Latest news with #CheapHolidayExpert
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Travel enthusiast's 'very simple' holiday tip - it saved her 21% on accommodation
Travel enthusiast Chelsea, also known as 'The Cheap Holiday Expert', has shared the little-known Airbnb hack A lesser-known Airbnb tip that could help you snag cheaper deals when booking holidays has been revealed - and it's surprisingly straightforward to implement. Chelsea, dubbed 'The Cheap Holiday Expert', revealed the strategy saved her 21 per cent on a tranquil barge stay in Manchester. In a TikTok post, she gave followers a tour of the barge's spacious interior, which boasted a double bed, shower, and even a bar stocked with alcoholic beverages. Chelsea initially discovered the barge on Airbnb, which was priced at £152 per night, but she managed to slash the cost down to just £120. "I saved 21 per cent on this amazing barge in Manchester with a very simple hack," she explained in the post from last year. "...This is a great hack, I use it all the time." Chelsea's hack primarily involves looking for accommodation on platforms other than Airbnb. She simply took a few words from the Airbnb listing title and searched them on Google, which led her to the barge's own independent website. The main reason for the lower price was the absence of Airbnb's service fee, which typically accounts for less than 14.2 per cent of the booking subtotal. This fee is instrumental in helping Airbnb run smoothly and includes services such as round-the-clock customer support. Captioning the video, Chelsea continued: "There's SO MUCH CHOICE on Airbnb but as there becomes more and more places for owners to list their properties, it is ALWAYS worth checking to see if you can find the same accommodation on another platform for less. "...The reason this can sometimes work out cheaper is because Airbnb charges guests a service fee in addition to the cost per night. Another option could also be to check to see if the owner has their own website or social media. "This one can often work out the cheapest since they're not having to give away part of their fee to the platform." While these approaches might prove more economical, Chelsea cautioned about potential disadvantages. Should problems occur or alterations be required, your safeguards may be less robust than when reserving via Airbnb. Consequently, it's always recommended to thoroughly investigate the accommodation in advance. She continued: "The big flag with all of these is knowing that it's whoever you part your cash with is the one that you have a 'contract' with. Therefore, it's always worth checking out what protection and customer service is available if anything needs to be changed, cancelled or if anything goes wrong. "Now, there's pros and cons for both - some individuals may provide a much better service than a big company, and then for others it would be vice versa. "So always check the reviews and whether you're booking direct or on any platform, always be on the lookout for false listings where someone has simply lifted the photos from an existing holiday let (let me know if you'd like me to cover spotting this in more depth)." Other booking sites to check Besides Airbnb, Chelsea advised checking four other websites to check to compare holiday deals. These include: Vrbo HolidayLettings Sykes
New York Post
08-06-2025
- New York Post
Airlines hate this sneaky travel hack that can save flyers serious money when booking flights, expert says
Although prices are way down for airfare this summer — there's no harm in wanting to save an extra buck where you can. Founder of the Cheap Holiday Expert and podcast host, Chelsea Dickenson, recently shared on an episode of her pod, Passports Please!, that 'skiplagging' is a travel hack that allows travelers to fly for cheap to long-haul hotspots. 'Skiplagging is when a passenger books a flight with a layover but intentionally gets off at the layover city instead of continuing to the final destination,' Dicksenson explained to her co-host, James Robinson, in a clip from the episode that was posted to TikTok. Advertisement 'And that is because the layover city is usually cheaper to fly to as part of a longer route.' For instance, booking an indirect flight from New York to California, with a layover in Texas, is cheaper than flying directly from NYC to the Lone Star State. Advertisement So a traveler would book the longer flight to California, get off the plane in Texas, stay there and just miss the second flight to California — since they intended to stay in Texas originally. While this is a smart hack — it's not foolproof and airlines 'absolutely hate it cause you're wasting a seat on one of their flights.' And as a result, there are consequences. Travelers can entirely skip a flight and just stay in the layover city — which is often cheaper than booking a direct flight somewhere far. luengo_ua – Advertisement 'You can get blacklisted by doing it. Some people have been totally told they cannot book with airlines if they've done it repeatedly,' Dickenson said on her podcast. Many people in the comment section seemed to support this travel tip — and brought up valid points regarding airlines' snooty attitude towards it. 'If airlines hate it, then make the prices make sense…' someone pointed out. 'You can get blacklisted by doing it. Some people have been totally told they cannot book with airlines if they've done it repeatedly,' Dickenson said on her podcast. John N – Advertisement 'You are not wasting a seat cause you paid for it,' quipped someone else. 'Delta all the time. Know folks who live in Atlanta and always book Delta to anywhere because the layover is 95% of the time in Atlanta,' a comment read. A few others were concerned about luggage when skiplagging. 'My first thought is. This would only work for passengers with hand luggage only,' one person wrote. 'Obviously, people who do this don't have checked-in luggage,' chimed in someone else. And someone else offered some great advice to avoid getting in trouble from an airline for making skiplagging a habit. 'To avoid being blacklisted show up late to the gate and pretend to be upset that you missed your connecting flight,' a person wrote. 'The airline will cancel your return flight if you do this,' someone hypothesized.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Tourists are urged to 'skiplag' to get the best deal on flights
A travel expert has explained how tourists can bag a cheap long-haul flight but the hack does come with a few catches. Chelsea Dickenson, the Cheap Holiday Expert, explained how skiplagging works on her podcast, @passportspleasepod. She reveals: 'Skiplagging is when a passenger books a flight with a layover but intentionally gets off at the layover city instead of continuing to the final destination. 'And that is because the layover city is usually cheaper to fly to as part of a longer route.' As an example, Chelsea explains that a passenger could fly from London to New York. Instead of opting for a 'super expensive' direct route, travellers could find a flight that's London to Chicago with a change in New York. Chelsea says that the passenger would then get off in New York and exit the airport, instead of waiting for the flight to Chicago. But while the hack could be a way to score a cheaper flight, Chelsea warns that it's not always better value than booking a direct route. And there's another downside. She adds: 'The main con is that airlines absolutely hate it cause you're wasting a seat on one of their flights.' Airline staff may also be looking for the missing passenger when they don't board the second flight. Chelsea says: 'It's admin to them. They hate it. And you can get blacklisted by doing it. Some people have been totally told they cannot book with airlines if they've done it repeatedly.' Although Chelsea's tip picked up more than 265,000 likes on TikTok, a commenter issued another warning for travellers that are keen to try skiplagging. 'Nayla Kana' says: 'My first thought is, this would only work for passengers with hand luggage only. Because your luggage will be in Chicago now!' Another commenter said the tip would surely be unlikely to work for a return journey, and Chelsea agreed, saying: 'It wouldn't [work]! If you did it on the flight out, they'd probably cancel your return flight.'
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
I'm a travel expert - this is the hack I ALWAYS use to get £5 tickets for West End and Broadway shows
If you're a fan of the theatre who gets put off by high ticket prices, listen up. A travel expert has shared an easy travel hack that could let you see your favourite shows for a fiver. Chelsea Dickenson, otherwise known as the Cheap Holiday Expert (@cheapholidayexp), shared the 'secret' hack on her Passports Please! podcast. The budget travel pro says: 'In big cities or places where they have lots of shows and events on, there can be a time when these shows and events do not sell out. 'But rather than the seat go empty, there are some websites and companies out there who will fill the seats.' She then explains: 'Just Google"seat filling" and the city that you're after and you will find some companies that do this. 'And what you will find is that you will be able to go and see things for like a fiver or a tenner which could cost you hundreds of pounds.' But Chelsea warns that the hack is generally kept quite secret, claiming that it's like the 'Fight Club' code of theatre. She reveals: 'I get it, the reason they don't want you to talk about it is because I don't even know if the shows that you're filling the seats for whether the actors or the musicians know.' The travel expert says that performers could 'dent their ego' if they knew that some people had got tickets using the hack. One commenter says: 'Been doing it for quite a few years now and have bagged some absolute bargains!' And another person adds: 'There have been last minute ticket resellers as long as there have been theatres. 'It's the same with anything that is time sensitive from hotel rooms to flights to cauliflowers. If they need to sell it, you can get a deal on it.'
