Luckily, this past week a new tool came to our attention, and it's quickly become a lifesaver. As you can imagine, a large part of the work we do is judging whether package deals are saving you money or not. In many cases (and we'd say, way too many) a "deal" isn't a deal at all. "Book 3 nights, pay for 2!" often sounds great. That is, until you realize there's another room rate that's actually way cheaper. Here at jauntsetter, we're always doing this sort of math, and as we've noted, the end results are often disappointing.

Enter DealBase.com. While we'll continue to double check every deal we find, DealBase.com has made our job easier. Here's how: one if its great features is that it analyzes every deal it publishes - it actually breaks down just how much you're paying, for what, and how much your overall savings are.

One of the interesting things about DealBase.com is how they aim to empower consumers by equipping us with information about all "deals," both good and bad. Says Liz Kao, Director of Operations, "We even list out deals that our Deal Analyzer shows as having a negative price savings ... The intent here is to empower the consumer to have as much information in front of them so they can make the most informed decision. "

DealBase.com also allows you to peruse deals by destination, sort by percentage or dollar savings, hotel star rating, or view categories like "last minute packages." The best part? Unlike lots of other travel special sites, DealBase.com (like jauntsetter!) doesn't allow hotels to pay their way onto the site. The reports and listings they provide are entirely objective.

DealBase.com only launched recently, but it's got lots of press already. So far, the site covers packages good in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean - and we hope they expand. In the meantime, we encourage you to check them out. The Internet is one fire sale of travel deals right now, and this is one site that's really helping us to make sense of them all. 

xo,

your jaunsetter Editor, Dorothy