On the Sunday, December 29th edition of The Travel Guys, Tom hosts a very special show. Listen on Spotify
We call ourselves the Travel and Entertainment Guys on occasion, because we sometimes are able to set up an interview with a celebrity in the entertainment world. Since folks often include entertainment, festivals and shows in their itineraries when they travel, we love incorporating that element into our program.
On this special holiday edition, Tom reprises some of our best entertainment interviews. This isn't a goofy "best of," it's a special program featuring the likes of:
Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash) Richie Furay (The Eagles, Buffalo Springfield, Poco) Barry Manilow Wayne Newton Special short appearance by the Rutabaga Boogie Band (who were live in our studio that day)
As we finish another year of Travel Guys broadcasts, we want to thank our guests, Luis Aquino (our board operator at the station who engineers the show), everyone who contributes big and small, and especially our loyal listeners. Without you, there wouldn't be a Travel Guys program. Thank you.
Posted Sunday, December 23rd, 2018 On the Sunday, December 22nd Christmas edition of The Travel Guys:
In the Travel News, Google Assistant can now predict flight delays with 85% per cent accuracy, and will notify you of any predicted delays. Alaska Airlines has begun the first-ever flights from Sacramento to the Big Island of Hawaii. They depart 3x weekly. Southwest Airlines has finally gotten the ETOPS certificate needed to fly to Hawaii and will schedule test flights very soon, with passenger flights expected within 60 days. Watch for some incredible start up fares. In the Smarter Traveler segment, we dedicated our time to last minute gift ideas for the travelers on your list. Jeff from Best of Hawaii joined the guys to talk about Southwest's arrival in the islands (BREAKING NEWS: Southwest has received their ETOPS Certificate - allowing them to fly to the islands - test flights should be happening within days, passengers should follow quickly). He also shares wisdom on renting a car (book early during heavy periods because of limited availability and high pricing) and navigating the island roads, which are more rural and require you to pay attention and try to avoid u-turns out of nowhere.... Gwen Duncan from Cordially Yours Travel talks about the need for a Passenger Bill of Rights for River Cruises in Europe, in part due to the different policies employed by the cruise lines operating there. Gwen (and others) feel standardization would help both travel advisors and their clients. We also asked Gwen about the recent change of name at ASTA, from American Association of Travel Agents to American Association of Travel Advisors. Gwen endorsed the change and said, "if your travel advisor is doing nothing more than booking your travel, time to get someone who knows their stuff." Mark also suggested that if you are taking the "bucket list trip," you might want to invest a couple hundred dollars in the wisdom of an expert.
On the Sunday, December 16th, 2018 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, a cruise ship has installed a roller coaster and a U.S. hotel is using robots to deliver room service. Finally, would female travelers like to see “women’s only” sections on flights?
Airline passengers do some mighty strange things while flying, many of them to EACH OTHER. In our Smarter Traveler segment, Mark shares the list, which features his personal pet-peeve.
Mark has spent much of the week on a steamboat on the Mississippi River. Reporter Clayton Whitehead joins him to talk about the cruise and some of its destinations in Mississippi.
We also talk with the ship’s “Riverlorian,” the steamboat version of a floating historian, and Mark gives his review of the American Queen.
On the Sunday, December 9th edition of The Travel Guys: In the Travel News, a woman is suing Hilton Hotels for $100 million dollars after she says an employee video-taped her in the shower and tried to extort money from her. The fear is there may be more videos and more victims. Southwest Airlines is inching closer to service to Hawaii. Mainland employees who have volunteered for Hawaii jobs have been told to report to Honolulu by the second week of January. From southern California comes word of two sisters/nuns who used the school treasury to support a half million in travel and gambling habits.
A level two travel advisory has been issued for Spain. Exercise increased caution due to terrorism. Remember if you are traveling to a foreign country to enroll in the S.T.E.P. program.
Gwen Duncan shares some of her biggest frustrations as a travel counselor. They include people who don't get the same name, exactly the same name, on their license and passport; those who don't realize a passport has to be valid for six months after your return date; and finally, the importance of having a signed letter of permission when you are traveling with a minor child who isn't your own, or might be a step-child or a child who was adopted. Check the links below for more information.
Michelle Couch Friedman from Elliott Advocacy (
Michelle Couch Friedman from Elliott Advocacy (
www.elliott.org) told us about a smoking fee scheme found right here at the Extended Stay property in Rancho Cordova. A guest was charged $150 for smoking. Except he doesn't smoke. On closer examination when contesting the fee, it was discovered that the hotel charged the smoking fee the day BEFORE the guest checked in. Wow. Scam. Double scam. Extended Stay Rancho Cordova, 10721 White Rock Road is the hotel is question.