Stay alert and on Twitter to snag fast-moving travel deals

— -- Last Tuesday evening, the travel Twitterverse was abuzz with news of what one industry pundit called the "sale of the decade": A slew of late summer and fall fares on Delta Air Lines from the U.S. to Europe for less than $250 round-trip, taxes included.

By late the next morning, Delta's pricing glitch (the airline had apparently neglected to add a $200 fuel surcharge) was fixed, and the eye-popping fares were history. But for nimble bargain hunters, the social media phenomenon known as Twitter had proven its worth as a way to snag a terrific travel deal.

Once dismissed as a fad for high-tech narcissists, the 140-character, real-time updates, or tweets, are increasingly popular among hotels, airlines, and other travel companies as a way to interact with customers — and pitch offers. And while many of those deals are available elsewhere, others are unique to, or uniquely suited to, Twitter.

Since airline fares and inventory change so rapidly, "being first to know about an airfare sale is very important. It may take people a few days to open e-mail, but Twitter is a great way to reach people in cellphone fashion," says FareCompare.com's CEO, Rick Seaney, who adds that his alerts highlighting the Europe sale resulted in about 450 bookings. FareCompare.com, which has about 3,100 "followers" at twitter.com/rickseaney, recently launched Twitter feeds from more than 100 U.S. airports that offer a combination of location-specific deals and general advice.

Twitter "is still a blank slate, and people are throwing everything on the wall, trying to see what works," says Adam Rugel of buzz.trazzler.com, a just-launched site that collects bargains posted throughTwitter.

Some recent examples of ways in which travel companies are targeting tweeters:

• Since its debut in late May, United Airlines has offered the company's approximately 12,500 Twitter followers five steeply discounted "Twares," including last week's $53 one-way fare between Denver and Phoenix.

• Pleasant Holidays' new Twitter and Facebook offers include weekly last-minute specials to Hawaii, such as $200 round-trip fare to Honolulu from Los Angeles or San Francisco including a three-day car rental, and will expand to Mexico and the Caribbean next month.

• Through Aug. 28, San Francisco-based Joie de Vivre's weekly Twitter Tuesday and Facebook Friday deals offer hotel rooms as low as $50 per night. The discounts are posted for only one hour, and must be booked at summercalifornia.com.

• When Marriott International started tweeting in March, 2008, Twitter was viewed as a way to give information about the company and its hotels, says spokesman John Wolf. Now, "deals are definitely top of mind" among Marriott's approximately 10,500 followers: The company just completed a two-week "Deal of the Day" offer, publicized via Twitter, that gave short-term discounts of up to 60% at selected resorts in the Caribbean, Hawaii and California.

Yet despite an escalating interest in Twitter and other social media as a marketing platform, its biggest value remains its interactive, personal nature, says online travel consultant Susan Black of Susan Black Associates.

"The easiest thing to do is just throw some promotions out there, but authenticity and the 'velvet rope factor' — having access to deals others may not know about — is key. " says Black. "And Twitter is still really about connecting people with their passions through a conversation."

Find Laura Bly on Twitter at twitter.com/laurably and USA TODAY Travel at twitter.com/USATODAYtravel.