On the Saturday, February 3rd, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, most of the news is BAD. Las Vegas hotels are raising resort fees and restaurants are raising their prices for the Super Bowl, Uber's rides continue to cost more, Jet Blue is going to charge you for advance seat selection for more seats on every flight, and the fees on Delta's credit card are going up 50%. Our Smarter Traveler segment talks about an endangered species - customer service. Case in point, American Airlines is cutting hundreds of call center positions that handle travel issues and complaints. And telling us it's going to make American BETTER. Can you say BS? Our Odds and Ends segment features stories about how travel companies are collecting your private information to create pricing, hidden cameras in vacation rentals and why you might need a special class to learn how to negotiate a Disney theme park. Charlie Leocha from Travelers United joins us to talk about the crowd coming in the skies. Charlie says flying cars, drones and other traffic is about to compete with airplanes and it's time to consider some regulations. Crazy? Maybe not.
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On the Saturday, December 30th, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Spirit Airlines put an unaccompanied minor on the wrong flight to Florida, and then made the family drive 160 miles to pick him up. Talk about screwing up and then complicating the issue. Las Vegas Strip casinos have all raised their parking costs again. Remember when it was free to park on The Strip? Wasn't that long ago. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we talk about the danger of taking "selfies" on the road. Increasingly, people, especially young people, are putting themselves and others in jeapardy, just trying to get the perfect souvenir photo. Don't risk your life, or the lives of wildlife or other travelers. We talk about three basic rules for selfie takers. Road Reporter Clayton Whitehead joins Mark and Tom for a look back at the 2023 travel year. In addition to discussing some of the challenges of moving about the country and the planet (often with 25-30 people in tow), we discuss some of Sports Leisure Travelers' favorite spots this past year. Grab a note pad, because in our favorites are lots of great tips for places to see, stay and eat on your next adventure.
On the Saturday, December 9th, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the TSA is planning to try out self-serve security lanes in Las Vegas early next year, and American and United are balking at a re-do of their Chicago O'Hare Terminals, as the cost has skyrocketed. Our Smarter Traveler segment features a rant by Mark about carry-on bags. Why do they make us gate check so many when often times there is plenty of room on the plane? Mark has a simple solution. European Tour Operator Rick Steves was in town last week to do a presentation at the Crest Theater to benefit Public Television. We sat down with him and talked about a wide variety of travel topics. That interview is at the halfway mark of the podcast. In our odds and ends segment, we offer a fine tuning to our baggage tracker suggestions. In you have one attached to your bag, there's one place you definitely don't want to put it.
On the Saturday, October 21st, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the State Department issues a warning to American travelers overseas and Delta Airlines walks back some of their cuts to their Sky Miles program after a lot of negative feedback from flyers. Our Smarter Traveler segment talks about the importance of using your miles/points in frequent flyer and other rewards programs. Mark explains why the rules are always changing, the goal posts for freebies always moving. These programs aren't always your friend. Cindy Nichol, the Director of Sacramento County Airports joins us for an interview covering a wide variety of subjects, everything from concessions to airport expansion. Finally, our Odds and Ends segment updates a story about vending machine cakes in Las Vegas and the cake goo that comes with them.