On the Saturday, March 30th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Uber and Lyft react to new minimum wage laws for drivers by saying they are pulling service from Minneapolis May 1. Wonder if they are bluffing? South Lake Tahoe and Truckee have banned plastic bottles that contain less than one gallon of liquid from being sold in stores. Good for them. Guess once you've seen hundreds of plastic bottles floating on pristine Lake Tahoe, you are ready for change. Our Smarter Traveler segment features 8 things people tend to forget about passports. With summer travel season coming up, it's time for a refresher. New international travelers especially. With one river cruise line out of business, are there still cruises on America's rivers? The answer is yes, and we talked to American Cruise Lines to find out more about their products. Jack Gallagher returns to town on 420. April 20th that is. This time, Jack in joined by his band (?). Music and comedy at the B Street/Sofia Theatre and it's time to get your tickets! Major cruise lines are trying to make check-in day go smoother. That story is part of our Odds and Ends wrap up.
On the Saturday, March 23rd, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the CEO of Hertz is out after his bet on electric cars goes bad, and United has created a new way for family and friends to share miles to get a free ticket. Our Smarter Traveler segment has two big topics: A reminder on the grace period for canceling an airline ticket without any charge, and a word of warning regarding internet searches and "sponsored" links. Warnings are popping up for spring break travelers, particularly if you are heading out of the country. We have an expert to talk about different ways you can protect yourself and still have fun. 50 States, 1000 Eats is the National Geographic book. Author Joe Yogerst joins us to talk about his favorites. Then the conversation shifted to restaurant tipping, and boy did Joe have some strong opinions.
On the Saturday, March 16th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, in one of the more interesting stories to come along, three different sets of guests have reported their rooms being burglarized while they were sleeping in the rooms at The Rio Hotel on The Strip in Las Vegas; and a small town Texas official is warning residents to stock up ahead of travelers coming to see the eclipse in early April. Our Smarter Traveler segment talks about the new self-serve security coming to TSA stations at the airport and Mark offers some tips for those heading to Spring Training this year or in the future. Chris Elliott joins us from Brazil to talk about Exit Envy on planes, booking travel on smart phone apps and how to spot a travel company that might be on shaky financial ground. Our final part of the show is Odds and Ends time, with details on a Ghostbusters tour of New York City, tips on when and how to fly this summer and a listeners warning about those pesky tip machines.
On the Saturday, March 9th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, New York City has toughened up the rules under which you can rent out your place in The Big Apple, and hotels appear to be benefiting from the change. Plus, Costco has a great discount deal for Southwest flyers. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we discuss "authentic" travel experiences. If you want authentic, be careful and do your homework. Authentic in another country might be a fried dog hanging in a shop window (Viet Nam) or cooked eel (Sweden). Maybe authentic to you is having your hotel room overlook the town square. Except if there's a big celebration and noise continues until 4am, you might think that wasn't the best decision. Homework. Do your homework before making any major travel purchase. Charlie Leocha from Travelers United is our guest. Charlie explains that just because Congress passes a law, it isn't really a law until it's written and put into effect. That can often take years and more than one administration for things to actually be enforced. Family seating and compensation for delayed bags are two examples of things Congress approved but we are still waiting for the rules to be put in place. For 6-7 years we have been waiting. Our odds and ends segment offered tips on how to resolve issues with a vacation rental, the scary thought that dynamic pricing could be coming to restaurants and there is a new tipping app to cover those folks you never seem to have a couple of bucks in your pocket to reward their services.