet bookings are made directly, without the assistance of a travel agent. That saves the tour operator a travel agent’s commission of 10% to 15%, usually amounting to between $30 and $50. Because the booking is processed electronically, the company offering the package has no cost for long-distance telephone calls and does not need to hire people to talk with the customers.

Most tour operators I know would say that saves an additional $50 per booking, if not more. And because it’s easy to bring the public’s attention to Internet products, the tour operating company saves the cost of printing and mailing elaborate brochures and other costly forms of marketing.

These savings result in prices for short fall/winter trips to Ireland, London and Paris that are extraordinarily low, compared with prevailing rates.

For instance, Brian Moore International Tours, www.bmit.com, (800) 982-2299, has rates of $459 per person, double occupancy, for a one-week fly-and-drive package from Los Angeles to Ireland. It’s available from Nov. 1 to March 31 and includes round-trip airfare and a manual-transmission rental car with unlimited mileage.

A London package, starting Nov. 1, will cost $629 from L.A. or San Francisco. It includes air and six nights’ hotel accommodations with breakfast.

Another popular Internet firm that does battle on prices to London can be found at www.offpeaktraveler.com. It is offering a $579 package, per person, from Los Angeles to London on Virgin Atlantic. The trip must be scheduled after Nov. 1 and includes six nights with breakfast at a London hotel.

Other Internet packages are available to destinations such as Orlando, Fla.; Hawaii; Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.

There is also www.ireland.com/travel. This Internet tour service is operated by long-experienced Sceptre Ireland. This fall and winter, its basic package to Ireland (“Independent Emerald”) will provide six nights in Ireland, including a pre-booked hotel near Shannon Airport and five nights of bed-and-breakfast accommodations throughout the country, as well as round-trip air from LAX to Shannon for $699 per person, double occupancy. Travelers also receive a week’s use of a standard-shift car with unlimited miles.

These are prices you would have seen in the late 1980s. You can thank the Internet for making them available today.