Trying to Plan a Destination Wedding...
Mar 31, 2022, 10:43 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 1
Trying to Plan a Destination Wedding...
Brand new here and needing some advice. I've been to Vegas multiple times and it's one of our favorite vacation spots - Which is why we decided to get married here. The challenge is we've opted to help pay for the transportation costs of some of the wedding party/guests. (Sister & brother-in-law are bringing our toddler. And my mother and grandmother are on limited incomes.) The wedding is set for October 17th, so we have some time still...But as the day draws closer, flights and hotels are getting more expensive by the day. I've been obsessively scouring all the sites I can think of, bundling in different ways, looking for coupons, trying different airports, but nothing is really bringing the cost down...Which I'm usually pretty good at, but I typically only have myself and hubby to worry about in Vegas.
Basically, I have 2 adults and a toddler traveling out of WA (no nearby airport, so basically could go to just about any airport) and another 2 adults traveling out of Portland, OR. We wanted to all stay on Fremont originally, but with resort fees it ends up costing so much more. We do own a timeshare and it ends up being cheaper buying them additional rooms, but I know sites like Priceline offer discounts to bundle. (However PL has TICKED me off...I book with them CONSISTENTLY. My dad, who has an account but I don't think has ever actually booked with them shows better prices than I do for the same exact things...What am I missing here??)
To put it in perspective, the hub and I are paying less than half for 7 days what I'm finding for the first 2 adults and my son to travel for 4-5 days. (And our cost factors in a car too.) Also - I didn't book us that long ago either. I'm talking days ago, so I don't think that's a huge factor.
Anything you all would suggest trying to get better rates? The airfare is what's killing me the most. Traveling for a wedding and with a toddler, they'll need at least 1 checked bag a piece...And even Southwest isn't cutting it. (Do they go on sale any time between now and October?)
Thank you all for reading if you've made it this far!!
Basically, I have 2 adults and a toddler traveling out of WA (no nearby airport, so basically could go to just about any airport) and another 2 adults traveling out of Portland, OR. We wanted to all stay on Fremont originally, but with resort fees it ends up costing so much more. We do own a timeshare and it ends up being cheaper buying them additional rooms, but I know sites like Priceline offer discounts to bundle. (However PL has TICKED me off...I book with them CONSISTENTLY. My dad, who has an account but I don't think has ever actually booked with them shows better prices than I do for the same exact things...What am I missing here??)
To put it in perspective, the hub and I are paying less than half for 7 days what I'm finding for the first 2 adults and my son to travel for 4-5 days. (And our cost factors in a car too.) Also - I didn't book us that long ago either. I'm talking days ago, so I don't think that's a huge factor.
Anything you all would suggest trying to get better rates? The airfare is what's killing me the most. Traveling for a wedding and with a toddler, they'll need at least 1 checked bag a piece...And even Southwest isn't cutting it. (Do they go on sale any time between now and October?)
Thank you all for reading if you've made it this far!!
Apr 1, 2022, 12:09 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Silver, IHG Plat AMB, Hertz Pres. Circle, Avis Presidents Club; Caesars Diamond Plus
Posts: 641
Keep looking. It's a little early, and SWA may come down in price nicely between now and then. Travel on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday for the best fares (in my experience). If wedding is on a Monday, book Saturday thru Tuesday, for example.
Apr 1, 2022, 2:48 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Programs: AA EXP 1MM, UA Silver, HHDmd, MBvLTPLT, PCAmb/Dmd, HYT Dis
Posts: 1,578
I had a destination wedding many years ago and can empathize. In my case it was in St. Thomas, but I started tracking airfares a year out to help a couple dozen different people travel from all over the US, and the airfares never really went on sale. I ended up helping many of them signup for various credit cards and use miles/points to get there.
As lindaiah and corky said, you are a little early for the sales - most airlines are hitting their best prices about 3-4 months out these days. I would not panic as there should be sales to Las Vegas. With PDX and WA state as origination, you could also keep an eye out to see if the AS Visa has a signup offer where you get the companion certificate up front after the spend requirement vs. waiting for the 1 year anniversary (I know they just had an offer - not sure if still active). I think the Southwest Visa also had a recent signup offer that included a companion pass -- but even doing the regular signup bonus for the points and using those could be helpful (and if the fares come down, you just make the flight change and get the points difference refunded).
On the hotel side, for our event we had enough people that we negotiated a discounted rate with a hotel, but we also grouped up a number of family members and helped them rent houses near each other. Perhaps check out what is available on AirBnB and VRBO for your dates and see if you can match any grouping of people together. I had a trip planned for this summer that included Anchorage -- hotel rates were sky high for the 3 days we needed - found a very nice Airbnb house that could accommodate 6 adults and 2 kids for the price of just one of the rooms.
As lindaiah and corky said, you are a little early for the sales - most airlines are hitting their best prices about 3-4 months out these days. I would not panic as there should be sales to Las Vegas. With PDX and WA state as origination, you could also keep an eye out to see if the AS Visa has a signup offer where you get the companion certificate up front after the spend requirement vs. waiting for the 1 year anniversary (I know they just had an offer - not sure if still active). I think the Southwest Visa also had a recent signup offer that included a companion pass -- but even doing the regular signup bonus for the points and using those could be helpful (and if the fares come down, you just make the flight change and get the points difference refunded).
On the hotel side, for our event we had enough people that we negotiated a discounted rate with a hotel, but we also grouped up a number of family members and helped them rent houses near each other. Perhaps check out what is available on AirBnB and VRBO for your dates and see if you can match any grouping of people together. I had a trip planned for this summer that included Anchorage -- hotel rates were sky high for the 3 days we needed - found a very nice Airbnb house that could accommodate 6 adults and 2 kids for the price of just one of the rooms.