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CNN Live Saturday
Travel Ideas For The Holidays
Aired December 13, 2003 - 12:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, maybe your idea of a terrific holiday means leaving the phone behind. We have ideas to help out. Lastminutetravel.com offers tips on -- what else? Last minute deals.
How does the beach, a cruise or even the Eiffel Tower sound to you this holiday season. Gayle MacIntyre is the director of marketing communications for Lastminutetravel.
Thanks very much for being here.
GAIL MACINTYRE, LASTMINUTETRAVEL.COM.: Thanks for having me.
WHITFIELD: Most people are thinking last minute deals. It means I have to get on a plane or at least surf the net and look for some air travel. But you're saying broaden your horizons, maybe even try a cruise or something?
MACINTYRE: Absolutely. First if you haven't booked your holiday travel yet don't panic. In fact, almost 25 percent of Americans classify themselves as last-minute travelers. You're not alone.
WHITFIELD: True.
MACINTYRE: There are lots of deals out there. Even if you're in a situation where you have to get some place specific, like to grandma's house for cookies, you can do it, but you just may need to look around and shop and do some minor changes to your plans.
WHITFIELD: It sounds like some of the greatest deals are for those more flexible with their designations. Maybe they're not going to be spending the holidays with the family but they really want to do something different
MACINTYRE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: What are some suggested destinations?
MACINTYRE: Lastminutetravel.com specializes in helping you find a great vacation at the last minute. When you come to the site, you'll see hot deals and 25 of the best deals, and they're featured all the time. They change frequently, and they're everything from cruises to Caribbean designations to Mexico.
Don't forget, as you mentioned before Europe, there's some great deals to Europe right now. It's off-season. You can find airfares and lodging at very affordable prices WHITFIELD: But then once you get to some of these exotic locations you mentioned, you have to deal with perhaps the resort prices. Isn't this considered peak season, so can you get a good deal?
MACINTYRE: It is peak season. And a lot of times if you want to go the week between Christmas and New Year's the challenge is going to be to find something versus what you end up paying. Even within that, there are a couple of suggestions I can make. One, if you can go this coming week, the week before Christmas, resort prices are actually a lot lower than they are...
WHITFIELD: But that's like tomorrow?
MACINTYRE: Well, last-minute travel.
WHITFIELD: So, you really can? You only need 24 hours maybe?
MACINTYRE: Yes, you can. There are trips out there that you can take tomorrow or next week. Really beat the rush and get the resort and pay the pre-season price.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Something else you suggest, which makes me wince a little bit. Try and travel light. Don't even try and take all your creature comforts when you go to the beach. Perhaps buy that stuff there? I usually thought that stuff costs more?
MACINTYRE: Well, it might. But with all the restrictions and trying to get through an airport traveling lights is the best way to go nowadays. Certainly you can always find what you need. That shouldn't be an issue.
Have patience. It will be very crowded, there are going to be delays, so bring a good book. That's probably the one thing you should pack.
Your trip really begins with the planning. At Lastminutetravel.com we want to make sure you have fun planning your trip. The site is one stop shopping. If you come there first, we've done the shopping for you. We have a great array of what's available at the last minute. Saves you lots of time. You don't have to surf the net or call a million different people.
WHITFIELD: We mentioned a lot of places to help people get away from the snow.
MACINTYRE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: You know, getting to the beach destinations, but there are a lot of folks who want to go to the snow. They want to spend New Year's or Christmas on a ski slope.
MACINTYRE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: I imagine that will be a tough cheap ticket to find?
MACINTYRE: You can get there. It may not be a cheap ticket. Lodging is still available. For example, Lake Tahoe is a great destination. If you're on the West Coast, you can drive over, lots of affordable lodging left, lots of lodging right now in Park City.
So, you may pay a little more for the airline ticket, but when you get there, you can still find great deals on the lodging.
WHITFIELD: All right, Gayle MacIntyre, thanks for getting us started.
MACINTYRE: Well, thank you.
WHITFIELD: Lastminute.com.
MACINTYRE: Lastminutetravel.com.
WHITFIELD: We want to make sure you get to that website correctly. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 13, 2003 - 12:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, maybe your idea of a terrific holiday means leaving the phone behind. We have ideas to help out. Lastminutetravel.com offers tips on -- what else? Last minute deals.
How does the beach, a cruise or even the Eiffel Tower sound to you this holiday season. Gayle MacIntyre is the director of marketing communications for Lastminutetravel.
Thanks very much for being here.
GAIL MACINTYRE, LASTMINUTETRAVEL.COM.: Thanks for having me.
WHITFIELD: Most people are thinking last minute deals. It means I have to get on a plane or at least surf the net and look for some air travel. But you're saying broaden your horizons, maybe even try a cruise or something?
MACINTYRE: Absolutely. First if you haven't booked your holiday travel yet don't panic. In fact, almost 25 percent of Americans classify themselves as last-minute travelers. You're not alone.
WHITFIELD: True.
MACINTYRE: There are lots of deals out there. Even if you're in a situation where you have to get some place specific, like to grandma's house for cookies, you can do it, but you just may need to look around and shop and do some minor changes to your plans.
WHITFIELD: It sounds like some of the greatest deals are for those more flexible with their designations. Maybe they're not going to be spending the holidays with the family but they really want to do something different
MACINTYRE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: What are some suggested destinations?
MACINTYRE: Lastminutetravel.com specializes in helping you find a great vacation at the last minute. When you come to the site, you'll see hot deals and 25 of the best deals, and they're featured all the time. They change frequently, and they're everything from cruises to Caribbean designations to Mexico.
Don't forget, as you mentioned before Europe, there's some great deals to Europe right now. It's off-season. You can find airfares and lodging at very affordable prices WHITFIELD: But then once you get to some of these exotic locations you mentioned, you have to deal with perhaps the resort prices. Isn't this considered peak season, so can you get a good deal?
MACINTYRE: It is peak season. And a lot of times if you want to go the week between Christmas and New Year's the challenge is going to be to find something versus what you end up paying. Even within that, there are a couple of suggestions I can make. One, if you can go this coming week, the week before Christmas, resort prices are actually a lot lower than they are...
WHITFIELD: But that's like tomorrow?
MACINTYRE: Well, last-minute travel.
WHITFIELD: So, you really can? You only need 24 hours maybe?
MACINTYRE: Yes, you can. There are trips out there that you can take tomorrow or next week. Really beat the rush and get the resort and pay the pre-season price.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Something else you suggest, which makes me wince a little bit. Try and travel light. Don't even try and take all your creature comforts when you go to the beach. Perhaps buy that stuff there? I usually thought that stuff costs more?
MACINTYRE: Well, it might. But with all the restrictions and trying to get through an airport traveling lights is the best way to go nowadays. Certainly you can always find what you need. That shouldn't be an issue.
Have patience. It will be very crowded, there are going to be delays, so bring a good book. That's probably the one thing you should pack.
Your trip really begins with the planning. At Lastminutetravel.com we want to make sure you have fun planning your trip. The site is one stop shopping. If you come there first, we've done the shopping for you. We have a great array of what's available at the last minute. Saves you lots of time. You don't have to surf the net or call a million different people.
WHITFIELD: We mentioned a lot of places to help people get away from the snow.
MACINTYRE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: You know, getting to the beach destinations, but there are a lot of folks who want to go to the snow. They want to spend New Year's or Christmas on a ski slope.
MACINTYRE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: I imagine that will be a tough cheap ticket to find?
MACINTYRE: You can get there. It may not be a cheap ticket. Lodging is still available. For example, Lake Tahoe is a great destination. If you're on the West Coast, you can drive over, lots of affordable lodging left, lots of lodging right now in Park City.
So, you may pay a little more for the airline ticket, but when you get there, you can still find great deals on the lodging.
WHITFIELD: All right, Gayle MacIntyre, thanks for getting us started.
MACINTYRE: Well, thank you.
WHITFIELD: Lastminute.com.
MACINTYRE: Lastminutetravel.com.
WHITFIELD: We want to make sure you get to that website correctly. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
