Tag: Marriott

On the Saturday, October 17th, 2026 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Marriott is trying out a new way to inform Bonvoy Members about potential upgrades; and Southwest is considering ordering new planes that can fly over an ocean…those stories and more in the news. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we alert you to the growing threat of “reservation hijacking." From fake websites to phony cancellation messages, you need to know what to look out for. It’s time for the latest edition of the Travel Guys mailbag. We take questions you have asked online, and answer them for our entire audience on air. One listener shared a small California town she discovered and another is alerting us to what appear to be fake pictures and reviews online.

On the Saturday, July 4th, 2026 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, another Marriott customer who claimed to have been “bonvoyed” has sued the hotel chain over undisclosed resort fees; and you can get a free pass to California state parks for the rest of the year if you act today. Connecting times at hub airports are always up for discussion. We have a couple of tips to help you make the tight connection, or perhaps wait a bit and save some real dollars. That’s in our Smarter Traveler segment. Odds and Ends features the five most annoying behaviors on planes by your fellow passengers, and we take a look at the evolution of stewardesses to flight attendants. We are still two weeks from the opening of the California State Fair, and it’s time for our annual preview. What’s new and interesting on the midway? Tom has an update.

On the Saturday, June 20th, 2026 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, we explain why it’s not a good idea to touch flight attendants for ANY reason, and if you are making a summer road trip or just tooling around town, we’ll tell you what the experts say are the best and worst days of the week to buy gas. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we point out why it’s important to book directly with a hotel, airline, etc., as opposed to using a third party booking site. We have an interesting story about Marriott and their franchised hotels. It seems hotels are not happy about the reimbursement amounts for award stays and could very well have a dramatic effect on the value of your Marriott Reward Points. In our Odds and Ends piece, we tell you how United Airlines travelers can combine their points for a bigger reward; and with people visiting for the World Cup from around the world who aren’t used to tipping, how do you explain to them that adding 15-20% to the bill is an expectation.

On the Saturday, April 11th, 2026 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, bag fees are up pretty much across the board; and the department of homeland security threatens to pull customs agents from sanctuary cities. Guess what? LA and SFO are sanctuary cities. Our Smarter Traveler segment talks about fuel surcharges. Where are they popping up and perhaps the bigger question, are they legal? Next year, Marriott will celebrate 100 years. Today’s hotel chain started as an A & W Root Beer Stand in Washington, DC, in 1927. We’ll share the history of the Marriott empire. From a root beer stand to a hotel empire, it’s a pretty interesting story. In Europe, air travelers are protected against airline screw ups by something called EU 261. Charlie Leocha from Travelers United joins us to tell you how to make that rule work for you. Finally, we share some tips for leaving on vacation. Things you should do at home BEFORE you take off for paradise.