Smartphone or PC? Which device or browser you use to book your holiday depends on how much it costs.
It’s not just the time that counts
If we book on a Saturday, the flight ticket to Rome costs 109 Euro, one day later suddenly only 89 Euro. How can that be?
The fact that the time and even the time when we book our holiday can play an important role for the price has been known for quite some time. Unfortunately, however, it is completely intransparent for holidaymakers as to how the travel providers structure their prices – and when they go up or down.
PC or iPad? The end device also determines the holiday price
All the more valuable is this insight: the terminal device and the browser with which we book tickets and hotel rooms also have an influence on the price! A study by the Austrian Chamber of Labour has shown that the rates vary depending on whether we book our holiday via PC, laptop, notebook, smartphone, iPhone or iPad.
For the study, the organisation conducted 30 simultaneous price queries on booking.com, lufthansa.com, fluege.de, opodo.com and austrian.com six days a month.
There are price differences above all for travel portals
The result: Price differences were particularly noticeable for travel portals, depending on the end device. At booking.com, for example, a hotel in Verona was ten percent more expensive for PC, notebook and laptop users than for smartphone, iPhone and iPad users. And the flight to Paris was more expensive on opodo.com with the smartphone and iPhone than on PC, iPad and notebook.
In the case of Opodo, a different price increase had also been noted over time, depending on the end device. The flight to Paris, for example, increased by 26 per cent over time when queried via PC or notebook, and by only 25 per cent via smartphone.
Our tip: compare prices on all available devices shortly before booking!
The browser also plays a role
The browser can also affect the price. This is because it uses “cookies” – small text files – to remember that you are planning a trip for a certain period of time at a certain location. Whoever searches for offers for hours or even days signals great interest. The browser remembers this – and the prices already rise.
Our tip: Change your browser before booking or delete browser history and cookies!
