On the Sunday, August 11th, 2019 edition of The Travel Guys… In The Travel News, there are updated travel warnings for Hong Kong, Mark and Tom talk about what the rest of the world is saying about travel to these United States in light of recent mass public shootings and the Sacramento Airport has been named one of the best in the country. Mark talks about being a smarter traveler when it comes to the coffee maker in your hotel room. "At a minimum, open it and look inside in a good light, not that little dim one over the coffee area. How often is it cleaned? What did the previous guest run through it? Heat helps kill germs, but.... Why not heat water in a microwave and make your coffee or tea that way and avoid 'traveler's revenge'." We also talk about Chris Elliott's recent article about passengers of size on airplanes. Ed Perkins of Consumer Report fame and other travel publications, joins us to talk about "Skip-lagging." It's a questionably legal action travelers use to beat the airlines. Ed talks about what it is and whether or not you should consider it as a hack on airfares. We introduce you to Westwind Air Service, a company offering flight seeing to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Monument Valley and other scenic destination.
On the Sunday, August 4th, 2019 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Universal Studios is opening a new theme park, SFO is getting rid of plastic water bottles very soon and Cathay Pacific IS watching you with those seat back cameras. In our Smarter Traveler segment, Mark talks about Citi Bank making drastic cuts to some of the travel related benefits on its credit cards, and we share some basic "idiot" rules regarding wild animals in natural settings. One of most poplar segments is when the Travel Guys take your calls and answer your travel questions from the mailbox. Listen to the podcast for the Q and A.
On the Sunday, July 28th edition of The Travel Guys: In the Travel News, the
In the Travel News, the
Attorney General for Nebraska has joined his counterpart in the District of Columbia by filing suit to stop resort fees. Nebraska filed against Hilton, DC had gone after Marriott. Watch this space for updates. A new Grand Hyatt is opening at SFO and is now taking reservations. Amtrak has announced the first non-stop Acela train, connecting New York and Washington, DC. All current trains make limited stops. Southwest Airlines is shuffling their schedule and even without the Max 8 planes, Hawaii service from Sacramento will be announced within the next month.
In our Smarter Traveler segment, Tom reveals a way to move a hotel reservation to avoid cancellation charges and Mark told listeners how to retrieve something from a plane after you've gotten off. Chris Elliott joined us to talk Resort Fees, the importance of reading the "medium" if not the "fine" print, Basic Economy Airfares and how to get good service from a bad airline.
On the Sunday, July 21st edition of The Travel Guys: In the Travel News, a lawsuit with a former concessionaire has been settled, allowing the National Park Service to call the Ahwahnee Hotel by its actual name again. Confused? We have all the details. And by now, you've probably heard the story about the early closing of Daffodil Hill this spring, pointing out how social media is exasperating the "over-tourism" problem.... To make you a Smarter Traveler, we have Travel Advisor Gwen Duncan on hand to talk about hotels. What to do if your reservation is lost, or more importantly, how to make sure it isn't lost before arrival. And what if you don't like your room? Gwen has some advice on that too, which also involves being pro-active before arrival. Most of us who travel use wi-fi in hotels, but we have a guest who says that's really a bad idea. Robert McGarvey talks about why you want to avoid hotel wi-fi, and what some of the alternatives are. We dig into our mailbag and answer some of your travel questions. Topics include REAL ID, saving seats on Southwest, the parking problems at Sacramento International and a reminder about what to do if your flight is delayed late into the evening, or early morning.