Names Matter: What Airbnb Used To Be Called, Before Paul Graham Made Them Change It [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • Product names matter.

  • Cleveland airport will move rental cars back on-site I hate off-airport rental centers with the fire of 1,000 suns.

  • Price increases make sense considering Michelin stars drive demand, but more verbose menu descriptions once a restaurant gains a star is an interesting result!

  • TSA requires woman with Parkinson’s to give up her cane, she falls and suffers brain damage, and none of the screeners helped now she’s suing. TSA failed to provide her a wooden cane to use. Horrible, the security footage is tough to watch.

  • Delta cabin interiors aren’t always better than American cabin interiors.

About Gary Leff

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 »

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Comments

  2. The CLE offsite rental car center is terrible. It’s not a “short shuttle bus ride,” you actually get on the freeway and ride an exit or two to get to what feels like another zip code, a distant, lonely, obscure spot among truck terminals and light industrial buildings. It’s a much greater discouragement to renting a car at CLE than another few bucks’ surcharge will be.

  3. While I’m sure the Parkinson woman’s event happened as reported, TSA in SFO were very helpful to my mother going through TSA pre. She is 93 and hold onto anything while walking, usually my hand if I’m nearby. If you didn’t know, touching the metal detector at TSA checkpoints makes the detector beep, and you have to go through again. The TSA agent gave his hand to my mom so she could go through without having to touch the side for balance. At least some of the TSA agents are nice.

  4. Re John H: Glad to hear about the excellent provided at SFO. That may be due to the fact that SFO does not use TSA. The security screening at SFO is provided by Covenant Aviation Security, usually abbreviated CAS.

  5. The average TSA agent is like the average passenger going through security . . . or driving down the street . . . or walking along in a mall: no evil intent but simply thoughtless. They are like the guy who thoughtlessly parks his truck in the Walmart parking lot straddling the line and takes up two parking spaces. They are not like the guy who intentionally parks his BMW in a restaurant parking lot straddling the line and takes up two parking spaces. They are operating at their capacity as opposed to acting as sadistic Deep State cogs on a power trip trying to control the masses. The consequences of their actions are an afterthought. Epimetheus. I’m not saying this situation is acceptable. I’m just saying that’s what it is.

  6. I also hate off-airport car rental locations. At the moment, I particularly hate New Orleans, which HAD a car rental facility you could walk to. They then opened a nice new terminal, but left the cars in the old location, which requires a very long bus ride around the airport perimeter.
    But my hatred is even greater for all the fees associated with renting a car at most USA airports these days. You mentioned that CLE is going to add several dollars in additional daily fees for the privilege of not being iinconvenienced. I’d estimate that, in America, I can save about $15/day picking up a car outside the airport. As often as not, if I need a car for a week or more, I’ll leave the airport to pick up a rental car and return it to the airport to save those fees. It’s ridiculous, but I dislike being fleeced.

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