(Smart Money) — As vacation budgets have shrunk, discount luxury-travel web sites have flourished, attracting more than 500,000 members in the last year. But the tactics these sites employ – limited-time offers, limited-availability sales and simple marketing psychology – mean those bargains might not be as good as they look. The lure is simple: Sites like Jetsetter, SniqueAway and Vacationist offer deals at hotels that cut room rates by up to 50%, but members have just a few days to sign up, or until available dates sell out, whichever happens first. Membership is free to anyone with an invitation or an access code, neither of which are hard to find, but by limiting deals to “members,” the sites have been able to offer bigger discounts than sites like Expedia (EXPE: 28.59, +0.31, +1.09%) and Travelocity, without the blind bidding of Priceline (PCLN: 371.93, +8.43, +2.31%) or Hotwire, site executives say. The field has gotten particularly crowded in the last year, with travel booking sites, fashion “flash sale” sites and even group-buying sites like TheDealist jumping into the vacation market.
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