New Study Finds Americans Charged More for Travel

If you’re an American booking travel from a U.S. IP address, you could be spending far more than travelers booking the same deals in other countries, according to a new research study from NordVPN.

The brand found a traveler in Mexico booking the same 14-day trip as a traveler in the United States could save nearly $60,000 on travel costs, all because of their IP address. When booking with a U.S. IP address, Hotels.com attempted to charge researchers $84,929 for a two-week resort stay, while, when booking with a Mexican IP address, Hotels.com only charged $27,514 for the same stay.

Similarly, booking a seven-night stay from an Italian IP address showed 15 percent savings compared to the price garnered from a U.S. IP address.

NordVPN found, across the board, when using a virtual private network to change their location, U.S. travelers could save even more on travel booked through popular sites such as Hotels.com, Booking.com, Sixt, Hertz and Expedia.

“In the internet age it’s never been easier to hunt for a vacation, and you can have all the elements — from car hire to hotel stays — arranged at the click of a mouse. For the unsuspecting consumer, there’s a price to be paid for these advances. Online tracking used by travel websites means that they can tell what holiday we’re looking for before we do, while algorithms can adjust holiday prices to the spending power of different countries,” explained Marijus Briedis, CTO, NordVPN. “Never assume you’re getting the same deal as everyone else. Your location, the number of visits you pay to a website and how your search fits in with the school holiday schedule can all influence the price you’re offered.”