Wednesday, March 30, 2011

tips to book a cheap hotel

Between taking time off from work, travel planning, booking tickets, packing and shuffling your family from point to point, it's easy to feel like you need a vacation from your vacation.
These free online tools can ease your pain and help you save money by finding deals, keeping track of your itinerary and organizing your trip before you leave home.
TripIt.com: The mother of all travel web sites, TripIt organizes all of your scheduled events -- flights, tours, restaurant reservations and car rental -- into one single itinerary you can view by computer or mobile phone. Simply forward your confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and this travel website compiles a master travel schedule along with locations, maps, contact information and weather forecasts for each planned event.
"Few people have every element of their trip coming from the same provider," says Jason Clampet, senior online editor at Frommers.com. "You might book your hotel through TabletHotels.com, your airline ticket through JetBlue.com and your restaurant reservation through OpenTable.com. ... Having all of that combined makes traveling very easy."
TripIt has a pro version that offers several features including tracking frequent-flier mile awards and fare deals, but this free travel website will do for casual travelers, Clampet says.
Flybudget.com: Ann Lombardi, co-founder of The Trip Chicks, a travel agency in Atlanta, says that travelers can save 20 percent to 40 percent off airline fares to expensive locales by breaking up their trip. Instead of flying directly into a pricey hub, travelers can save money by flying into the closest major airline hub and taking a budget airline to their final destination.
"This is not for the overpacker," Lombardi says. "On (international) budget airlines, they measure luggage by weight, not by piece. You're allowed a certain amount of weight and for every pound over, you pay a fee."
While you can't book flights through Flybudget.com, this travel website helps you research which budget airlines are available for your route. Then, you can save money by booking directly on the airlines' web sites.
Google Translate: Speak your phrase of choice into your iPhone or Android cellphone and this app will not only translate and play it back in any of 22 languages, but also write it in an additional 34. The app is free and is infinitely useful for off-the-grid travel, but there's a catch. While the app may be cheap, international data plans required to access the app abroad can add up fast.
"People are really concerned about the dollars and cents of using a smartphone abroad," says Jason Clampet. "People are still very cautious and when they are abroad, they're relying on old-school methods instead of high-tech." For those who fear international data charges, Clampet suggests sticking with an old-fashioned language dictionary.
AwardWallet.com: The best way to save money on travel is to let someone else pay for it. Designed to organize your frequent-flier miles, hotel and credit card points and gift cards, this online travel tool keeps track of when points expire, ensuring that your rewards won't go unused. Lombardi says that the site is particularly useful for those saving hotel points or frequent-flier miles for a big trip over lengthy periods of time.
"Many people waste frequent-flier miles because it's hard to monitor when points with different airlines actually expire," she says. "If you're saving frequent-flier points from different airlines over several years, it's more efficient to keep on top of all your points through AwardWallet.com."
Airbnb.com: For families and groups, condo and house rentals frequently offer lower weekly rates than hotels as well as amenities such as kitchens that can substantially reduce food costs while traveling.
Airbnb.com allows homeowners to rent out anything from a spare couch to a spare mansion at any price they choose. That means you can save money by negotiating unheard-of travel deals, like a fully equipped studio in the heart of Paris for $80 per night.
BiddingTraveler.com: If you want the swank and pampering of a hotel, bid low to save money. "I like cheap paris hotels 's hotel bids, but the trick is to know what property you'll likely receive and exactly what to bid," says Chris Guillebeau, founder of the travel savings site Travel Hacking.
Enter BiddingTraveler.com, an online travel tool that shows you what hotels Priceline is offering in a specific area, what bids they've recently accepted and rejected, and a recommended bidding strategy for getting the best deal. Once you know how low local hotel room rates have dipped to lure in travelers, BiddingTraveler walks you through the actual bidding and booking process. The site recently touted four-star digs in downtown Chicago as low as $54 per night.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

prices in Paris real estate higher than ever

Paris Apartments Keep Going 



    Paris luxury
    Paris real estate broker Kerstin Bachmann warned clients two years ago that the global financial crisis would trigger a slump in the city's home prices. Last year they rose at their fastest pace in at least two decades.
    Residential values in the French capital climbed almost 18 percent in 2010 following a 4 percent decline a year earlier, according to Paris Chamber of Notaries data based on prices per square meter. By the same measure, London had a 1 percent increase and Manhattan was almost flat. Since 2005, Paris prices are up 40 percent, while values across France are little changed, according to the brokers' lobby, FNAIM. "Paris proved itself even more as a safe and sustainable investment option," says Bachmann, a partner at Paris Property Group, which last year handled 25 deals worth €40 million ($56 million).
    It's the locals—not American or English couples looking for a pied-à-terre—who are driving up prices. The French are shunning stock and bond markets and putting money into Paris real estate at a time when fewer owners are selling properties and little new stock is coming into the market. Transactions last year were 9 percent below the average for the past decade, Chamber of Notaries research shows. Says Roger Abecassis, president of Consultants Immobilier Group, a chain of 10 brokerages: "It's a French market."
    The upshot: The City of Light is becoming ever more unaffordable. "We have reached prices that are so high that there are no first-time buyers," says Sebastien Kuperfis, a director of property brokerage chain Junot Investissements. Data compiled by Jacques Friggit, an economist with the French government, show that Paris prices are rising at their fastest rate relative to disposable income since World War I. Record-low interest rates and banks' willingness to grant longer-term loans are part of the reason for the runup. Paris, with its strict zoning laws, also suffers a chronic shortage of new housing stock. Last year construction companies broke ground on just 2,785 new homes in the 20 districts, or arrondissements, of Paris, which has a population of 2.23 million.
    The biggest price gains were in the "Triangle d'Or," a fashionable neighborhood in the 8th arrondissement bordered by the Champs-Elysées and Avenue Montaigne. Prices there advanced 38 percent in 2010, according to the notaries' chamber. The priciest Paris properties fetch upwards of €30,000 a square meter, according to Philippe Menager, co-founder of the property brokerage of the same name. Menager says he sold two apartments overlooking the River Seine near the Musée d'Orsay for €50,000 a square meter and one near the Bois de Boulogne for a similar price.
    A lack of transparency is helping drive the surge in values. Property title deeds aren't public, and data compiled by notaries, who handle the legal paperwork in real estate transactions, are as much as six months out of date.
    Friggit predicts home values across France will likely decline for at least five years, to return to pricing levels relative to incomes that have prevailed since 1965, though he could not say when the adjustment would begin. "Naturally I'm getting a bit worried," says Kuperfis, "because trees can't keep growing to the sky."

    Saturday, March 5, 2011

    find a luxury hotel in Paris

    Paris luxury hotels: take advantage of the internet to book your luxury hotel in Paris at a discounted price
    Looking for luxury, comfort and that extra special something in Paris? Don't worry and enjoy our selection of Paris Luxury hotels.

    There is a certain magic to the City of Lights that attracts millions of tourists every year.. It’s in the cobblestone thoroughfares along St. Germain, the latin quarter, tucked in the cozy cafés in Montmartre, and hovering around the bridges along the river. It’s the light radiating off of the Eiffel Tower at night.

    The influence of Parisian culture runs deep, regardless of your interest; the history, fashion, art, sports, and architecture found in this city have excited tourists for centuries. In addition to the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and Notre Dame, Paris is also known for its wide variety of hotels, restaurants, and bars. Make your next visit to Paris perfect and consult our extensive destination guide before you plan your trip.

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    Hôtel Meurice: Looking over the Tuileries Gardens, this hotel has hosted some of the world’s most important celebrities and statesmen for nearly two centuries. Restored in the early 2000s, Hôtel Meurice borrows ideas from all time periods, from the 13th century to the decadence of Louis XVI.

    The restaurants at Hôtel Meurice are among the most reputable in the city. Led by world-renowned chef Yannick Alléno, the restaurant le Meurice has earned a prestigious three-star rating from Michelin for its astute French cuisine. Le Meurice also offers a gastronomic tour of the kitchen, concluding with champagne tastings and access to the hotel’s 616-bottle wine cellar, featuring a priceless Château Cos D’Estournel 1928 Saint Estèphe.










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