There are many popular travel myths that simply aren't true, but the idea that fares go up every time you check the page is one of the most pervasive myths. Whether you're trying to book a flight, hotels or ground transportation, this myth claims that you will see different rates depending on how often you check. Some people even say that logging into a different computer will reveal the "original" rates. How much of this is true, and how much of it is simply a legend?
A Matter of Timing: Why Fares Go Up
Why do fares seem to go up the more you search for it? It isn't because the website is automatically calculating demand and then boosting up the price; it's because other people are booking the fares that you're looking at. Price does go up by demand, but not perceived demand -- price only goes up by actual demand. In other words, price goes up as the fares become scarcer. It has nothing to do with your activity and everything to do with the fact that other people are buying.
The "Bucket List": Explaining Cost Disparities
Timing may explain why price steadily increases over time, but why will prices sometimes look different from one computer to the other? This is a bit more complicated. In order to make sure that they have priced their fares correctly, travel sites will test out different fares on a select amount of customers. As an example, 99% of customers will get standard rates, 0.5% will get higher rates and 0.5% will get lower rates. The travel site will look at the customers who got lower or higher rates to determine future customer behavior. So customers are automatically sorted into these "buckets" based on the computer they're using -- this is why different customers may see different fares. You can refresh the page on different computers to try to get placed in the "low rate" bucket but it's equally as likely that you'll get placed into the "high rate" bucket.
If you're really trying to get the best deals on your travel, simply refreshing the page or opening it in another computer simply won't cut it. It is far preferable (and easier) to find discounts through reliable travel providers.
