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Ask Suzy Bennett how she’s approaching the 2009 holiday travel season, and she’ll tell you she isn’t.
These are hard times for clothing-optional travelers.
Like a tie for dad, a kitchen appliance for mom, or socks for the kids, there’s no shortage of holiday gift clichés for travelers. Wheeled luggage, ticket holders and inflatable pillows come to mind.
When I think of great customer service, I remember Alamo.
Ask Bonnie Friedman about her worst customer service experience, and she won’t hesitate to tell you about the time she checked in for her flight from Venice to Frankfurt.
Thinking of throwing a tantrum the next time things don’t go your way when you travel? Consider what happened to Gary Zeune before you do.
At a time when pleasantness and politeness seem to be in such short supply in the travel business, being nice can take you a long way.
If you thought the travel bargains were unbelievable this year, just wait until 2010. Here are 10 places to find them during the Year of the Deal.
How do you make the most of a visit to an almost-bankrupt hotel? Here’s how to spot a property and what to do if you find yourself checking into one.
If I were a bettin’ man, I’d put some money on a big airline filing for bankruptcy protection in the not-too-distant future. Point is, one day — maybe soon — you could be flying the bankrupt skies. How will that affect your trip?
Billing snafus, called folios in hotel-speak, are usually innocent mistakes. But in this awful economy, hotels are far less reluctant to fix the gaffes unless they can find the guilty party.
Basically, we’ve concluded that the travel industry is largely comprised of money-grubbing opportunists, and no fire sale is going to fix that. Here are ways companies can win us back.
Across the travel industry, companies are adopting clever definitions of everything from “day” to “year” — all with the apparent intent of keeping your money, or just bringing in a little more.
One of the travel industry’s favorite new tricks is waiting to tell you about onerous new terms until it’s too late — whether they’re trying to modify a reservation or redeem their loyalty points.
Using a cell phone while traveling sounds reasonable, but you may be shocked when you see your monthly bill. Here are a few ways to make sure you aren’t hammered by ridiculous fees.
When Carla DeLuca canceled her room at the W Hotel Union Square in New York a week before her arrival, the hotel decided to ding her for a night’s stay anyway.
The check-in time at the Express By Holiday Inn London-Southwark is 2 p.m., but when Arthur Roach arrived at the hotel just after 11 a.m., he thought it might make an exception.
Like just about every other airline passenger this summer, Elizabeth Rodgers wants to avoid any unnecessary fees. So on a recent flight from Los Angeles to Boise, Idaho, she tried to carry all of her luggage on the plane.
Before the latest social media revolution, Jessica Gottlieb would have probably watched helplessly when her kids, Jane and Alexander, were trapped on the tarmac, waiting for their Virgin America flight to take off.
When Robin McMullin heard about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico, her heart sank. She had planned to celebrate her graduation from nursing school with a trip to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun.
Fumiko Seguchi did everything by the book on her recent flight to Tokyo. She confirmed her departure 24 hours in advance. She secured a seat assignment. And she arrived more than two hours before departure.
The roundtrip airfare from Brussels to New York on the European online travel site eDreams was €337 — until Alisa Schlossberg clicked on the “buy” button. Then it jumped to €592, causing an eNightmare.
Gary Arndt didn’t want to wait until he was old to see the world. So two years ago, at the ripe age of age of 37, he sold his house, put everything he owned in storage, and hit the road.
A holiday travel survival guideThe upcoming travel season will be different than past ones in several ways. You need more than promises of warm fuzzies. Here's 5 things you absolutely must know before you travel.
Ban alcohol on board?Don't drink and fly. Words to live by, not just if you're a pilot, but if you're a passenger. Seven reasons why keeping the skies alcohol-free make sense.
They still do that?Concern for the customer instead of the bottom line is an uncommon impulse in a travel industry decimated by recession. So how do you get top-notch treatment every time?
6 things you should never do when you're awayBeing assertive is necessary when traveling, especially as service heads south. However, bad behavior is always unacceptable. Here are 6 things you should never do when traveling.
How to get your way when you travelAt a time when pleasantness and politeness seem to be in such short supply in the travel business, being nice can take you a long way.
Folio failureBilling snafus, called folios in hotel-speak, are usually innocent mistakes. But in this awful economy, hotels are far less reluctant to fix the gaffes unless they can find the guilty party.
How the travel industry can win back your favorBasically, we've concluded that the travel industry is largely comprised of money-grubbing opportunists, and no fire sale is going to fix that. Here are ways companies can win us back.
Fighting companies that fudge the numbersAcross the travel industry, companies are adopting clever definitions of everything from "day" to "year" - all with the apparent intent of keeping your money, or just bringing in a little more.
How to avoid the newest travel 'gotcha'One of the travel industry's favorite new tricks is waiting to tell you about onerous new terms until it's too late - whether they're trying to modify a reservation or redeem their loyalty points.
7 tips for a successful credit card disputeIt's no secret that in this recession, many travel companies are playing the discount-and-surcharge game. A lot of unwanted charges are popping up on credit card bills - fees that, if not removed, will end up being contested.
A travel revolutionSocial media sites that allow people to interact in the moment are changing how travel companies talk to their customers - and how their customers talk back.
Lighten up!He doesn't dispute the dangers of secondhand smoke, but travel columnist Christopher Elliott wonders if the travel industry has taken its crackdown on smokers a bit too far.
A good summer mystery: What about travel?When it comes to travel, does anyone know what's going to happen this summer? A lot of people claim to.
6 questions to ask before buying trip insuranceThere are no statistics on the number of fake insurance policies sold to travelers. But in the last month, there's been a rise in the number of insurance-related complaints I've received.
Changing travel, one tweet at a timeMicroblog sites have been breaking news since they've been around. They've offered first-hand accounts of events, including Thursday's plane crash in New York City, and are changing the face of travel.
Turn heads at travel companies in your favorBut how do you persuade a travel company to come around to your way of thinking? Here are six suggestions. Lay down the law, use logic - and don't forget to be polite.
Flying traitors: Why air travel is un-AmericanOpinion: What's so fair about flying? If you said "nothing," you're right. Air travel has become so Balkanized in the last few months that flying is - and I want to be careful not to overstate this - almost un-American.
5 questions to ask before votingTired of bumping and overbooking? Peeved at long airport waits? Worried about the future of air-traffic control? Travelers are facing a host of concerns, which led Christopher Elliott to look at how Barack Obama and John McCain stack up on the issues.
How airlines have betrayed usAirline passengers are usually a forgiving lot. When a flight doesn't take off as planned, they understand. When they have to pay extra for a checked bag because of "higher" fuel prices, they oblige. But airlines continue to use travelers' goodwill against them through betrayal.
Why is your travel company ignoring you?A lot of travelers are complaint-impaired. No two ways about it: their phone calls are irrational and their letters are ineffective. Avoid these errors and you'll probably get a prompt answer - if not a resolution - from your travel company.
Dealing with an unexpected death on the roadNo one expects to come home in a casket. But more Americans are. The number of claims made on death benefits by one travel assistance service has almost doubled in the last three years. Its numbers reflect a broader industry trend.
An upside to high prices at the pumpSoaring fuel costs can potentially save us real money on our next vacation. The effects were already being seen across the board: hotel rooms, car rentals and counterintuitively, even airline tickets.
3 biggest mistakes business travelers makeRoad warriors aren't necessarily as smart as they look. If they were, then why would they spend half their lives on the road?� And why would they spend so much money on it? Duh. By Christopher Elliott
How hotels help themselves to your moneyIf you think your hotel's done with you when you check out, think again. It might just be getting started. Charges can be quietly added to your hotel bill after you've left. And increasingly, they are.
4 outrageous airline fees and how to avoid themSurcharges are not inevitable. � la carte pricing doesn't have to send the price of your next vacation into the stratosphere. Really, it doesn't.
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