Why Europe Is One of Fall's Top Deal Destinations

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

He is the author of "Online Travel" (2000) and "Business Travel: When It's Your Money" (2004), the first step-by-step guide specifically written for small business and self-employed professional travelers. He was also the co-author of the annual "Best Travel Deals" series from Consumers Union.

Perkins' advice for business travelers is featured on MyBusinessTravel.com, a website devoted to helping small business and self-employed professional travelers find the best value for their travel dollars.

Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

Perkins' travel expertise has led to frequent television appearances, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "This Week with David Brinkley," "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN, and numerous local TV and radio stations.

Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Perkins lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife.

See recent posts by Ed Perkins

Hotel prices in many European cities are dropping as much as 37 percent, according to information gathered by Hotwire, one of the top online travel agencies. The report cites three main factors:

Excess hotel capacity everywhere. Europe’s weak local economy is depressing both business and leisure local travel, and London is suffering a post-Olympic accommodations glut.

A stronger dollar. Although the euro has recently climbed from $1.22 to $1.28, it’s still well below last fall’s rates, which were as high as $1.40.

Shoulder-season airfares. There’s nothing new here; economy airfares go down every fall, and shoulder season has always been a good deal.

I’ve always liked Hotwire’s data on hotel rates. Unlike many other sources, which tend to report average prices across a wide range of price categories, Hotwire shows data on typical prices travelers are actually paying for the sorts of hotels real-world people use. Hotwire’s report shows generally lower prices than those recently reported from Cheaphotels.org, with rates lowest in Budapest ($61), Seville ($70), Valencia ($74), Prague ($77), and Lisbon ($78). Hotwire’s most expensive cities—no surprises here—are Paris ($162) and Venice ($148).

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