Category Archives for Hotels.
Find the property. Book direct. The host saves Airbnb fees, you save Airbnb fees. You lose out on Airbnb protections but those may not be worth much to the host or to the guest.
Airbnb says they cost hosts up to $3 million. One San Francisco host shares what that coverage actually looks like in practice, when a guest clogged a toilet and created a leak from a separate upstairs unit into the whole home – causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. After six months, they want the owner to settle for about 10% of the costs.
A reader stayed at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay for his wife’s 50th birthday weekend. He’s a “Globalist,” a top elite with Hyatt for the past decade or more. And one of the benefits of this status is a dedicated ‘concierge’ who helps with reservations, upgrades, billing and points issues and other hotel matters.
Since his concierge knew that it was a special weekend, she contacted the hotel about delivering something to the room for the occasion. The hotel did. And they charged the guest for it, at full room service prices.
Marriott has an affiliate commission-earning business, and they rebate part of that commission in the form of points.
Hyatt is getting into the homeshare marketing business too with Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt. It will launch “in the coming weeks” with domestic markets “like Hawaii, Florida and Colorado,” and eventually expand to international markets as well.
The United Airlines flight attendants union, AFA-CWA, is telling crewmembers to pack (1) a flashlight and (2) latex gloves, so they can search for bedbugs during their trips. The union also reports cabin crew at Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Hawaiian, Spirit and others including American Airlines wholly-owned regional carriers Envoy Airlines, Piedmont, and PSA. Members are being told to be vigilant about bedbugs, not only at international carriers flying to Paris, where infestations have gotten the most attention lately. Check the mattress for bed bug remains That means looking at the corner of the mattress, seams, and labels Crew are advised that while the headboard is a place they can be found, not to actually remove the headboard because they could be liable for damage. Flight attendants are also advised to use hard sided luggage rather…
Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria has backed out of hosting the “Seize the Moment US Campaign for Palestinian Rights National Conference” planned for October 27 – 29, which was set to be keynoted by Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American congresswoman and member of ‘the squad’ known for her opposition to Israel.
A Choice Privileges Diamond member filmed himself being kicked out of a Sleep Inn hotel. The front desk clerk tells the man, “You called me a b—- and you’re an absolute nobody. A piece of.. You’re scum. You’re nothing. You can leave.”
The man says he’s leaving, turns his phone around to point it at himself, and declares “This is how they treat their Diamond members.” Why yes, when you call the front desk clerk vulgarities it very much is. The amazing thing is that the man shared the video to TikTok (though since removed it) as though the exchange made him look good?
I’ve heard from several people wondering what their next-best path to earn Hyatt Globalist will be, since they can’t credit cheap Excalibur stays to Hyatt (without actually traveling anywhere) going forward.
On Saturday three people were injured in a shooting at the Texas State Fair. A 22 year old man has been charged with aggravated assault after a conflict that began amongst two people who already knew each other at the Fair’s food court. Everyone was evacuated, and the fair re-opened on Sunday.
Two Hyatt hotels that developed a reputation for never allowing you to use your points for free nights were the Park Hyatt Aviara and the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach. That’s been fixed thanks to the enterprising efforts of one woman who found they weren’t just harming program members, they may have been breaking the law.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
