Connie Sylvanus
LS521 Sp02
Instructional Elective
Using the Web to Plan and Purchase Travel
Internet Online Course Module
Objective: Students will create an imaginary trip using a variety of Internet sources. Students will search various sites to plan for transportation, lodging, entertainment and food for a trip.
Introduction -Traditionally, travel planning was the province of the professional travel agent. They were possessed of the knowledge made available only to them: knowledge of airline schedules, price breaks and rebates, hotel locations and specials, and the myriad of other details needed to plan trips. They had a stranglehold on the traveling public. One could make a reservation with an airline, but they would not tell you if a competitor had it cheaper rate or if they had any special rates of which you could take advantage. A hotel room could be reserved, but you would have no idea if there were other rates than what was quoted and would have a lot of difficulty determining if the room was near the locations you wanted to visit.
The internet has changed everything. The travel agency is rapidly becoming an endangered species. There is little in the way of information available to the professional travel agent that is now not available on the internet. Include in your planning additional Internet sites from those listed previously. Travel sites allow you to check rates on all airlines (with few exceptions) from various airports and to try different combinations with ease. They give you hotel specials and maps showing you where the hotels are located and the availability of transportation. While most of this was available before the beginning of the internet, it was difficult to access and it made little pricing difference because so few people availed themselves of it.
Activity - To make use of this information requires a basic knowledge of the use of the internet and various features thereof. This activity will identify the skills needed to successfully navigate the travel selections on the internet and provide some of the resources available. The assignment will be to plan a trip using various web sites on the internet.
The activity will be to navigate a single but comprehensive travel source to plan a short trip. Most of the skills necessary to use multiple sites and multiple activities will be used. The intent of the activity will be to orient the user to the types of skills that will be necessary to complete the assignment.
Assignment - You will be leaving from
What you will need-
Transportation
to and from
Ground
transportation in California;
A place
(or places)to stay;
Food, and
Information on what to see and do.
A major goal in the exercise is to save money and determine how many options are available for each of the needs.
Tools -The internet provides innumerable sites for accomplishing the goals of this activity. This paper provides a few examples and is not intended to be exhaustive. Searching the web and experimenting with other sites will likely yield a wealth of other available resources.
For each of the needed resources, there are essentially two types of sites. There is the general travel site that is intended to serve as a one stop shopping site for travel. Through these sites you can arrange travel, lodging, sightseeing, activities and just about everything that is needed when planning a trip. The other type of site is the web location for individual providers such as airlines, car rental companies and hotel chains.
There are limitations to the general sites. Some travel providers, be they airlines, rental car companies, or hotels offer special prices and combinations only through their sites and not available on the general sites. Thus, although convenience would dictate use of only the general sites, it often pays to vary the search.
General Travel Sites:
Airline Sites:
Note: these are but three examples. Some airlines, Southwest for example, do not allow on line reservations through the general sites, but only through their own sites.
Car Rental Sites:
Hotel Sites
In searching for activities and places to eat, there are numerous ways of achieving the desired results. If you are going to a city, in this case Los Angeles CA, there are usually official sites with maps, suggested activities and restaurants. www.ci.la.ca.us . In addition, there are unofficial guides published by tourist or public interest groups www.local.msn.com/LosAngeles/ .
For specific sites, such as Disneyland, there are usually official sites: www.disney.go.com .
Additional Resources – The following sites and books are available to assist in planning trips online.
Hasbrouck, Edward. The Practical Nomad Guide to Online Travel Marketplace. New York: Avalon Travel, 2001. 439pgs.
Vadnai, Noah and Julian Smith. Planning
Online for Dummies.
Rubric – The trip agenda will be assessed as follows:
|
Categories |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
Content |
Content is minimal. Travel arrangements are listed with no details.
|
Essential content is listed. Travel arrangements are noted with few details. |
Covers topic in depth with details and examples. All travels sites are noted. |
|
Organization |
There is no clear or logical organization |
Some organization to material with a few headings or bullets. |
Content is well organized and information is put together well. Use of bullets and headings noted. |
|
Appearance |
Little use of graphics and colors in making travel agenda. |
Some graphics and color used to construct travel agenda. |
Excellent graphics and color to construct travel agenda. |
Wherever you want to go, you can usually find a site and someone who has been there and can tell you what to see, what to avoid, when to go and how to get the best deals. Searching the web, getting used to trying different search engines and techniques and practice can work wonders. Trips can be planned, money can be saved and you can even have fun doing it. It’s certainly a lot more fun than sitting in a travel agent’s office at his or her mercy.