Web site tracks cheapest hotel, flight prices
SEATTLE -- Say you're looking for a cheap ticket. You think you found it, and you buy it. A week later, you find a cheaper ticket.
One way to make sure you get the best deal around is to log on to Yapta.com.
The free, Seattle-based Web site works like a personal travel assistant. It helps you find the lowest airfare around by comparing prices. You can look up a flight, book it and Yapta will track your ticket to make sure you're getting the cheapest price available.
Here's how it works. Say you buy a plane ticket from Seattle to New York for $339. A month later, you find out the same ticket costs only $258. Not only will Yapta notify you of the new price, but it will even help you request money back from the airline to cover the difference.
You can also simply have Yapta track the prices until they reach a level you're comfortable with, then purchase the ticket.
"The whole reason is to help people get the most value out of their spending and to save a little," said Yapta.com founder Tom Romary.
Romary used to be a vice president for Alaska Airlines.
"Let's face it. You know everyone's family budgets have been cut. If people are traveling, they're watching every dime they spend. And if we can save people a couple of hundred bucks along the way that's real money," he said.
Yapta offers the same service for hotel rooms. Yapta will find the cheapest hotel for your needs and send you to the Web site so you can book a room.
Unlike Expedia and Priceline, you can't book directly on Yapta. The site merely directs you to the correct site.
One way to make sure you get the best deal around is to log on to Yapta.com.
The free, Seattle-based Web site works like a personal travel assistant. It helps you find the lowest airfare around by comparing prices. You can look up a flight, book it and Yapta will track your ticket to make sure you're getting the cheapest price available.
Here's how it works. Say you buy a plane ticket from Seattle to New York for $339. A month later, you find out the same ticket costs only $258. Not only will Yapta notify you of the new price, but it will even help you request money back from the airline to cover the difference.
You can also simply have Yapta track the prices until they reach a level you're comfortable with, then purchase the ticket.
"The whole reason is to help people get the most value out of their spending and to save a little," said Yapta.com founder Tom Romary.
Romary used to be a vice president for Alaska Airlines.
"Let's face it. You know everyone's family budgets have been cut. If people are traveling, they're watching every dime they spend. And if we can save people a couple of hundred bucks along the way that's real money," he said.
Yapta offers the same service for hotel rooms. Yapta will find the cheapest hotel for your needs and send you to the Web site so you can book a room.
Unlike Expedia and Priceline, you can't book directly on Yapta. The site merely directs you to the correct site.