On the Sunday, May 10, 2020, Mothers Day edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Delta drops 10 cities from its route map, Norwegian Cruise Line raises $2 billion to help avoid bankruptcy and Frontier Airlines gives the Sleazy Airline Award of the Year for offering to "sell" you the middle seat for $39. That's the same middle seat that likely would have been empty. Oh, and did they mention they were going to sell that same empty seat to both the window and aisle passengers? Makes you want to run right out and buy a ticket on Frontier. What nice people they are... Travelers United is an organization which advocates for travelers, mostly in the Washington, DC, arena. We invited Charlie Leocha, President and Co-founder, to talk with us about airline refund policies and other virus-related traveler questions. Since it's Mother's Day, we invite you to call in and share your favorite story of travel with mom. Your mom, someone else's mom, the lady who cared for you like a mother, your in-law. Whomever you see as mom, share that once in a lifetime trip you took. A small plaque remembering Travel Guys co-host Mark Hoffmann’s mom can be seen in Capital Park’s Rose Garden.
On the Sunday, May 3rd, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, we have the winners of the annual Freddie Awards, voted on by travelers, the show honors the best in customers service, award/reward programs and promotions, all voted on by travelers themselves. For a complete list of winners, go here. As economies begin to open up state by state, people may consider traveling again. In our Smarter Traveler segment we ask the question, besides cabin fever, what will get people back on the road, on airplanes, in hotel rooms, into theme parks, movie theaters and ballparks? Last week, we talked with our favorite Travel Advisor, Gwen Duncan, about how COVID-19 is impacting her business and how she is adjusting. After the interview was over, Tom left the tape running and he thought our audience would enjoy some of our "off the record" thoughts. Co-host Mark Hoffmann, is the owner of Sports Leisure Vacations, the underwriter of The Travel Guys. Tom talks with Mark about being a tour operator in the middle of the greatest global health crisis in a century.
On the Sunday, April 26th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the last cruise ship left on the oceans has finally finished its travels; and perhaps you heard the ranting by the mayor of Las Vegas last week. She may have "crapped out" with her comments... Bob Simms, the outdoor expert at KFBK, joins us to talk about where you can fish or take out your boat right now. Options are limited as trout season gets underway in some California counties. Chris Elliott continues to be quarantined in Nice, France. He joins us live to talk about the strict lock down in France and how it's working. Gwen Duncan of Cordially Yours Travel stops in to tell us how the virus is impacting retail travel and we get Gwen's thoughts on what normal might look like when travel resumes.
On the Sunday, April 19th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, most airlines are now guaranteeing an open middle seat, if you are flying to Canada you MUST wear a face mask and the Spy Museum is offering Spy Classes for kids online, perhaps the coolest idea in History! Plus, we tell you about a host of virtual travel videos (find many of the links on the show list). Travel bargains will abound soon. Will they be legit? Will the property even be open by the time you get there (some hotels/resorts are not going to survive)? We give you some hints on how to sort out the great values from the rip-offs. Restaurants have been hit hard by Covid-19. Most workers are without a job, some have been hit by the virus itself. Restaurants Care is trying to help their community. We tell you how you can help as we are joined by the Executive Director of the California Restaurant Association, Alycia Harshfield. We close the show taking listener calls. What is the number one destination on your Bucket List? If you could go anywhere on the planet, where would it be? Share with us, and if you get lucky, you might win a restaurant certificate you can use soon! Next Week: Chris Elliott joins us from Europe with the story of his family's journey through Covid-19 countries