Their pricing structure has changed for North America . They are users on here , maybe they can explain the new pricing policies which favor the UK .
Pricing structure (with whatever company) has always favoured the UK - it's a totally separate market. The loophole is/was N. Americans would use Alpharooms to take advantage of UK pricing.
I understand that they give lower prices to the UK due to the more expensive longer flights , in order to encourage that market. At $.0.67 CDN dollar ,, a little of that encouragement would be nice .
Seems a little unfair that North Americans end up paying more for the same services though, especially Canadian friends who are already getting a beating with a bad exchange rate at this time. We've used Alpharooms three times in the past year, but it does make us look for other options when part of our vacation spending has to go towards subsidizing European travelers. And make no mistake, we love the people from across the pond we've had the pleasure of meeting, but what continent one lives on should have nothing to do with an equitable pricing structure. It's hardly the fault of North Americans that TTR is on the coast of Mexico, or where anybody else lives. I sincerely do hope they monitor this site and conversation because people are actively seeking other booking agencies thanks to this policy. Certainly any agency with better pricing will immediately come to light on here, and I will be happy to give them a try. It's just bad business to gouge one customer in favor of another. If their pricing structure is dictated by distance traveled, then why is there no break offered for flyers from the west coast?
That's kind of ridiculous. You aren't "subsidising Europeans", you are taking advantage of their pricing when really you shouldn't be. It is a completely different market. For a start there are far more options for a holiday in the sun for Brits and Mexico has to remain attractive and competitive on price despite the much longer flight than to European holiday destinations. Secondly, Brits get more time off from work, and again with the longer flight they will stay for a longer period and therefore benefit from economies of scale. Alpharooms has nothing to do with the pricing, all hotels sell at one rate to North America, another rate to Europe and another to domestic tourists. It's just how it is. Everything has different prices based on where you live: Why should an Iphone 6s (16Gb) cost $649 in the USA when an identical phone costs £539 in the UK, the equivalent of $768? A BigMac costs (ave) $6.82 in Switzerland, $4.79 in USA and $2.48 in Hong Kong. Big Mac index 2015 | Statistic Surely you wouldn't suggest that Brits subsidise the price of Iphones in the US, or that Hong Kong subsidises the price of a Big Mac in Switzerland? Suggesting N. America subsidises holiday prices for Brits is equally as absurd.
Quote ( Steve) Everything has different prices based on where you live: A BigMac costs (ave) $6.82 in Switzerland, $4.79 in USA and $2.48 in Hong Kong. So a Swiss and an American walk into a Mc'Donald's in Cancun. The Swiss pays 6.82, and the American pays 2.48 at the same restaurant in Cancun,, because of where they come from . Now it makes more sense .
And if they walk in to Temptation off the street and ask for a room they will both pay the same price too. But we are not talking about that are we. We are talking about purchasing something while in the country which you reside. Let me give you another example, because it seems you haven't grasped this simple economic concept yet. I play an online game, it is free to play but you can buy credits that help you progress faster. If I buy credits in the UK they are about 30% more than if I were to buy them in the US, twice the price than if I were to buy them in Mexico and three times the price if bought in the Ukraine. Same game, same amount of credits, but different price depending on where you live. People go as far as using Ukraine proxy IP addresses to buy them as cheap as they can, a little like a North American using a British company to buy a cheaper vacation than they can at home.
My initial point I was trying to make that got lost somewhere ?? ,,, if they give incentives to UK to compensate for distance and airfare , surely the can do the same to CDN,s to compensate for 67 cent dollar .
Hi Steve. You are correct that I surely do no expect to pay the same amount as those using a different currency, but what I do not agree with is a different policy that does not account for a variation in currency values. Unfortunately the Canadians are on the wrong end of this right now with an unfavorable trade exchange rate. As a result, they have to cough up more Canadian dollars to meet the price as those paying in American dollars. That's just an unfortunate circumstance of world economies right now. Whether the TTR room prices are set in dollars, pesos, euros, or British pounds I would hope that once the international monetary exchange rate was calculated in everyone would be paying the same figure. At this time I am thinking the conversation factor does not work, or in fact it works to the favor of those coming from the UK, effectively reducing the room rate for those with a U.K. passport. And if that is the way it is, good for our friends from the U.K, who I do realize would usually spend more to get there. There are quite a few on here that have questioned that policy though, and I see their point. I hope that made more sense to everyone. I may have not stated it perfectly, but I think you know what I mean.
So are there any other agencies that people have recently used AND had no problems with the reservations? Looking for booking from the USA. Kayak returned some better rates but some of the companies I've never heard of (Easy Click Travel, Prestigious for example) Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk
