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"There are two reasons to discount: to help people overcome fears of flying again, and because we are in recession, people have less money to spend,” says Seth Kaplan, cofounder of the

“Airline Weekly” newsletter. The fact that most airlines are waiving cancellation and change fees through June 30 essentially makes flights cheaper. "We're seeing unprecedented

flexibility, even from famously inflexible airlines,” Kaplan says, referring to low-cost carriers such as Spirit Airlines. Before you jump, consider: Unless the airline cancels your flight,

you won't get a refund. Rather, if you decide to cancel, you'll get a voucher for future travel. The voucher preserves the money you spent, but if you don't want to tie up

your funds, think twice before booking. And don't expect to find deals for Thanksgiving or the December holidays. Those tickets remain higher priced, with optimistic airlines hoping for

a rebound by then. HOTELS Vera Kevresan / EyeEm/ Getty Images WHAT'S NEW: Most hotels worldwide are closed this spring during shelter-in-place orders. Like airlines, they are using

this time to develop deep-cleaning disinfection practices that follow guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that directly address coronavirus. From

market behemoths like Marriott International to boutique chain Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, newly issued cleaning guidelines call for more frequent cleaning of public areas such as

lobbies and fitness centers, the use of electrostatic spray technology that better spreads cleansers, and the availability of hand sanitizers throughout hotels. THE SALES PITCH: “I think

every single hotel out there will be holding sales,” says Pauline Frommer, the editorial director of Frommer's, the guidebook, and publisher of frommers.com. “There will be pent-up

demand, and hotels will be in a big world of hurt economically." Even before they reopen, she points out, many hotels are holding sales at sites such as Buy Now, Stay Later, which sells

“hotel bonds” or discounted gift cards for $100, redeemable for $150 after 60 days. This makes eparticipating hotels such as the Greydon House in Nantucket, for instance, about one-third

off. In March, Hopper found hotel rates down between 9 and 25 percent across the country. Rates at hotels in San Francisco averaged $218 after March 1 and $292 before. BEFORE YOU JUMP,

CONSIDER: Hotels normally have generous cancellation policies unless you buy a prepaid, nonrefundable rate, which tends to be lower. Though some hotels will refund even the nonrefundable

prepaid rates through June, the best advice is to avoid them (use the AARP member rate instead, which is usually similar). Also realize that your favorite hotel may not come back the same as

you remember, if it even comes back. “For the near future, hotel offerings may change a bit,” Frommer says, indicating some hotels may not reopen and at others amenities like spas may lag

in returning to service.