The travel industry is offering promotions large and small for Cyber Monday. Some companies are participating for the first time, while others are embracing the online holiday sale in a bigger way than in the past.
American Express Travel is launching its first-ever Cyber Monday promotion, with substantial hotel discounts and deals throughout the U.S. and Canada for Jan. 13-31. The promotions will be bookable at http://www.amextravel.com beginning Monday at 12:01 a.m. and will last 72 hours.
Cyber Monday, which dates to the late 1990s and takes place on the Monday after Thanksgiving, is the online shopping equivalent of Black Friday. Several online retailers are offering sales and discounts.
Liberty Travel has participated in Cyber Monday before, but the volume of deals and their promotion is bigger this year and offers deeper savings. Liberty has assembled 99 deals with up to 65 percent off, bookable through Cyber Monday, featuring resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico along with cruises and escorted tours.
Liberty is also giving a credit of up to $100 on all new bookings made in Liberty Travel stores Friday-Monday (Nov. 29-Dec. 2). Get a Black Friday code at http://www.LibertyTravel.com , available as of 12 a.m. Friday (Nov. 29), then present it to an agent to take $50, $75 or $100 off (depending on how much you spend) on trips worth $2,500 or more.Priceline.com is doing a one-day sale beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday promising "50 percent off all flights for travel before Dec. 18" on select flights from unsold inventory. Spokeswoman Leslie Cafferty says "there are a lot of options for those who are there first," advising deal-seekers to "start searching early."
George Hobica of AirfareWatchdog.com says "the hipper newer" airlines like Virgin America and JetBlue have participated in Cyber Monday airfare sales in the past. But he says they often simply bring out their "usual Tuesday or Wednesday promo code sales wrapped up in a Cyber Monday package."
For cruise-lovers, Royal Caribbean will offer onboard credits of $50, $100 and $200 per stateroom (depending on length of cruise) as well as reduced deposits for departures Jan. 1 or later. The offer applies to bookings with paid deposits made Monday through Wednesday at http://www.royalcaribbean.com or via 800-Royal-Caribbean, and it excludes sailings on Quantum of the Seas.
The hotel industry is offering a wide variety of online post-Thanksgiving sales. Anthony Melchiorri, host of the Travel Channel show "Hotel Impossible," says the holiday sales can be "a win-win for hotels and consumers." Hotels push deals for periods when they have capacity, "and consumers can save up to 65 percent." He added that "more and more hotels seems to be joining in" the promotion as the years go by.
But check websites for details as every offer is different. Some deals were available even before Cyber Monday. Some are for 24 hours, some last several days. Many have blackout dates for popular travel periods. Some hotel deals are straightforward rate offers, others are 10 percent off, some give triple credit-card points or dollar-amount credits during a stay toward amenities or services. Some require coupon codes.