Avoiding Common Pitfalls – Expert Advice For Safe and Secure Online Travel Booking

As travelers browse online in micro-moments on their phones, desktops, and tablets, they want to book quickly and securely. To help them do that, ensure your website is user-friendly and displays prices.

There is growing anecdotal evidence that some websites remember your browsing history and jack up prices. Ensure your guests have peace of mind when they book with you by providing social proof on your website.

Don’t Pay With Credit Cards

Travelers love to book their trips online. But they also want to ensure their booking is secure and take advantage of online bookings such as Expedia coupons. That means they are concerned about online payment scams, fraudulent charges, and being unable to cancel or get their money back if the hotel doesn’t deliver.

Credit cards are a preferred method of payment for hotels because they typically offer more protection against fraud. They also allow guests to file a claim with the credit card company easily and often have better fraud detection features than debit cards. In addition, some credit cards come with additional travel benefits such as auto rental coverage and trip cancellation insurance.

It is best to avoid paying with wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency when booking your trip. Dishonest travel package promoters are likely to ask for these payment methods, and if you’re a victim of one of these scams, it can be challenging to get your money back.

Always book directly through your hotel’s official website and look for HTTPS in the URL to ensure that you are on a secure connection. If you need help, contact the hotel to verify their legitimacy, or use Norton Safe Web for free to check if a site is trustworthy. You should also back up your pictures regularly to prevent losing them if something goes wrong during your trip.

Beware of Phishing Attacks

As much as people like the ease of booking online, they want to ensure they’re getting what they pay for. Whether it’s accommodation or transportation, they want to be assured they are getting what they booked and paid for.

Scammers take advantage of this need for confirmation and verification by tricking travelers with phishing attacks that lure them to shady websites that look and feel authentic. They often use dreamy tropical photos and promises of free vacations or travel vouchers to draw in victims, who are then asked to provide personal details and credit card information on a fake website.

Once the scammer has a user’s details, they can sell them to other criminals for a fee or use them to extort more money from the victim. This is why it’s essential to keep a close eye on the security of your travel booking app, even after a user has booked their flights.

Some booking apps have been found to use the HTTP protocol without encryption, which makes them susceptible to Man in the Middle attacks. It helps to safeguard travel booking apps against this by enabling a variety of security measures, such as encrypted communication with backend servers, SSL certificate validation, CA verification, malicious proxy detection, TLS version enforcement, and secure certificate pinning. These features will help users avoid being spoofed and give them peace of mind that they will have the safe, fast travel they deserve.

Don’t Trust Your Gut

Whether you call it a sixth sense, hunch, or gut feeling, the old advice that we should “trust our instincts” can seem like common sense. After all, we all have those quick feelings of intuition that are sometimes so strong they can’t be ignored. Whether it is an itch of uneasiness or the barest hint of an idea, those “gut instincts” can help us make better decisions.

But the truth is that gut instinct can be wrong. Our gut feelings are based on experiences and environmental cues so fast that they don’t register at the conscious level. They are predictions based on a subconscious, unconscious analysis of information that is often based on unconscious bias and wishes.

Gut instincts also can be influenced by other people’s wishes and dreams. This is known as wishful thinking. It happens when you see something that is desirable, and it is so compelling that you start to believe in its chances of happening. It’s an example of the “herd effect,” where everyone is influenced by what others do or say.

Using complex data and the rational part of your brain is best to avoid these mistakes. In other words, be a “facts person” and avoid letting your instincts influence you.

Don’t Trust the Advertisers

Unless you have a specific reason to use an aggregator, booking directly through the hotel, airline, or rental car company is best. This way, you can ensure the site has an HTTPS URL and is an actual business (you can also call to verify). If you need to book through an OTA, get recommendations from trusted friends or family members, or try Norton Safe Web to see if it’s legit.

Every year, millions are lost and vacations ruined by fake booking sites that look just like the real thing. Don’t let that be you.

Many travel elements can’t be controlled – long TSA lines, bad weather, pilot shortages — but your digital security should be. Following these expert tips for safe and secure online travel booking will help you take control of your travel plans and avoid some of the worst pitfalls. If you’re still worried about your digital security, try a comprehensive system that protects you from hacking and fraud.

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