Turning to Your Friends for Vacation Rental Advice (and Perhaps As Temporary Landlords)

Each one is different.

That is, in a nutshell, the greatest asset and the greatest liability of vacation rentals. And not only will each rental boast a unique decor, but most are owned by individuals, not corporations. Which means that buyers and renters need to take extra precautions before any money changes hands. Each needs to make damn sure that the other will make good on the promises in the rental contract (not always a given in these situations).

Enter SecondPorch.com, a newish website that has grand plans for restoring trust to the process of renting homes.

In its first iteration, Second Porch existed only on Facebook, and could only be used by folks who knew one another. This was key, as it mission was to facilitate rentals just of second homes by folks who might not rent at all if they had to vet potential tenants. The theory (since proved, I think) was that there are dozens of second homes (often called "country homes") all around the country sitting empty, that owners didn't have the courage or the time to rent out. Second Porch helped those owners make a bit of extra money, without too much worry; and also assisted renters looking for nice properties that would be affordable (most of the owners, because they were renting to friends or friends of friends, charged reasonable fees). Many of the properties on Second Porch simply don't appear on the regular rental sites for these reasons.

In June, Second Porch established a presence beyond Facebook at SecondPorch.com.

And just this week, the site morphed again expanding beyond just second home rentals to any and all rentals. But it still has some features that keeps it from being just another VRBO or Homeaway:

1. Networking: The program still works with Facebook in order to show users homes their friends have rented. This is helpful in two ways. A would-be vacationer with no idea of where to go can simply look at the places friends have recently rented and then ask their advice, choosing a home as a basis for picking a destination. Those who have a specific place in mind can register it, and then (hopefully) a list will pop up of the 10 different condos your buddies have already rented in that area. Of course, if your friends all go to the lake, and you're a mountain person, your list might come up short. A lot depends on what types of social circles you run in. If your social circle is lacking, you turn to step two (see below). 
2. The Social Guestbook: Instead of asking guests to sign a book in the house, renters are given a link to an online guestbook which they can either simply sign; or use to write a review of the property. Anyone who signs the guestbook can then be contacted by potential renters, whether or not the initial renter knows the prospective renters. I suppose the theory here is that anyone who does not wish to be contacted for advice will simply not sign the guestbook. Anyone else will be fair game.

According to founder Brent Heigelkke, Second Porch has the advantage of transparency over other sites which include travel reviews. "Even if a traveler is not socially connected to any homes in their preferred destination, the "Social Guestbook" means that travelers can easily interact with the community of owners, managers and past guests around each home.  We like to say we show the traveler the "faces behind the places" after all, they are renting someone's home, so it's only logical that they should know a little bit about the person who is handing them the keys to their home."

Currently, SecondPorch.com has 14,000 listings in 100 countries though the vast majority of the listings are in the United States. Will it continue to grow? I, for one, am rooting for it to succeed.

More High Speed Rail Set to Debut in Spain

On December 19, Spain gets an early Christmas treat. Early that day, the first high-speed trains on the Madrid-Valencia line will zoom from the capital to the coast in just 90 minutes. On December 18, that train trip would have taken 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Valencia, Spain (Photo by KA)

To put into perspective what an achievement this is: the distance between Madrid and Valencia is 356 km (or 221 miles). That's nearly the exact same distance as between New York City and Washington, DC (and not much less than the trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas; and San Antonio to Dallas). Yet, the Iberian train service will take half as much time, to cover the same amount of ground, as the Acela train here in the US. Like its US counterpart, the Spanish train will make two stops along the way.

Eventually the train will make this run 20 times daily. Officials have no doubt they'll be to fill the train with that frequency.

Just as I have no doubt that high speed rail would be an instant hit here in the US. As airfares continue to rise, and our highways grow more congested, AMTRAK has been reporting record train ridership in 2010. Can you imagine how much it would go up were the trains even faster? And sufficiently subsidized (as they are in Europe) so they could be less expensive?

Worriers argue that the US simply doesn't have the resources currently to support the sort of outlay that real high speed trains would require.

But does Spain?

Its current unemployment rate is twice ours here in the US, at a whopping 20%. And the country has curtailed a number of governmental projects as a part of its austerity measures (designed to quell the fears of investors).

Yet even with these measures in place (since June), its gone ahead with rail because Spaniards understand (or most of them do), that rail transportation is intrinsic to economic recovery. It lessens the Spain's dependence on foreign oil (already low, due to better public transportation there). But as importantly it helps with tourism. Spain gets more foreign tourists than any other country on the planet. The quicker it can get them to the beaches, the more money everyone makes. Tax dollars spent on trains are a smart investment, and one that will return in taxable profits from restauranteurs, hoteliers, tour companies and others involved in the tourism industry (one of the top 10 largest industries in the world).

I know urging governmental spending is not a popular stance in the current climate. But not only will real investment in rail put thousands of Americans to work, its will also ease the crowding on our nations highways and give Americans a much needed alternative to air travel. Most importantly, rail travel is the greenest way to travel, and will help the environment immeasurably.

Our train systems was once the envy of the world. With just a small bit of political will, and some elbow grease, we could return to that status. And improve the lives of ordinary Americans in ways both great and small.

Freebie Friday: Two Reminders

Enter the US National Parks Without Paying A Dime
Veterans Day is being commemorated in the National Parks in a truly meaningful way. No, not with parades (those will be elsewhere). Instead, all of the country's parks will be waiving entrance fees for the day, not just for veterans but for everyone. Not that the fees are all that onerous (they top out at $30 per carload, with most parks charging far less). But hey, it's the thought that counts.

Veterans Day falls on November 11. To learn more, click on this link.

Free Excursions in Sicily
As I've mentioned here before, I'll be accompanying a tour with the listeners to my radio show this spring. We're heading to Sicily at the height of wildflower season! We have a fab itinerary, one that hits all the island's highlights, but also allows sufficient free time so that member of the group can do some exploring on their own.

Of course, there are optional excursions available during that free time, and here's where today's second freebie comes in. Those who book the tour by November 12 will receive a free excursion! That's an extension of the earlier deadline and quite a nice deal, I think. Hope you'll join me on the tour. It should be quite exciting.

To learn more, go to www.goaheadtours.com/wor.

 

Bike Vacations' Steady Climb

One short month ago, I was pedaling the back roads of Catalonia, following a well-marked series of signposts specifically created for bikers and walkers in France. My husband and I were traveling independently. But we were struck by how many other cycling vacationers we saw both on the trails and in the restaurants in the towns we stopped at each night (the cyclists were inevitably the loudest tables).

Who knew we were part of a growing trend?

The non-profit, Adventure Cycling Association just put out a press release on a series of studies yesterday, confirming the growth of bike travel and its importance to local communities.

• States across the US are seeing a return on bike travel: In Wisconsin, researchers at the University of Wisconsin attributed $532 million of spending to out-of-state cyclists. Minnesota's conference on bicycle tourism attracted twice as many attendees as expected; and Oregon's biking website Ride Oregon has also far exceeded expectations in terms of the number of hits its received.
• Commercial Tour companies are seeing growth: When we were in Spain, the tour company that helped us arrange the independent trip we took told us they had 10 different trips in Catalonia leaving the same day we did--a record. According to the Adventure Cycling Association, Trek Travel, another major international cycling company, has seen a 20% growth.
• More interest in major cycling events: One million people participated in some 1700 events across the US, according to the organization Bikes Belong. In the course of these events some $200 million was raised for charity and nearly $600 million poured into local communities. According to the other major events organization, the terrific National Bicycle Tour Directors Association (side note: their website often lists terrific biking deals), events sponsored by its members have gone back to pre-recessionary numbers. 

My husband, biking Spain

And in perhaps one of the best pieces of news released, the Adventure Cycling Associations ambitious and forward-thinking plan to create an American cycling network garnered recognition from Secretary of Transportation Ray La Hood, when he called it "a win for states, a win for local communities and a win for America." More communities have been developing bike friendly routes and facilities; and the Adventure Cycling Association itself has made great strides, er pedals, in mapping more routes, growing the network to more than 40,000 miles. I can only hope its as good as the one in Spain sometime soon.

By the way, if you'd like to read my story on biking in Catalonia, simply click here.

Airfares to Hawaii Drop to As Little as $133 between the Mainland and the Islands

Slash and burn.

That's been the strategy of the major airlines in the past two years, as they've pruned back the number of flights to pretty much every destination on the planet in an effort to better monetize the remaining flights.

(Photo by Rhett Maxwell)

Hawaii, however, seems to be the exception. In the last year, its added 13% more flights from Los Angeles, 7% more from Canadian gateways and new flights from all over the US on Continental Airlines and Allegiant Air.

Hmmm...wondering if the airlines are now worrying that was a mistake? Because as airfares to other places keep going higher, we're seeing more and more sales to Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.

Case in point are the current price slashers being reported by BeatofHawaii.com. According to that savvy Aloha specialist, folks who book now will be able to get the following, excellent prices:

• Chicago and Denver to Oahu: $161 each way
• Cincinnatti, Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit and Memphis to Oahu: $174 each way
• Seattle to Maui, the Big Island, Kauai or Oahu: $133 each way
• Phoenix to Maui: $140 each way
• San Francisco to Oahu: $150 each
• San Jose and Oakland to Oahu: $163 each way

The major players in the war are Delta and United, so play 'em off against one another if you decide to book. That is, unless you live on the West Coast, where Hawaiian Airlines is beating the competition. Fares seem to be reaching their nadirs between mid-January and late February, though the ones for Chicago and Denver go all the way through summer.

All in all: lots of confusion but lots of options so shop around, but do it fast. There's no telling how long these low prices will last.  

Vigilance Pays Off: News from AutoSlash

No, AutoSlash is not the name of the latest Wes Craven film.

Its a newish travel search/booking engine that's been revolutionizing the way travelers rent cars. Its first innovation has been to sweep the web for car rental coupons. It automatically applies these in the matrix its shows would-be customers, allowing them to take advantage of savings they might not otherwise have known about.

But that's just step one. Once the booking has been made, the site then tracks the price of your rental car, alerting the user if the price goes down. I can tell you, from personal experience, that this type of vigilance often pays off. (I once saved about $50 simply by rebooking a four-day car rental at a lower rate that became available closer to the date of my trip). AutoSlash founder Jonathan Weinburg put it this way, when we were last in contact. "As you well know, if consumers are not checking pricing on their rentals daily, they're probably leaving money on the table, as a good percentage of rentals drop in price at some point.  The earlier they book, and the earlier they start tracking the price, the better their chances are of saving money."

AutoSlash's latest move--one that I like very much--has been to add a new tab allowing folks who didn't book their original rental car through AutoSlash to use their notification process should the price go down.

Here's how Weinburg explains the process: "If you click the Track tab, it prompts the user for some some basic information, like their name, email address, rental company and confirmation number.  Once that information is submitted to us, we'll retrieve the details of their rental and begin to track pricing on the rental.  If we find a lower price than what they are currently booked at, we'll notify them via email so they can edit their existing reservation or re-book to take advantage of the lower rate."

Pretty nifty, eh? And totally free. Frankly, I can't see a downside to trying this new service.

Kiwi-Tastic! Air New Zealand Offers a Money-Saving New Air Pass

Travel from the West Coast of the United States to New Zealand in 2011, and you're likely to pay something in the neighborhood of $1100 to $1200 for your round-trip flight. But if you can commit before November 8, you'll not only pay less for the TransPacific airfare, you'll snag a pass that allows you to jump to four gateways within the country for no extra charge.

The Rotorua Region of New Zealand (photo by Phillip Capper)

Drumming up business for the beginning of its off-season (February 28, the starting date for flights on this sale, is also the beginning of New Zealand's winter), Air New Zealand is offering its Kiwi Explorer Pass for just $998 (including fuel surcharges but not taxes, which will add about $95 to the final cost). Pass-holders will be allowed to travel anytime between February 28 and April 30 to Queenstown, Christchurch, Rotorua and Auckland, allowing for a much more streamlined tour of the country than is usually possible (for budget travelers, at least).

Complete details, with all the fine print, can be found at the link above.

Freebie Friday: Cultural Offerings, Free for the Taking, in Florence this November

November 12 through November 20 has been named an "International Week of Culture and Landscape" for the already culture- (and landscape-) rich city of Florence. Befitting the setting the additional cultural offerings sound impressive: a concert in the Municipal conducted by Zubin Mehta, a new scholarly exhibit on Michaelangelo's David (which will roam about town), free admission to all the museums and historic sites off the Piazza del Duomo on November 13, lectures by noted Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and more.

Is it worth a trip? Possibly. To see all the details, head to www.florens2010.com.

(Photo by Benjamin Vander Steen)

Beyond the Derby: The Delights of Louisville, KY

Once a year, Louisville, KY fills our TV screens. Close-ups of women in sherbet-colored hats, mint juleps and cheering crowds flash by, as do the fillies attempting to win the Kentucky Derby.

A visit to Churchill Downs is delightful (even when you lose $40 as I did on my last visit there). But Louisville has so much more to offer visitors than just horse racing. 

I was in Louisville two weeks ago and, as in other visits over the years, I found I didn't have enough time to see and do all the things I wanted to while there. Here's a quick overview of some of the highlights:

• The Muhammad Ali Center: Not only was Ali one of the greatest prize-fighters of all time, he was an active participant in many of the 20th century's most important social movements. To its credit, the museum doesn't pussyfoot around this history, but tackles it in a smart, opinionated fashion using TV clips, interviews, and cuttings from newspapers to take visitors back in time in a highly-interactive fashion. Fight fans will delight in the opportunity to watch unabridged versions of Ali's matches. And kids, like mine, will love having the opportunity to "shadow box" against the champ, enter a ring and hit a punching bag and create poetry in a section that pays tribute to Mr. "Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee"s way with words. A deeply fun, state-of-the-art museum that even non-fight fans (like me) will find worthwhile.
• Actor's Theater of Louisville: New plays, fresh voices, smart entertainment: these are the hallmarks of Louisville's premiere theater and many important plays have emerged from the company's yearly Humana Festival. A must for nightlife, you won't be disappointed by the offerings here.
• Louisville Slugger Museum: You'll recognize this place by the huge bat outside (tallest in the world). A factory-museum par excellance, where you'll get to see Major League bats being produced as well as a lot of iconic baseball items, such as a bat Babe Ruth once used to hit a home run.
• One of the many terrific new restaurants in town: Locavores rejoice! The restaurant scene in Louisville is proudly local, and takes full advantage of all of the food stuffs being grown and raised in Kentucky, from the freshest of vegetables, to aritisinal cured meats and dairy products. We had a spectacular meal at 732 Social consisting of a fabulous cheese and salami plate, roasted poussin, a plate of duck parts (breast, liver, leg--yum!) and an amazing dessert of fresh-cooked beignets. Other friends raved about their meals at Jack Fry's, The Blind Pig, and Bourbon Bistro.

I'm looking forward to my next visit to Louisville. I've got a long list of other sites I want to see. And I plan to win back that $40 for Churchill Downs!

Is TopTable Really Tops? Plus Southwest's Latest Sale

I have a love-hate relationship with restaurant coupons. Sometimes they're handy. More often they steer you to places that desperately need business,  have too-high prices to begin with and that are, frankly, not very good.

So I was skeptical when I stumbled upon the site Top Table. And it has its problems. It claims to cover 1000's of restaurants in 15 countries, but when you look closer, its clear that's more of a wish than a reality. Currently, the vast majority of its deals are in the United Kingdom, with a few sprinkled in other major European capitals (see below) and none in the US (as it claims).

That being said, the deals in the UK are impressive. Not just because they offer a eye-popping array of different types of discounts (50% off wine! free champagne for the ladies! two-lunches-for-the-price-of-one! 25% discount off food!). An entire section is filled with discounts to Michelin-starred joints, and another features restaurants that have earned other stellar reviews. All in all, enough of a recommendation, I think, for using the site to snag a discount.

Beyond the UK, the site seems to have good coverage in Paris, Berlin, and Rome (though not in Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Venice or Munich).

Food can be pricey across the pond, so give it a whirl. You may be able to enjoy a vacation-worthy meal at a good savings.

Southwest Discounts the Period Between the Holidays

$30, $60, $90 and $120--those are the prices being charged by Southwest Airlines for flights of of varying lengths (450 miles or less for the first price, 451-1000 for the second, 1001-1500 for the third and 1500-plus for the last). Overall, these represent a decent savings on many of the featured routes. Tickets must be purchased by end of day 11:59 pm (PT) on October 28 for travel between December 1 and 15 and also from January 4 to February 16. Click on the link above for more information on taxes, routes and regulations.

(Photo: A meal at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, one of the discounted restaurants; by Karen Croby).

New Tours, Lower Prices: Explore Worldwide's Latest Discount

Its hard to describe what 30-year old Explore Worldwide does.

I can tell you what it doesn't do. It doesn't cram 40 people into a tour bus. Or host excursions that only North Americans book. Or charge far more than the expenses on the tour warrant.

I know, I know. That doesn't narrow it down much. Let's try this: Explore is a small group adventure tour company that hosts all manners of creative tours all over the globe for an international clientele. Want to canoe the Amazon with your 10-year-old, or trek through Morocco only in the company of other singles? Explore offers both these options. There are also vacations that combine cultural immersion with volunteer opportunities; boat journeys; rail trips; cycling vacations; safaris; and trips that center around viewing an eclipse, to name just a few options. As I said, this ain't an easy company to pin down.

Tibetan Monks (photo by WonderLane)

Explore is offering 70 new tours in 2011, and in an attempt to fill them, it's giving 20% discounts on them to anyone who books before November 5. Most are quite well-priced even before the discount. Take for example, the company's cycling holiday through the Basque region of both France and Spain. An 8-day trip, including the cycles, rail tickets from Paris, accommodations and the services of a guide is just $1020, a good $300 less than what other companies charge for similar tours. A challenging 17-day trek through Nepal is going for $1910 currently with the discount. That price includes all in-country transportation, all meals, all accommodations and the services of guides and sherpas. For the least expensive tours, click on those listed as "Budget".

For complete information, click on the link at the top of this article. But do it soon! The discount only goes for another week!

A #@&*@ing New Airline Fee, Plus Tourists Frightened Away from NYC

I spent the weekend in the airport. Yes, I went to Dallas to give a speech, but because of thunderstorms in Texas; and traveling with my overzealous father (who wanted to leave for the airport 3 hours before our departing flight), it felt like I and Boingo had become one by the time I finally arrived home late on Saturday night.

I could have spent less time in terminals. There were empty seats on earlier flights heading to Dallas, and my father and I were willing to pay an extra fee to go stand-by. But on American Airlines now, apparently, one must pay an extra $20 fee at the time of purchase for the mere possibility of going stand-by. My father beat me to the punch and posted a witty blog on the absurdity of this new fee. Read it. It'll leave you scratching your head.

A possible drop off in high season travel to New York?

Speaking of "scratching": According to the Associated Press, a fear of bedbugs may be leading to a rash of cancellations for NYC vacations this fall. With reported outbreaks at a number of hotels, in Bloomingdales and at Broadway theaters a number of travelers are calling off long-planned trips to the Big Apple.

I'll be following this story to see if the cancellations are wide-spread enough to cause a dent in hotel pricing. Should be interesting.

Freebie Friday: Free Sicily Excursion and the Chance to Travel with Moi

I've spilled so much virtual ink on this blog writing about other people's travels, yet I'd almost forgotten to mention my own upcoming trip. And its one that you, dear reader, can take with me.

Every other year, or so, I accompany a tour for listeners to my radio show. So that's the impetus for the tour, but, in reality, its open to anyone who wants to join.

Taormina (photo by Gnucx)

My last jaunt was a whirlwind gallop around China. This one should be much, much more relaxing, focusing on La Dolce Vita in a place where living that way has been raised to an art form: Sicily. In the course of the tour, we'll hit all of the island's highpoints with a professional guide. We tour the Greek ruins at Agrigento (as important as any you'd find in Greece), the Byzantine churches and palaces in Palermono, small medieval villages, and the historic churches and buildings of Syracusa and Taormina.

And then we'll do something wonderful: we'll have free days during which we can explore on our own. Its a schedule that I personally think is the best of both worlds. We'll get oriented in each new site with a pro, and then we'll have time to ourselves to adventure on our own, without a big group in tow. Most of the meals are also independent, key for an island with this many great but too-tiny-for-a-busload-of-people Mom-and-Pop restaurants.

The tour runs from March 17-28. And here's where the freebie comes in: If you book before end of day on October 29, you'll receive a free additional excursion for one of the non-touring days. 

For complete information, please click here. Would love to have you join me in beautiful Sicily!

Lady Gaga is Postponing Her Trip, Should You? The News from France

The pictures are shocking. Marseilles' streets strewn with garbage (trash hasn't been collected in over a week now); massive lines at gas stations that are running out of fuel (CNN reports that 1000 stations have now had to shutter due to lack of supply); canceled flights and train runs; helmeted police clashing with protesters. And today the BBC is reporting that protesters have a plan to "step up protests" in the coming days, with possible strikes going on until at least November 3.

Strikers in Marseilles; photo by Tony Gab

These problems, combined with the general terror warning issued by the US State Department on October 3 against travel to all of Europe, and most notably France, are, understandably, making North American travelers nervous. I've received several emails in the last few days into our radio show's mailbox from listeners wondering if they should cancel their upcoming trips to France.

If I had a crystal ball I could answer that question definitively. Since I don't, I'll shoot from the gut and say "yes" if you're planning to travel in the next month (and can get your money back) and "no" if your trip is scheduled for later.

Here's my reasoning: the protests are a tactic that disgruntled citizens are using to try and sway an upcoming vote on new austerity measures (the one that's caused the most ire concerns raising the retirement age from 60 to 62). That vote will occur, according to President Sarkozy, by the middle of next week. There may be several more days of protests and strikes after that (as there has been in the past in France and other European countries, after unpopular measures have been passed) but I would be very surprised, looking at recent history, if the actions go into December or beyond.

Nothing can be guaranteed, of course. I was in Barcelona three weeks ago during a general strike (and the ensuing small riots). It was sparked by austerity measures that had already been signed into law. After that one day of chaos, all returned to calm in Spain. The streets were cleaned, graffiti wiped away and it was almost as if the protests hadn't flared up. Perhaps I'm an optimist, but I'm guessing we'll see a similar timeline in France.

On the terrorism front, I speak as a New Yorker who's seen that anything can happen anywhere and at any time. We need to keep living our lives. From what I'm reading the French have considerably upped the amount of security at the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and other tourist sites. There's not much more they can do. Nor can we definitively say we're safer here in the US. I just got back from Spain and felt as safe there, if not more so,  as I do in my hometown of New York City.

So I'll be taking my family to Europe (Sicily in our case) in the coming months and I'd urge you to do the same. Its a huge area; if we stop traveling to Europe well... To use that old, but true, cliche: we've let the terrorists win. And we don't want to do that.

Jaw-dropping Cruise Bargains in the Coming Weeks and Months

About once every two weeks, I'm invited to speak on a podcast or radio show, and the question is always asked: "What's the best deal in travel right now"? My answer is always the same. I give a plug to our National Parks and then go on to cruising. Really, in terms of costs there are few vacations that can match water-borne ones for value. Some cases in point:

The Norwegian Pearl (photo by Bernard Sieker)

• Norwegian Sky: Four-night sailing round-trip from Miami to the Bahamas, $129 on November 1 (that's just $33 a day!)
• Queen Mary 2: 23 day voyage for $1800 between New York and Cape Town, South Africa ($82 a day for one of the most elegant, luxurious ships afloat). Departure January 13
• Costa Atlantica: Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale, via Bermuda 14 days for $549 on October 24.
• Norwegian Pearl: Board on Halloween in Miami for a round-trip through the Caribbean costing just $399 for a full week at sea
• MSC Poesia: 10 days in the Caribbean (boarding and debarking in Fort Lauderdale) for just $299. This price holds for a November 11 sailing.

To find these prices, simply surf the web either to the cruise line sites directly, or the sites of such discounters as VacationsToGo, OnlineVacationCenter or CruisesOnly.