A great staycation can be getting a room at a local resort and enjoying everything they have on property, but you can do this without even booking the room. Many resorts offer day passes, and some people go without buying the pass. And it can make a great place to kill time before the airport, especially if you don’t have guaranteed late checkout where you’re staying.
Wednesday’s American Airlines flight 2484 from Las Vegas to Philadelphia had about two dozen more passengers than they could fly. The airline started offering vouchers to people that would give up their seat, but they weren’t getting enough volunteers. So first class passengers reportedly took matters into their own hands, started a collection, and topped off American’s offer so that passengers would get off of the flight and they could leave.
The Thompson Hotel Denver is a recent-build property owned by T2 Hospitality. Like many lifestyle hotels, they don’t just rely on room revenue to earn a profit. They lean heavily into food and beverage. And this hotel has a unique strategy for bumping up their revenue – by 3%.
As this charge slip from the hotel’s bar shows, they add an automatic 20% surcharge and pocket 3% of it for themselves. You’re not just required to tip the servers, you’re also required to tip the owners.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
One of the controversial views I hold in miles and points is that – as much as I believe fuel surcharges on award tickets are offensive and destructive – I will pay them when there’s good premium cabin award availability at a reasonable mileage price.
I’ve flown British Airways from Austin to London many, many times.
On August 27, 2019 passenger Roberto Mata was hit with a galley cart on board Avianca flight 670 from San Salvador to New York JFK. The man sued, and the airline sought to have the suit tossed because the statute of limitations had lapsed.
His attorneys argued that Avianca’s bankruptcy caused the statute of limitations to toll, allowing the suit, and they filed a brief to that effect written entirely by ChatGPT which they… did not check at all first.
What makes the biggest difference in comfort on any flight, regardless of airline, is having an empty seat next to you. And if your flight is full, that’s something which is largely within your control when flying on Southwest Airlines. If you fly Delta you hope they didn’t assign the seat next to you. If you fly Southwest, seats aren’t pre-assigned, so you hope no one decides to sit next to you.
There’s a whole subculture of people who have their own strategies for making sure sitting beside them is… undesirable.
Delta Air Lines will be sharing the names of flight crew with passengers a day in advance of travel. Passengers will be able to recognize crew for their service. Even though it’s only first names, crew can opt out, and only positive comments will be passed along, a union trying to organize flight attendants at the airline is blasting the program.
Business class is about the seat. You have more space, and an available bed, so you can be more comfortable and well-rested rather than beaten up by the time you reach your destination. None of the ‘above and beyond’ business class products are offered by U.S. or European airlines.
At that point, then, the gradations in service matter but I do think – once the product hits a certain level of quality – it becomes more (though not exclusively) about schedule and price.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
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 »
