smarter traveler Page 69

On the Sunday, April 4th, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the CDC has a host of new guidelines for travel, starting with domestic trips and including guidance for the cruise lines. American Airlines says you can travel to Italy without a quarantine and several airlines have weighed in on the laws which appear to restrict the ability to vote in Georgia and other states. Mark headed to Seattle for business and a little baseball this week. He shares some updates and observations on airports and the behavior of travelers in our Smarter Traveler segment. Ever since the days of the Comstock, women have played a major role in the running of Virginia City. That’s still happening today. Meet the ladies of Virginia City and learn about what makes it an incredibly unique place to visit, very close to home. For 25 years, David Watts Barton was the music reviewer for the Sacramento Bee. His second career is as an author and he has a fascinating book on Japan, Japan: From Anime to Zen. We’ll talk with him about it.

On the Sunday, March 28th, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, New York City launches an effort to vaccinate all the workers in the theater district, the former president’s hotels get dumped by a major booking group and a Southwest pilot has a rant on an open mic that probably won’t end well for him. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we talk about stadiums, theaters, spring and summer festivals, cruise ships, restaurants, even crowded hotel elevators. They are all part of the travel comeback picture, but how do the pieces fit together, and more importantly, how do you travel with the current conditions? Travel to Hawaii has been a confusing proposition the last few months, to say the least. But COVID infections are down and even Kauai is joining the party. Our friend Will Lydgate, the Kauai chocolate farmer, gives us an update. More people are traveling now than a month ago. Are there any changes about how we get through security? Any special COVID rules to know about? Sid Thrift from TSA is on hand to give us the scoop.

On the Sunday, March 21st, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Disneyland is reopening at 15% of capacity and only Californians are allowed to buy tickets; and the pandemic is causing airlines to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in NBA, NFL and MLB sports sponsorships. Will that impact player salaries soon? Did you hear the one about the airline passenger who tried to bite his seat mate's ear off? In our Smarter Traveler segment, Mark talks about the increase in travel and just people moving around in general. Are travelers jumping the gun? Yes and no is the not so simple answer. The second half of the program features a Travel Round Table with guests Gwen Duncan of Cordially Yours Travel, and Clayton Whiteheaad, Vice-President of Sports Leisure Vacations. So where does travel go from here, and how do we do it safely? Who will be among the first "back in the pool?" A couple of travel pros join us to discuss the restarting of travel here and around the world.

On the Sunday, March 14th, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Amtrak is putting Covid relief funds to good use, restoring daily services on many long distance trains, including the California Zephyr. American Airlines tells 15,000 employees to forget the furlough notices, and air travel has had a significant bump in the past 7-10 days. But, hotels are still in big trouble. Now it's the Fairmont San Jose, the centerpiece hotel downtown, which has shuttered its doors after losing $38 million in the past year. Travelers United has put forth a pretty solid idea regarding airline passenger rights. Post them at the airport. Very few travelers know the simple rules which protect them. So why not make those rights extremely public? Because it isn't in the best interest of one group....the airlines. More discussion in our Smarter Traveler segment. For nearly more than 7 decades, 3 generations of the Perillo family have taken people on vacation. Italy is their specialty, but they now offer other destinations. Steve Perillo, owner of the 3rd generation family company, joins us to talk overseas travel. Finally, we have the story of the man who spent years in jail because Hertz Car Rental wouldn't turn over the documents which proved his innocence. We have the full story.