On the Saturday, December 20th, 2025 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel Guys, the San Francisco Giants have purchased a legendary theater in The City, an ancient lake's reappearance has added to the mystery of Death Valley, and American is cutting back the miles earned on cheap tickets. United Airlines has upgraded its already excellent app and we go over the changes in our Smarter Traveler segment. Airport lounges are all the rage these days, with even Southwest talking about adding places for travelers to escape within the airport. Why is that? We talk with our resident lounge lizard Clayton Whitehead to find out why they are so popular. In our Odds and Ends segment, Mark talks about how new Embassy Suites Hotels aren't so "suite-ish," and it appears hotel lobbyists are trying to curb vacation rentals. Updates on those and other "behind the scenes" stories.
Tag: vacation rentals
On the Saturday, November 9th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, lost bags may have a new way of being found; and we discuss how last week's election may impact travelers in the months ahead. Have you ever heard of the airline hack called "check in chicken?" Can it really help you get a better seat on the plane without paying for it? Chris Elliott joins us to opine on a variety of subjects, including children on the loose in the airport, robo-taxis and is it time for AI to plan your next vacation? Travel Gal Sydney is on hand to make you a little smarter next time you book your vacation rental and she asks the question, wouldn't a hotel be better in some situations?
On the Saturday, May 11th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Amtrak is having a sale on many of their long distance trains through May 16th. Save at least 30% on certain classes of service. Business travel is showing a significant rebound, and a study pretends to tell us which day of the week to buy your airline tickets. We have our doubts about the findings. Consumer households are paying, on the average, $1,100 in credit card fees every year. Not late fees for missing a payment, but fees that are added to your purchases by merchants to offset the growing cost of your cash-back and triple rewards cards. Are you getting value from your travel credit cards? Mark was in Chicago and Seattle this past week, scouting hotels, restaurants and attractions for upcoming Sports Leisure Vacations trips. He shares tips for some of the spots he visited, including a dive restaurant under the tracks in Chi-town, made famous in a Saturday Night Live skit and Chicago Cubs baseball history. There's a new vacation rental company joining the fray. We'll tell you a little about "Rentalz," and why they say they are different from the others.
On the Saturday, March 9th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, New York City has toughened up the rules under which you can rent out your place in The Big Apple, and hotels appear to be benefiting from the change. Plus, Costco has a great discount deal for Southwest flyers. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we discuss "authentic" travel experiences. If you want authentic, be careful and do your homework. Authentic in another country might be a fried dog hanging in a shop window (Viet Nam) or cooked eel (Sweden). Maybe authentic to you is having your hotel room overlook the town square. Except if there's a big celebration and noise continues until 4am, you might think that wasn't the best decision. Homework. Do your homework before making any major travel purchase. Charlie Leocha from Travelers United is our guest. Charlie explains that just because Congress passes a law, it isn't really a law until it's written and put into effect. That can often take years and more than one administration for things to actually be enforced. Family seating and compensation for delayed bags are two examples of things Congress approved but we are still waiting for the rules to be put in place. For 6-7 years we have been waiting. Our odds and ends segment offered tips on how to resolve issues with a vacation rental, the scary thought that dynamic pricing could be coming to restaurants and there is a new tipping app to cover those folks you never seem to have a couple of bucks in your pocket to reward their services.