It's easy to fall into a trap of hopping online and booking the first holiday you see.
Nobody wants a lengthy booking process, and I'm as guilty as anyone else. The thought of spending hours researching is enough to make me reconsider at all, particularly when everything you're coming across seems to cost the earth.
However, there's one hack you need to know when booking a holiday, and, according to experts, it's going to save you "hundreds".
Ricardo Seixas from One Day Agency says that travel companies are getting clever with their online tools, using AI technology to pour through our previous search and show us personalised offers, but at a premium price.
Fortunately, there's a way around it.
How automatic price hikes happen when booking travel
Ricardo says: "What many don't realise is that cookies can track when someone is planning a holiday up to three months in advance. The algorithms pick up tiny digital breadcrumbs we leave online like increased searches for sun cream, flight prices, or swimwear."
However, Ricardo notes it goes even further. You might have noticed that upon seeing specific flights or hotel availabilities, the next time you look, the price is higher.
"This is because of cookie tracking software, as well as more advanced AI software tools being able to detect consumer patterns and benefit the companies using them, by hiking the prices up once it detects that you're looking for a holiday at a specific destination or date."
How to stop price hikes with this one internet browser trick
So, the all-important question is: what do we do about it?
To prevent the hikes, the key is to understand how they happen in the first place. When public data is combined with private information, holidaymakers have allowed brands access by 'accepting' notices before reading them.
"Most people tick consent boxes without reading them properly. They don't realise how much access they're giving to their personal information."
Lucky for us, it's easy to avoid. The next time you see a pop-up appear offering you cookie consent options, you should always click on 'Reject All' if that option is available.
If not, clicking 'More Options' and turning off targeted ads and cookie tracking will help prevent your data from being used to target you with a premium price.
What else is there to know about price hikes?
If you've already allowed cookie tracking software, don't panic, because you can clear the data pretty easily through your search engine. This works on both phones and desktops.
"On your browser, find and click on History information. Look for an option to Delete All Browsing Data, and ensure that you select Delete All Cookies."
I gave this a go for myself and cleared my history, and am feeling confident it'll make a difference when I next book a trip, as I'm almost certain this has happened to me in the past when booking flights for my solo trips.
Something to note: It will delete all your searches, so a helpful tip is to make a physical list (perhaps in a travel notebook) of all the hotels you've been looking at, so you can find them again easily when you start searching again.
Then, you'll be ready to start afresh on your holiday booking journey, with the possibility that you could save lots of cash.