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, September 23rd, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, TSA officers stop a flight attendant from trying to pass through security with a LOADED gun and an unexpected visitor prompts a temporary closure of the Magic Kingdom, those stories next in the news. It's entirely possible that by the end of next weekend, we will be dealing with a government shutdown. What does that mean for travelers? We run down the list in our Smarter Traveler segment. Joe Brancatelli of Joe Sent Me, a great travel blog, joins us to talk about the shifting of Frequent Flyer programs from miles to credit card points. Our odds and ends segment highlights new vegan menus coming to Carnival Cruise Lines, and vacation rental companies are changing some rules. Soon the host will have to pay cancellation fees, and New York City is cracking down on illegal rentals in the city.
On the Sunday, March 19th, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, after a number of near misses on runways at the nation's airports, the government is calling for more air traffic controllers to be in the tower, and Carnival Cruise Lines becomes the first to sail 100 million passengers. Our Smarter Traveler segment offers a variety of tips - A warning about vacation rentals in Hawaii, a reminder on how packaging your hotel, air and rental car can often save you serious cash (links below), and a heads up to those needing a passport renewal in the near future. There's a brand new Ken Burns-style museum in Gettysburg (hint; it's all about the Civil War battle from a different point of view) as Gettysburg, Beyond the Battle, opens next month. Non-flight itineraries are on the rise. Why are more people choosing not to include air travel in their wanderings? One of our favorite travel bloggers says, get on, sit down, buckle up and shut up. It's actually pretty good wisdom. Check it out here.
On the Sunday, October 16th, 2022 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the State Department temporarily has reopened its online passport renewal program (link below) under certain conditions, and in Hawaii, visitor counts have hit a bump and some are concerned. Our Smarter Traveler segment features a discussion on the impact on your airfare, based on the day you fly. Monday, Friday and Sunday are generally higher. Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday lower; Thursday neutral. We'll explain why. Consumer Advocate Chris Elliott is on hand all the way from Cypress to discuss hotel service. Where is it headed post-COVID? We also go over words to be wary of when you are looking for a vacation rental. What does "cozy" really mean. Delta and Starbucks have announced a joint loyalty program. We'll share details and talk about the value of such programs.