On the Saturday, September 2nd, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Hyatt bucks the trend and decided to include all fees, resort and otherwise, in the first screen price. Spirit has a sale, Delta is hiring flight attendants, and Qantas is fined for selling tickets on flights for weeks after they have been canceled. Our Smarter Traveler segment takes on the latest (and not so recent) on-the-street tourist scams and gives you wisdom on how to avoid them. International expert Clayton Whitehead, just back from Scotland, shares highlights of his trip and gives you some wisdom you can use if you are heading outside the country on your next trip. In our final segment, we address a topic Chris Elliott put before us in a Travelers United penning...The government collects fines from airlines. Why do those fines not go (at least in part) to the travelers who were wronged?
On the Sunday, August 27th, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the big stories are about lawsuits: Hyatt Hotels is being nailed for charging those pesky resort fees; and Spirit Airlines settled a suit regarding overcharging for carry-on bags. Tell me it isn't so. They would never do anything like that, would they? Hotel chains and airlines....naw.... When should you buy tickets for air travel to get the best fare? Experts have shared that important info with us and we share it with you in our Smarter Traveler segment. September is a big month for grape growers and wine fans. It's the month the grapes are harvested, and crushed, and the vino flows all over the valley. We have an update on special events for wine lovers. Our odds and ends segment features a story on New York City cracking down on short term rentals (think Airbnb and affiliated companies); and Beyoncé and Taylor Swift both had huge concert tours this summer. We'll take you behind the numbers and tell you how they compared.
On the Sunday, August 20th, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In The Travel News, tourists continue to make headlines - now it's two guys who climbed onto the Eiffel Tower drunk and passed out; and Las Vegas strip hotels are apparently dealing with an onslaught of bed bugs. They are incredibly difficult to get rid of once they find a home. Last week, Mark suggested you buy AirTags, and offered a link with what would have been an amazing price ($10 for 4). Except he didn't have the right link. They are a little more expensive than that. Like 8-9x as much. Oops. The correct link can be found on this page. A few weeks ago, we discussed the concept of "Skip-lagging," buying an airline ticket, knowing you weren't going to travel to the final destination, throwing part of the ticket away, in order to take advantage of the strange way airlines price tickets. We warned you at the time the airlines don't consider it cool, and indeed now American Airlines is suing an online company which helps people commit the "Skip-lagging" offense. We have an update. The battle against resort and other bogus fees hoisted on travelers continues. Charlie Leocha from Travelers United joins to update us on state and national legislation. Heather Fortes, who is the owner of SacTown Bites, our local foodie tour company, is on hand to discuss some of her offerings, both in Sacramento and in surrounding communities.
On the Sunday, August 13th, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Southwest is making a change to their boarding process and the travel industry is banding together to try and help the people in Maui recover. We've talked about air tags on the program more than once, but we're still pounding the table. This week, another story from a lady who ignored United when they told her they couldn't find her luggage. She knew where it was from the AirTag ping, so she went and got it. Time to put one of these gadgets in your bag? In Europe, you can now make phone calls in flight. Could that policy change be coming to the US? How will airline passenger feel about adding to the cacophony on planes? If you are renting a car to travel long distance, is it cheaper to rent an electric car? How about for around town? The answer is, it depends.