One of the easiest stories to do on travel right now is the exploding cost of Manhattan hotel rooms. USA Today‘s Matt Krantz turns in the obligatory piece, focusing on the $330 a night Super 8 and then draws the stark contrast For less than the price of the Times Square Super 8, guests could stay this week at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix, for $249 a night. It boasts an award-winning high tea, a cigar bar and full spa. The Super 8 offers an iron and ironing board. Of course, the Ritz-Carlton Phoenix isn’t anywhere near Wall Street or Broadway, making it difficult to use as a jumping off point for New York City’s business and sights. But the point is still a shocking one. (On less busy nights New York City properties are of…

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David Rowell reviews the new Randy Petersen/Tim Winship book, Mileage Pro. His bottom-line: If people buy the book to get a complete standalone and ordered presentation of all data that would otherwise take a lot of surfing to try and piece together, they may be disappointed. But if they buy the book seeking a strategic overview of what mileage programs are all about and how best to approach them, they’ll be very pleased. My copy hasn’t arrived in the mail yet, it was held up slightly waiting to be autographed by the authors, but I’m looking forward to reading it!

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About 30,000 people were mistakenly added to a terrorism watch list that causes them to be selected for extra screening. Kennedy said that travelers have had to ask the TSA to clear their identities from watch lists by submitting a “Passenger Identity Verification Form” and three notarized copies of identification documents. On average, he said, it takes officials 45 to 60 days to evaluate the request and make any necessary changes. The government made a mistake. It’s up to affected people to file paperwork to get things straightened out. But even then the government still adds an extra hassle because there’s still someone else (not those affected) out there. After submitting their notarized forms and identifications, and waiting for evaluations, the vast majority of the people mistakenly matched to names on the watch list have…

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The Airport Security Screening Playset — unfortunately, it’s out of stock. They’re supposed to email me when it’s available again.     Concurring Opinions already has one, and reports that it’s not very realistic: There was only one passenger to be screened. Where were the long lines? The passenger’s clothing wasn’t removable for strip searching. The passenger’s shoes couldn’t be removed either. Her luggage fit easily inside the X-ray machine. There were no silly warning signs not to carry guns or bombs onto the plane. And there was no No Fly List or Selectee List included in the playset.   Another oddity was that the toy came with two guns, one for the police officer and one that either belonged to the X-ray screener or the passenger. The luggage actually opened up, and the gun…

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USAToday has the story about an upcoming announcement:Westin Hotels & Resorts will announce today that it is snuffing out smoking in all rooms, restaurants, bars and public areas at its 77 U.S., Canadian and Caribbean properties starting in January. Guests may smoke only on balconies or in other outdoor areas.

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Apparently tourism to Afghanistan is on the rise. BILLIONAIRE Aga Khan, who’s about to open his multimillion-dollar luxury property in central Kabul – the Kabul Serena Hotel, with rooms from $250 a night – has good timing. Travel to Afghanistan is gaining momentum, relatively speaking. Tourism deputy minister Nasrullah Stanikzai told NYP Travel that this past summer the country saw an increase in the number of tourists over summer 2004 (numbers were not available), and that most were from Korea, Japan and Europe. I still wouldn’t fly Arianna Afghan Airlines, though they’ve at least upgraded their website somewhat in the past 18 months.

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