Vacation more expensive than necessary: This is how you save hundreds of euros in bookings!
Vacation more expensive than necessary: This is how you save hundreds of euros in bookings!
Price fluctuations in vacation bookings are currently the focus of holidaymakers who want to find a good offer for their trips. A survey by the Chamber of Labor in Austria has identified drastic differences in the prices for hotel and flight bookings. The analysis took place in the period from March 11 to 22, 2025 and referred to several platforms, including Booking.com, fluege.de and opodo.at. Up to 22 different end devices, such as laptops, notebooks, iPads, Apple MacBook Air and smartphones, were used from various geographical regions, including Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Carinthia, Styria and Tyrol.
The price differences in hotel bookings are particularly noticeable. According to the results of 5min.at , the prices can vary up to 80% via booking.com. An example illustrates this: A hotel on Corfu for two people over four days was offered on March 20 for 629 euros with a notebook in Vienna. When querying on 13 other end devices, however, the price fell to only 350 euros, which makes a difference of 279 euros - a saving of around 80%. Another examined hotel in Innsbruck showed the same price on all survey days.
flight bookings and price transparency
The results regarding flight bookings showed no systematic relationships with the price differences. The Chamber of Labor found that the differences compared to the last examination in 2023. No clear patterns regarding the cheapest booking devices or times could be found, which made it more difficult to search for the best offer.
In view of these developments, the Chamber of Labor calls for transparent regulations for pricing policy at EU level in order to give consumers more security. In this context, some tips are helpful to achieve the best prices:- adjust the web browser so that activities tracking is blocked and cookies are deleted.
- Compare the prices on different devices such as smartphones and laptops. Book
- flights early to avoid price increases.
These information is particularly relevant for all vacationers who make travel plans in the near future. So there is no money and a more transparent pricing could ultimately improve the booking experience. Further information on the results of the study can also be found on kaernten.orf .
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| Ort | Wien, Österreich |
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