Download Squad

Some people do things themselves because they like the sense of accomplishment. Some people do things themselves because they don't trust anyone else to do them. Some people do things for themselves because they're annoying and weird and no one will help them, and that's sad, and miles away from the point. A new tool to help do-it-yourselfers with travel is set to be launched sometime in May. Yapta (not to be confused with the irrelevant but incredibly hilarious Yatta) will give users more freedom in booking flights, and down the road hotels, for their trips.

Yapta works in a different way than many other travel planning sites in that it allows you to search major travel and airline sites and bookmark the flights that suit your fancy. It will then keep track of all of the information and allow you to compare the cost. Yapta will let you know if the price of any of your bookmarked flights has changed while you debate which one to purchase. Even more impressive is that it will continue to monitor the price of the flight after you have made a purchase, and if the price falls, you can contact the airline for a refund. This is something that some smart travelers all already taking advantage of, as all airlines offer these price drops on occasion. The site is already running a Beta test with 275 users and has found that 34% of the tickets purchased became eligible for a refund.

All in all it seems like a useful tool that will help you get the cheapest possible flight and, if nothing else, will be a great argument-ender to anyone who whines about getting ripped off by Expedia.