Review: Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef)

by Gary Leff

Jun 10 2015

Cairns is a city, that’s where you’ll fly into when going up to the Great Barrier Reef. And you can use it as a jumping off point to the Reef to be sure. But ever since I was a kid I preferred to stay in the town of Port Douglas about an hour away.

There’s only one place though where you can use points from one of the major hotel loyalty programs there. Oh, there’s a Best Western and a Ramada. But Starwood has a property — the Sheraton Mirage — which was the first big resort in the area (formerly just Mirage).

It’s a large hotel with meandering pools and is nestled just beside the beach, but it’s a drive out from town. Many will rent cars, though there’s convenient van transport as well.

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Why Delta and Lufthansa Want to ‘Control the Information’ and What They’re Doing About It

by Gary Leff

Airlines want lower costs to distribute their tickets and greater flexibility in how their fares are displayed — especially the ability to upsell unbundled products through whatever channels are distributing their fares.

Delta is limiting the sites that can display its fares. Lufthansa has declared that all ‘indirect channels’ (like travel agents, online booking websites) have to pass on a 16 euro fee for their tickets.

This is a war between airlines and their distribution partners, and they’ll bloody each other in the process. While not convenient for consumers, you won’t really feel the losses here.

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