Remember back in 1621 when England’s persecuted pilgrims fled to America in search of the Internet’s most kickass deals on knee-highs and ironically worn belt buckles?
And thus the first Cyber Monday was born, just days after the first Thanksgiving, with the tradition continuing today as millions of turkey-breathed shoppers set to take to the Web on Monday in the name of shameless frugality.
The travel industry, of course, won’t dare miss the party — here, 15 vacation ideas you can book on the cheap come CyMo.
Grand Bahama
The pirates on Grand Bahama are long gone. Ditto the indigenous psychedelic polygamists, Confederate smugglers and boozy bootleggers. But don’t be sad: The Grand Lucayan (named for its native dwellers) is true to the island’s legacy of hedonism: multiple pools, a spa, amazing restaurants, golf course and a stretch of white-sand beach. Guests who book a stay of four nights or more Thanksgiving week (Thursday to Dec. 5), for travel Monday through Sept. 30, get 60 percent off regular rates, plus a $150 resort credit for spa, dining and golf wonderment. To book, use the promo code BLKFR4.
Guatemala
Excise 35 percent off nightly rates at Casa Palopo starting at $100/night. Valid for travel May 1 to June 30 and Sept. 1 to Oct. 31. E-mail reservations@casapalopo.com and name-drop “Cyber Monday.”
Panama
A discount as fat as that canal down there — 75 percent off at Westin Playa Bonita leisure rates, starting at $55/night. Travel Tuesday to June 30. Use code CYBER.
Mexico
Make like a cartel jefe, and hack 50 percent off leisure rates at CasaMagna Marriott Cancun, starting at $105/night. Valid for travel April 12 to June 30. Use promo code 1CL.
Peru
Get a room at JW Marriott El Convento Cusco from $160/night, and it includes accommodations in a Classic Inca Room, a breakfast buffet and an “in-room oxygen amenity.” (The air down there is just that good.) Valid for travel Tuesday to March 27. Use promo code I24.
Key West
The new Marker Waterfront Resort, due to open Dec. 12, is selling 20 rooms for $20 along with a secondary sale of $200 rooms for 20 consecutive hours, beginning at 9 a.m. EST on Monday. This whole “XX Marks the Spot” promo’s Walter Sparrow-like 20″ obsession is a nod to its being the first new hotel build in historic Old Town Key West in two decades.
Worldwide
Who says The Donald’s not a giver? Book a stay at any Trump Hotel Collection — occupying cities like New York, Chicago, Toronto, Miami, Vegas, Waikiki, Panama and Doonbeg, Ireland — on Black Friday through Cyber Monday, and they’ll donate $10 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for every booking. You get something out of it, too: 30 percent off suites. Good for stays Jan. 1 to March 31.
Nationwide
Speaking of collections, Sonesta Hotels and Resorts in the US are offering a Cyber Monday promo of up to 25 percent off two-night stays. They’re in more places than you think (some more glamorous than others): Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Hilton Head Island, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Philly, Andover, Mass., Auburn Hills, Mich., Burlington, Mass., Charlotte, NC, Columbia, Md., Dublin, Ohio, Flagstaff, Ariz., Houston, Orlando, Princeton and Parsippany, NJ — you get the drift. Use promo code Cyber2014.
West Coast
Pacifica Hotels, the largest owner and operator of boutique hotels on its namesake’s coast, is knocking 40 percent off its brood of properties — Santa Barbara’s new Wayfarer hostel, the Redondo Beach Hotel and Marina del Rey Hotel, among them — on Monday from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. (PST, but of course). It’s good for stays through March 12. Rates start at $75.
New York
That six-pack of iconic Big Apple hotels immodestly known as the Triumph collection — the Iroquois New York, Hotel Chandler, Hotel Belleclaire, the Cosmopolitan, the Gershwin and the Washington Jefferson — is upping the Cyber Monday ante (rates at each will be slashed 30 percent for stays Tuesday to March 31), allowing cocktail hour bookers to knock an additional 20 percent off that, between 4 and 5 p.m. Add that up and we’re talking a full half-off deal. You also get a chance to win a six-course tasting dinner for two with wine pairings at Chandler’s Juni restaurant after you jump through a few of their social media hoops. Winner TBD Dec. 8.
Long Island
Insomniac Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa doesn’t rest for much — it’s the Hamptons’ only year-round beachfront resort. But that kind of stick-to-it-iveness can take its toll, so it’s been undergoing a multi-year renovation. They’re knocking 30 percent off all day on Monday for stays through April 30, and have their own bumped-up-to-half-off power hour, like the guys above, but a little earlier in the day: 1 to 2 p.m., EST.
A snowy place
Vail Resorts prides itself in having properties in places other than Vail, Colo. (strangest of all, Jamaica!) — that’s maybe so the non-1-percenters of us can technically “stay in Vail” without actually staying in Vail. To wit: On Monday, the umbrella-ing resort management company is offering up to 50 percent off at Keystone in Colorado, including Keystone Lodge & Spa and Ski Tip Lodge Bed & Breakfast; up to 45 percent off at Beaver Creek in Colorado, including the Pines Lodge and the Osprey at Beaver Creek; up to 40 percent off at Canyons in Utah, including Grand Summit Hotel, Silverado Lodge and Sundial Lodge; up to 37 percent off at Grand Teton Lodge Company, the concessioner of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, including Colter Bay Village, Headwaters Lodge & Cabins, Jenny Lake Lodge and Jackson Lake Lodge. The deals go live Wednesday.
A deserty place
Arizona gets it right when it comes to spa resorts. Tuscon’s cacti-chic Miraval Resort & Spa’s Cyber Monday Sale is upon us — its “biggest sale of the year.” For a full eight days, bookers of the Cyber Monday package receive $750 in resort mana — per person, no less — for a three-night stay at any point in time in 2015. Plus, you’ll land $250-per-person in resort credits for each additional night. This offer is all based on availability through Dec. 31, 2015; book by 10 p.m. EST on Dec. 8.
Telluride, Colo.
This town perks up when there are no film festival jerks around. Over at sexy-and-it-knows-it Madeline Hotel & Residences Telluride, they have a troika of Black Friday-Cyber Monday deals. ① Last Minute Sale: up to 40 percent off rooms, starting at $119, for travel from Saturday-Dec. 15; ②Wild Winter Sale: Stay three nights or more and get a $100 resort credit between Jan. 4 and March 31. ③ Book Early Special: up to 40 percent off for summer 2015 travel, with rates from $138 for travel May 19 through Aug. 31. Call 855-447-4356 for rezos.
Turks and Caicos
All right, all right, let’s get back to the beach. Between Friday and Monday, Seven Stars Resort will knock 50 percent off its oceanfront junior suites. And that’s not just any ocean — it’s Provo’s famed Grace Bay Beach. That’s for travel between April 13 and Aug. 13. Rates start at $450 per night.