Vacationers booking holidays through Canadian websites are being charged hundreds of dollars more than overseas customers for exactly the same deals, research commissioned by cybersecurity company NordVPN reveals.
From luxury breaks and hotel stays to car hire, consumers are frequently being presented with wildly different prices depending on where they log on.
Using the American website for Hotels.com resulted in a staggering $805.55 saving for a 7-night stay, while hiring a vehicle through the Italian server resulted in a quote 25% cheaper than the Canadian site.
NordVPN’s researchers used its Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to make it look to websites like they were not in Canada. They discovered savings across a range of well-known travel sites like Hertz, Expedia, Booking.com and Sixt, for a variety of countries, including Italy, Mexico and the US.
What is a VPN? A VPN disguises your IP address, while improving privacy and security. You select a country and NordVPN ensures that’s where websites think you are. VPN users are then able to see the differing content — and prices — shown to overseas consumers.
Using a VPN, a 7-night stay this August at The Gates Hotel South Beach in Miami, Florida, through Hotels.com revealed a $805 price difference for a family of four. The Canadian website quoted $3,086 and the American site $2,280 — less than a sixth as much. Visiting the website from Italy netted a 22% saving on a 7-night family stay at Venice’s Antony Palace Hotel in August — $376 off the Canadian price of $1,732.
For those visiting the French Riviera, an exclusive 7-night stay in Hotel Casarose in August would cost 16% less using the French version of Hotels.com website, lowering the price from $4,363 to $3,656.
Fans of the UK royal family planning to stay near Kensington Palace could save 13% by using the English Booking.com site, reducing a week’s stay in August at the Twenty Nevern Square Hotel from $4,260 to $3,715.
Going to Booking.com from a French server led to a $1073 lower price on a 7-night vacation at the Hôtel Alfred Sommier in Paris in August — bringing the cost down to $8,922. Meanwhile, using an Italian server to search the Rentalcars.com website for car hire in Rome quarter (25%) cheaper than the same company’s offer to Canada-based consumers.
Browsing for more summer hotel deals using the Mexico website of Expedia uncovered a 22% saving for a week break in Cancun at El Taj Oceanfront & Beachside Condo Hotel, leaving bookers $614 better off.
Looking at car hire deals from Hertz through the UK’s website, you could bag a 23% saving — $345 — on a 7-day hire of a Polestar at Edinburgh Airport in August, bringing the price down from $1,482 to $1,137. Using Sixt to book a rental from the Nice Airport in August, this time with Sixt brought up a 13% discount of $92 for hiring a Peugeot 208 for 7 days, making the French server price $650 versus $742.
Also, Sixt quoted a price that was 16% lower for a Jeep Grand Cherokee in Orlando, Florida via the US website for July — charging $867, a saving of $164.
Visiting Sixt from France delivered the 11% discount, with a 7-day hire of a Tesla Model Y from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport offered for $1038, $122 less than the Canadian website’s quote of $1160.
The research was commissioned by NordVPN and conducted by an external company between March 10th and 31st, 2023. Simultaneous searches were made for identical products being sold by the same vendor using numerous country servers.
When conducting the research, there were cases when prices offered to consumers in different countries were similar. However, for illustration purposes, this article and table present the biggest differences in price.
Table: Cost of items booked through Canadian versus local websites
| Company | What | When | Date Spotted | Canada price (CAD) | VPN Price | Price Diff | Saving (%) |
| Hotels.com | 7 night stay in The Gates Hotel South Beach – a DoubleTree by Hilton located in Miami, Florida | August 14-21 | March 10 | $3,086 | $2280.45 | $805.55 | 26% |
| Rentalcars.com | Hiring a Fiat Tipo for 7 days and picking up from Rome Fiumicino Airport | August 14-21 | March 28 | $1,353.92 | $1021.93 | $331.99 | 25% |
| Hertz | Hiring a ‘full size’ Polestar 2 for 7 days and picking up from Edinburgh Airport on a pre-pay price | August 14-21 | March 22 | $1481.75 | $1,136.92 | $344.83 | 23% |
| Expedia | 7 night stay in El Taj Oceanfront & Beachside Condo Hotel in Cancun, Mexico | July 3-10 | March 29 | $2,737 | $2,122.62 | $614.38 | 22% |
| Hotels.com | 7 night stay in Antony Palace Hotel, Venice, Italy in a superior quadruple room | August 14-21 | March 28 | $1,732 | $1355.94 | $376.06 | 22% |
| Hotels.com | 7 night stay in Hotel Casarose on the French Riviera, France in an Exclusive Suite room | August 14-21 | March 28 | $4,363 | $3656.93 | $706.07 | 16% |
| Sixt | Hiring a Jeep Grand Cherokee and picking up from Orlando International Airport | July 10-17 | March 29 | $1,031.61 | $867.27 | $164.34 | 16% |
| Expedia | 7 night stay in Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi in Rome, Italy in a quadruple room | August 14-21 | March 28 | $2,165 | $1,834.99 | $330.01 | 15% |
| Booking.com | 7 night stay in Twenty Nevern Square Hotel, Kensington, London, UK. Based on two separate rooms to accomadate family of 4 | August 14-21 | March 28 | $4,260 | $3,715 | $545 | 13% |
| Sixt | Hiring a Peugeot 208 for 7 days and picking up from Nice Airport | August 14-21 | March 28 | $742.07 | $649.59 | $92.48 | 13% |
| Booking.com | 7 night stay in the (5 star) Hôtel Alfred Sommier, Paris, France in a two connecting double room. | August 14-21 | March 30 | $9,996 (inclusive of additional taxes) | $8,922.68 | $1,073.32 | 11% |
Source: NordVPN
Marijus Briedis, Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN, said: “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.
“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.
“The best way to fight back is to shop around with the same provider using a VPN and see if you can find hidden savings offered to customers overseas. As our research shows, it could save you thousands of dollars a trip.”
How to save on holiday bookings with a VPN
There’s no need to overpay for a holiday abroad. Using a VPN can save you a lot of money – and it’s easy to get started.
Make sure you choose a reliable VPN provider that takes your privacy and security seriously. Though looking for a free option may be tempting, it’s best to stay clear of free VPNs. Here’s how to save on holiday bookings with a VPN:
- Get a VPN subscription. If you’re interested in NordVPN, you’ll find our subscription plans here.
- Download and install the VPN app on your device.
- Launch the app and enter your credentials to sign in.
- Pick a server in a country of your choice, and connect to it.
- Head to the provider websites and note down the prices.
- Repeat this process with several server locations to find the best price. We also recommend clearing your browser’s cache before returning to the site so it doesn’t identify you as a returning user and impact the price you’re shown.
Even though this process might take a little longer than you’re used to, you’re likely to find some great deals to make it worthwhile. This method will work for finding cheaper flights, hotels, car rentals, and even general online shopping.