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Interesting
article on the future of air travel, click here.
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American Airlines has begun accepting credit cards onboard
the aircraft for various purchases including head sets and cocktails.
Watch for the other carriers to follow suit.
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If
you need to use the internet while youre traveling, visit JiWire.com to
discover the providers at airports. Those offering free WiFi can be found at wififreespot.com.
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Urban
Myth: Everything the hotel knows about you is embedded in the
magnetic strip on the back of your room key card
your name, credit card
number, & address. NOT TRUE! Typically, the embedded
information contains the room number and check-in and checkout dates.
Some keys, for security reasons, are encoded to track the number of times a
hotel room is entered and exited. Your personal information is not
encoded on the keys.
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Dynamic
Currency Conversion. Thats what some European establishments now
offer as a service. Its actually a currency conversion
tourist trap which means youll pay 4 to 5 percent more than locals for the
same meal or hotel room. When in Europe,
if you are presented a bill in dollars, do not accept it. To protect
yourself, demand to pay in local currency. All credit card
transactions should be processed in local currency and converted to dollars
by Visa or MasterCard on your monthly statement.
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Hertz
has announced that due to rising costs, they have implemented a $2.50
reservation fee for all domestic rentals. The fee will not apply to
rentals in HI, IN, IA, NV, NY, NC or SC because these states do not permit
such fees. California
permits such fees for corporate rentals, but not for leisure rentals.
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EasyHotel has opened its first location in central
London.
In keeping with the easy philosophy, frills are being ditched in favor of
value for money. Double rooms go for $35 per night. They come in
three sizes - small, really small & tiny (80, 70 & 60 square
feet). Each room comes with a bathroom, but windows are optional
extras, as well as a television which you can rent for $9 per day. To
keep costs low, only one person mans reception 24 hours a day and there are
no services, food, entertainment or public areas. The next one is
planned for Basel, Switzerland.
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In
other news, also launched this year will be another new chain of budget
hotels called Yotel. Two are expected to
open in the summer at Londons
main airports. A 40-cabin hotel will open at Heathrow Terminal 4
followed by one at Gatwicks South Terminal. The 10-square meter
cabins, which will run roughly $70 per night (but are also book-able for 4-hour
periods).
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Helpful
tips for saving money on your airline tickets:
- Buy
inexpensive first and business class seats on low-fare airlines
including AirTran,
America
West & ATA. These seats are a fraction of the price of front-cabin
service on other carriers. Spirit, AirTran
and ATA even offer day-of-travel upgrades ranging from $25-$75.
- If you need
to stay longer than 30 days, look for tickets sold on a one-way basis
since most lower-fare round-trip tickets come with a 30-day maximum
stay. Airlines including Southwest & Alaska do not have
maximum-stay restrictions.
- Travelers
who are students, teachers or younger than 26 can get special low-cost
international fares. Some fares can be used by travelers of any
age. Contact TMI for more information and to see if you
qualify.
Air Canada is now charging $2 Canadian for a kit
containing a blanket and an inflatable pillow on domestic and U.S.
flights lasting 90 minutes or less. Passengers can keep the items.
Double
check your hotel bill. A recent article in USA today reports that business
travelers may be overpaying for their hotel rooms by a half-billion dollars
a year for mistakes. Typically the overcharges are unintentional caused by
hotel employees entering an incorrect negotiated rate, or no negotiated
rate, into computer systems. However, other minor charges may be an
error related to the mini-bar, telephone calls, internet access fees or a
cancellation. If front-desk agents cant resolve a dispute, discuss
it with the manager on duty.
With
the help of Martha Stewart, Westin Hotels has introduced the Renewal Suite,
a de-stressing, detoxifying room that goes for $2,000 per night. It
features a cascading waterfall in the entry, a large chromotherapy
screen above the bed which constantly changes colors, a Spa bath (a tub
within a tub, so that it can be filled to the top, with overflow spilling
into the outer tub), a wall of 100 electrified candles in the living room,
and a special mint on the pillow Moondrops
Homeopathic Sleep Therapy Lozenges. The room also features a
Purification Station, a wellness mini-bar with healthy snacks, organic
wine, vitamin-infused gummy bears and stress and energy patches.
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Layover
in London?
A long layover between flights at Heathrow Airport
isnt an appealing prospect ~ unless you take advantage of the day-room
deal at the Radisson Edwardian hotel. The 5-star property, which
experienced business travelers consider among the best airport hotels in
the world, is offering Daylet Packages for just
$59. The package includes the use of a standard room between 10 am
and 6 pm and complimentary use of the on-site Pegasus Spa and fitness
club. A deluxe room is available for $69.
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New
Domestic Medical/Bereavement Fare Policy Northwest Airlines now requires
a WorldPerks number in a reservation for the
customer to be eligible for discounted one way and roundtrip emergency
fares for travel within the 50 US States and Canada when travel is due to
hospitalization or death of an immediate family member.
Virgin
Atlantic frequent fliers with 2 million miles can cash in for a suborbital
jaunt on Virgin Galactics White Knight
spaceship, expected to debut commercially in late 2008 or 2009. The
trip is part of a three-day experience, though the actual flight lasts
just 2 ½ hours and travels 70 to 100 miles up. The eight-seat
spacecraft will allow regular Joes and Janes who
have $200,000 to spare (or enough miles saved up) to make like
astronauts. So far, 160 people have put down $11 million in deposits
for flights. Virgin Atlantic is a member of American Express
Membership Rewards program!
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