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Tag: Marriott

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Marriott customer sues over undisclosed resort fees

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.
Gas pump

Experts reveal the best and worst days of the week to buy gas

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.
Baggage claim carousel scaled e1775889673413

Airline bag fees are up across the board

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.
Yosemite view

New entrance rules at Yosemite National Park

On the Saturday, October 4th edition of The Travel Guys, our first broadcast on Sactown Sports 1140… In the Travel News, the government shutdown continues. We have an update on the TSA situation at Sacramento International and the entrance rules at Yosemite National Park. There's a tentative re-opening date for for Hwy 1 near Big Sur and Carnival Cruise Lines has invented Sun Screen flavored ice cream. We aren't kidding. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we talk about rules from hosts of Airbnb properties. If you checked into a hotel room, there would be certain expectations of the condition you would leave your room in when your checked out. But some vacation rental properties are coming up with long lists of rules visitors must follow, or risk additional charges. So where do you draw the line? Chris Elliott (www.elliott.org) joins us to talk about how mistakes by AI are messing with travel, the possible rollback in traveler rights and we ask the question, "are $900 credit cards worth it?" Our Odds and Ends closer points out that many people are mispronouncing the name "Marriott." It's not "Marr-i-ott, it's Marr-i-ett." Did you know Robert Redford loved national parks, in part based on his visit to Yosemite at age 11? He also worked there summers during his high school years.