Deals? You Want Winter & Holiday Deals? Travel Suppliers Have 'Em

With the sliding economy on everyone's mind, hotels, airlines, and resorts are worried that you won't splash out for a big winter vacation.  And they're right--people are downsizing expectations and looking carefully for deals.

There are thousands of deals out there involving straight price cuts or special offers that involve all kinds of extra benefits.  One of the favorite marketing tools of resorts these days is the offering of resort or hotel credits.  For every night you stay, you receive (sometimes) hundreds of dollars to spend on spa treatments, meals or other hotel or resort services.

Wherever you decide to shop for a holiday, remember you have bargaining power.  Ask about extras.  Ask what else a resort or hotel can do for you to earn your business.  Room upgrades? Free parking? Complimentary breakfast?  Everything is up for negotiation.

Here are some current deals to get you thinking:

• Stay at least three nights a participating Marriott resort in Florida until the end of the year and receive a $25 resort credit for use in restaurants, spas, and other hotel venues. Call 800-834-7015 and mention promotion code M11 or go to the hotel's web site.

• Check into the four-star El Dorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe and for every night you stay—at about $200 a night--receive a free spa treatment. The two spa options are a 50-minute massage or facial; both are valued at $130. Good through March 31, 2009. Details available at the hotel's web site or call 800-944-4455 and mention "Relieve Stress Package" or refer to booking code PKGNID.

• At the Windjammer Landing Villa Bay Resort in St. Lucia, a “recession offer” means that for every dollar you spend a day for your room, you’ll receive the equivalent of 50% of that amount in resort credits. Book a honeymoon suite for $350 a night for two guests, for example, and receive $175 back each day that you can apply to food, wine, room upgrades, excursions, or spa services. Offer is good every day until April 19, 2009, including Easter and spring break. More information: 800-958-7376

• Claim a third night free at the Beaver Creek Park Hyatt plus a room upgrade and full breakfast for two daily when you book the “Three for Free” package. Valid through Dec. 19, 2008. Pay with an American Express card and receive late check out and a welcome amenity. Ask for code AX3FF when booking on line.

• The tiny, lush island of Nevis is one of the better-kept secrets of the Caribbean. The Nelson Spring Villas & Spa offers a fifth or seventh night free based on a nightly double rate that begins at $455. Choose a one to four-bedroom villa with flat-screen televisions and state-of-the-art kitchens or just hang out on the 3.5 acres of beachfront property at this romantic getaway spot. Details: eliteislands.com or 800-345-0356. Offer of free nights is good through Dec. 20, 2008.

• How about a family Christmas in the Caribbean? The Verandah Resort & Spa on Antigua invites up to two kids to stay and eat free at the resort when staying with their parents. Rates at the all-inclusive resort begin at $635 as night, but, wait there’s more: Families receive a $2,000 airfare credit between Dec. 21^st and Jan. 3, 2009. The kids-stay-and-eat free part stretches from Dec. 21 to Jan. 6, 2009 if you book by the first of December. More information and reservations click here or call 800-345-0356.

• Interested in cold instead of warm?  There's a surplus of deals from ski resorts arond the US, and my fellow travel blogger Everett Potter does a nice job of rounding lots of them up in a recent post.  Check 'em out!