The White House Spent $2 Billion On Tests, Has No Intention To Stop Requiring Them For Int’l Travel

by Gary Leff

Apr 06 2022

Requiring a negative Covid-19 test to fly to the U.S. did not stop the Omnicron variant from entering the country, and it didn’t stop the Omicron wave. Requiring testing for travel but not for anything else makes no sense at all. The antigen tests that are accepted are hardly a guarantee against a passenger carrying the virus. We aren’t pursuing an ‘eradication’ policy against Covid like China is. Barely-piecemeal efforts are largely symbolic.

But the Biden administration says lifting the testing requirement for international travel is off the table.

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Hertz CEO Admits Falsely Reporting Cars Stolen, Sending Customers To Jail

by Gary Leff

Apr 05 2022

There’s a class action lawsuit, with numerous reports of customers who were arrested for theft of vehicles they’d rented, and who wound up in jail while trying to clear matters up. I’ve even been contacted by readers trying to deal with the bureaucracy of Hertz over these issues.

Appearing on CNBC, Hertz’s new CEO acknowledges it happened, says it’s rare, and that it won’t happen again.

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Hyatt Introduces New All-Inclusive Award Chart As It Starts Adding 100 New Properties

by Gary Leff

Apr 04 2022

Hyatt is introducing a new award chart for all-inclusive properties. That’s because they used to have the Ziva and Zilara brand, but are now starting to bring the 100 Apple Leisure Group properties into the World of Hyatt program that they acquired. In fact, 6 hotels are already live and 50 more will be joining the program May 9. Kudos for speed, this took about 8 months from deal announcement rather than the traditional 18 months.

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With 9 Hour Waits For An Agent, Here’s How To Get Help From American Airlines

by Gary Leff

Apr 04 2022

Long telephone hold times are the new normal when trying to reach an airline. They shed reservations agents during the pandemic. At American Airlines reservations agents were moved to the airport. And today’s travelers – predominantly leisure customers – call the airline more than business travelers did.

Add in weather and other problems and hold times spiral out of control. This past weekend we were seeing 5 and even 9 hour hold times to reach an American Airlines agent. Fortunately there are workarounds.

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