News and notes from around the interweb:
- The 12 worst travel mistakes “experts” have made. One of mine from earlier this year is included.
- A day after a US Airways flight was diverted when its pilot died inflight, a United flight diverted when its co-pilot passed out. United 1614 from Houston to San Francisco diverted to Albuquerque.
- Potentially killer app: Chrome browser extension that will reveal the identity of hotels for Priceline Express Deals.
When you place your mouse on a deal, the browser extension will reveal the short list of hotels that match the criteria for that deal (neighborhood, stars, guests ratings, amenities, availability, etc.). Often, the short list contains one or two hotels only. This way you can compare deals in few seconds without need to open new windows/do additional searches.
…After installing it, you will see a ring bell icon on the top right corner of your chrome browser (only when you are in the Express Deal section of priceline.com). Press on it and place your mouse over the deal that you want to see.
- Up to 10,000 bonus Starwood points for stays at Tribute Portfolio hotels (registration required)
- “Inattentive parents” and “hallway hellraisers” are the most annoying hotel guests (HT: Alan H.)
- How American Airlines prepared for the Pope to travel on his chartered Boeing 777-200 (unreconfigured).
@ Gary — Isn’t bidding on Priceline always better than Express deals?
Best bet is to find a good travel agent with unpublished deals. They are out there. Better than there so called “Best Price Guarantee” sites.
@Gene: I prefer Hotwire Secret Deals to Priceline Express Deals because Hotwire’s fees and total cost are usually lower in my experience. Bidding can get you a lower price if you don’t care about amenities like an airport shuttle or breakfast. If you need a specific amenity, bidding becomes risky when more than one outcome is possible.
I do recall fondly bidding on a 5-star in Venice several years ago, when only one hotel (the Hilton) fell into that category. I tried several bids over a period of days before completing the purchase of a multi-day stay at a rock-bottom price. That was one of the last times I bothered with bidding. Hotwire and PL Express Deals are so much faster and easier when it’s just a one-night stay.