What's the deal with these cheap airfare / hotel deals?

[trevorwc]

We get faxes every day promoting some big clearance sale where you can get roundtrip airfare and luxury accomodations for three days & two nights to places like Vegas / Orlando / Jamaica for like $99.

I'm assuming this fits into the "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is" category. But I was wondering if anyone knows what the racket is here? I mean, we literally get several of these per day, and I'm bound to spontaneously jump on a $99 to Vegas deal one of these days. I just know I'd likely be getting screwed, so can someone give me the info?

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Do it. A full trip report is expected and appreciated.


Thanks,
OOT

[swede123]

Usually they get you by selling you "upgrades" to the packages. Your accomodations as is includes a nice sturdy cardboard box, if you actually want to stay at a hotel it'll be an extra thirty bucks per night. If you want to stay at a hotel on the strip it'll be an extra sixty bucks per night, and so on.

Furthermore, usually these package deals only include the airfare from certain locations. Maybe airfare from LAX or O'Hare is included, but if you are flying out of Denver you pay an extra forty bucks per person.

It doesn't hurt to call them up, find out how much it really will cost based on your situation, and maybe it will still be an OK deal (though $99 is probably not gonna happen).

Swede

[RacersEdge]

Right, and you might be leaving on a 5 AM flight - and might have to travel on Sunday - Thursday - no weekends, etc.