Euro falling in value against the dollar, higher airfares in 2011

The recent bailout of Ireland doesn't seem to have assuaged currency traders. In fact, fears that Portugal, Spain, Italy and even Belgium might need cash infusions has driven the euro to levels it hasn't seen since mid-September. At one point today, it was trading at $1.29 to the dollar.

Since the money woes of European governments won't be cleared up any time soon, it seems a likely bet that the euro could be weakened even further, good news for North American travelers hoping for their dollars to go further abroad. Stay tuned!

Airfare Predictions for 2011
In less positive news (at least for travelers on the American side of the pond) the New York Times today published an article predicting a significant uptick in travel costs in 2011. Using corporate travel planners as their "canaries in a coalmine", they examined what sorts of contracts these folks were able to get for their clients.   In general, airfares will rise 3% to 7% varying by destination and class of service. Hotel rates are also expected to rise a bit, though since they've been at record lows for nearly two years, that increase doesn't seem as worrisome. Read the article for the full story.

Cyber Monday's Here! Some of the Best Sales So Far for Travel

Barbados (photo by David Blakie)

I have a feeling I'll be hovering over this blog all day, logging in the CyberMonday deals being announced via various methods. Three just crossed the Twitter transom, and they're so mouthwatering, I had to start early:

JetBlue's Top Secret Sale: Gotta love a deal where the cost of airfare and three nights' hotel stay comes to far less than the usual cost of airfare alone. So what that you don't know which hotel you're getting! At these prices, you can always switch hotels once in the area if you're really, really particular (my guess is the hotels will be just fine). JetBlue is selling air/hotel packages of three nights, to such far-flung destinations as Barbados, Las Vegas and Cancun from as little as $99 total (well, almost total: hotel taxes and fees are included, airline ones are not). The travel window is short (Dec 5-14), the booking window even shorter (by midnight tonight!). The $99 deals are to St. Lucia, Barbados, Las Vegas and Tampa from New York City and in some cases, Boston. Just $10 more buys Orlando or a beachfront property in Barbados. Cancun starts at $175. Click here to get full details or book.

Virgin America's Cyber Monday Sale: Not quite as impressive as JetBlue's, but likely a lot more doable. That's because though the sale's starting today it ends December 6, and covers flights all the way through May 11. The come-on price of $39 is for flights between San Francisco and either Los Angeles, San Diego or Las Vegas. But there are also impressive fares on much longer hops (such as cross-country flights starting at $109 between New York, Orlando or DC and Las Vegas, San Francisco or LA). Flights from Toronto to Los Angeles or San Francisco are being reduced to $129 on many dates. For full info, click here.

Frontier Airlines: With this one, fares start at less-than-most-bus-trips rate of $29 for flights between either Branson and Milwaukee, Kansas City and Columbus (OH) or Alburquerque or Colorado Springs and Denver. Salt Lake City, Appleton, Omaha, Flint, Grand Rapids, Madison, Green Bay, Austin, Durango, Phoenix and Indianapolis are also on the cut-rate flight roster. With all, travel must be completed by Feb 9 and Sunday flights aren't included in the sale. For full info, click here. Tickets must be purchased by end of day today, so move with all due speed.

A New Addition: Cruises

Online Vacation Center: Its prices are already among the lowest. Now Online Vacation Center is promising to pay all onboard gratuities, and pay for one meal at an on-board specialty restaurant for those customers who book a RCL cruise for anytime in 2011 by 8pm today. The cabin must be oceanview or higher. For more details, click here. 

Cyber Monday and Remaining Black Friday Travel Deals

Shell Hospitality Resort, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Thankfully, there's no fighting the crowds when it comes to post-Thanksgiving travel sales. You can shop in peace from your home computer and, if you can act quickly, you might pick up a worthwhile deal or two. Here are a few that are worthy of consideration:

• Sonesta Hotels: 50% off 2 night stays through the end of the year at all 32 properties.The sale is in effect through Monday at midnight. Go to Sonesta.com.
• Gate 1 Travel: Packager Gate 1 (it has money saving air/hotel deals to top destinations across Europe and South and Central America) is offering $50 off to anyone who books $500 worth of travel today, and uses the code BlackFr50. Save $100 with purchases of $1000 (BlackFr100), $250 with purchases of $2000 (BlackFr250) and $500 with purchases of $4000 (BlackFr400). Go to Gate1Travel.com to book.
• Starwood: 250 properties are taking part (many in such warm-weather destinations as Hawaii, the Bahamas, or the Caribbean) offering 50% off the cost of a suite from January 1 through April 30. To find out which Sheratons, St. Regis and Westin properties are taking part. Rooms must be booked by end of day on Monday. All details are at Starwood.com
• ChinaSpree: Sale prices on many of its tours for those who book by end of day this Sunday. Go directly to Chinaspree.com for more details.
• Shell Hospitality: The name behind a number of quite nice resorts (including a terrific one just off the Las Vegas Strip) its offering 50% off at 23 resorts around the US. For complete information on the sale, which runs through Monday, click here.
• Club Med: You have until 10pm ET tonight to get in on this sale which discounts a number of the company's resorts from December 4 through January 29. Go to www.clubmed.com for full information and do it quickly!
• Travelocity: Targeting warm weather destinations, mostly, its sale shaves 45% off its regular rates in many cases. Before booking though be sure to check the competition (some of which may come in cheaper, even with the additional discount). Booking deadline is Dec 4, go to Travelocity.com for full info. 
• Travelodge: This is for anyone traveling to Spain or the British Isles (Scotland, Wales, England or Ireland) in the next few weeks. The European version of Travelodge (slightly nicer properties than the American ones, often located on the sides of highways) is having a sale through Sunday night dropping the price of rooms to as little as 10 GBP. That's a remarkable price for a room in these areas. I've stayed at Travelodges in the past and can vouch for their cleanliness and comfort.

We'll also likely see a lot of deals pop on Monday on Twitter and Facebook, particularly from the airlines (a pattern we saw last year on CyberMonday). So search for your favorite carrier and you just might get lucky.

French Tourism Officials Announce London's a Better City Than Paris

I know, I know. The headline  sounds likeone from the Onion. But its absolutely true. Recently, the Paris-Ile de France Regional Committee commissioned a survey to explore ways to increase international visitation and the report ended up ranking world cities. And Paris didn't win.

London was seen to be better in all categories from restaurants (sacre bleu!) to transportation to the appeal of its major landmarks. Paris tied with Amsterdaml, though the study was, of course, done before it was announced that the Dutch were going to stop selling pot to tourists (see post below), which might have affected Amsterdam's, er, lure.

Paris lost the most points on its public transportation (old, dirty metro according to the investigators) and the quality of its hotels (small rooms).

This is London's second win (well, third if you count the Olympics) in the world tourism stakes. At the 2010 World Tourism Awards it beat Paris once again, as well as New York City and Sydney for the title of "World's Leading Destination".

Ready, set, go! Kate and William Set a Date, You Should Book Your Travel

Photo by Esther

Its official! William, Prince of Wales will marry Kate Middleton on April 29th at Westminster Abbey.

Why should you care, North American reader?

That date will shape your travel plans if you're going anywhere near London in the next six months.

Some 600,000 visitors streamed into London for the wedding of Charles and Diana. They were, arguably, a more popular couple. But they wed long before the proliferation of cable news stations turned even the most eccentric events into media frenzies (remember balloon boy?). My guess is that W & K's wedding will draw upwards of a million gawkers to London. If you're crowd-averse, you'll want to give the city a wide berth from about April 15 through May 10.

If you want, conversely, to be part of the action (or at least part of the crowds along the procession route), make your hotel reservations TODAY. There will literally be no room at the inn if you wait.  Even before the date was set, hoteliers were talking about how they'd manage the crowds and bookings. Some will be throwing parties for guests in the lobby, though I'm guessing these festivities will add significantly to the cost of rooms.

A good alternative to hotels is to book a private B&B through such companies as LondonHomes or AirBnB. If you shoot off an email today, you may be able to catch the owners before they realize they should be raising their rates.

The same goes for airfares. I wouldn't be surprised if the airlines don't start slapping holiday surcharges onto flights taking off from mid-April into early May. Those rates haven't been set yet, but could be in place by the end of the day, so move quickly!

Opting In: More Thoughts on the TSA Brouhaha

Hasn't this gone far enough? MSNBC.com is now reporting that a TSA agent was punched today by a passenger in Indianapolis angry about the new security measures. In other airports, workers are being subjected to extreme verbal abuse, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, the union to which  the TSA employees belong.

And its only going to get worse, not only for workers but for travelers. On Wednesday, the biggest air travel day of the year, protestors are asking travelers to "opt out" of going through scanners and engage in other sorts of civil disobedience to disrupt security procedures at airports. Because pat downs take far longer than going through scanners, protesters expect to be able to get a lot of attention for their cause by holding up the lines. They'll probably succeed. The Associated Press is reporting that even small protests on that date could cause huge delays and create massive security lines. They quote Paul Rudin of the American Society of Travel Agents as saying "Just one or two recalcitrant passengers at an airport is all it takes to cause huge delays." Some passengers may even miss their flights home for the holidays. 

What will be accomplished? Damned if I know. Because though people are up in arms about the idea of being patted down in sensitive areas, or scanned with a machine that will show a naked photo of them, none of the protestors has put forward alternative methods that will keep the public safe. None have addressed the sad fact that just last Christmas a man hid explosives in his underwear and was nearly successful in blowing up a plane. At that time, many voices were raised in anger that we didn't have scanners that could detect the pouch in his underwear. Where did those angry voices go?

 My father has an excellent piece on the lack of concrete alternatives being suggested right now, and the unsustainable costs of the methods being proposed. Rather than repeat his arguments, I'll urge you to read the blog. 

And I'll also urge you to "opt in". Protesting on Wednesday is irresponsible. It will cause widespread chaos, affecting travelers who rarely set foot on airplanes--the families who are traveling for Thanksgiving. A protest during a normal business day would be more to the point as it would bring the issue to the attention of those who'll be most affected by enhanced security: the frequent flyers. 

And it would be the kinder action to take. Do we really want to stop average folks from getting home for the holidays? I didn't think so. 

Have a heart. Opt in.

A Major Buzz-Kill for Dutch Tourism?

On Wednesday, Ivo Opstelten, the Dutch minister for Security and Justice, announced the cessation of tourism to Holland.

Just punking you, reader. But the announcement he made may well have near the same effect. In an effort to crack down on drug abuse, the government is going to be banning the sale of hashish and cannabis to foreigners in the country's famed "coffee houses". These are, without hyperbole, one of the country's top 5 touristic draws, behind the Rijksmuseum and Red Light district, but likely ahead of tulips. No date has yet been set for when this ban will go into effect, according to Reuters.

Dutch News is reporting that the government is talking about enacting a "pass system" to keep track of who goes into and out of coffee shops. In effect, the coffee houses would become private clubs, open only to local members.

The situation is Holland has always been an odd one where the law is concerned. Coffee shop owners are legally allowed to sell small amounts of hash and pot (up to 18 ounces), but to obtain it in the quantities they need to sell the stuff, they, in effect, break the law. In recent years, according to the BBC, Dutch police have been cracking down on marijuana producers, leading to a steep uptick in the price of a toke.

Though I haven't yet read reports of the coffee shop owners planning some legal action to stop the ban, I'd be surprised if that isn't in the works. And I'd be even more surprised if some in the travel industry--hoteliers, restauranteurs who specialize in munchies--don't get involved as well. The fights just heating up, and where there's smoke...well, in the Netherlands, there's likely someone trying to sell it. Stay tuned!

Arriba! Arriba! Mexican Vacations For Cheap

Last year at right about this time, I was in Cozumel. The sun was shining, and I was spending my day swimming in underground rivers (called cenotes), ATVing through the jungle, lounging on the beach and gorging on anything with pipian sauce (ground sunflower seeds, my favorite). It was, in a word, idyllic and the only fall-out I felt from the Mexican drug wars were the lower prices and lighter crowds on the beach. I was literally a thousand miles away from the troubled areas of Mexico where the violence was occurring and I felt perfectly safe. 

If I wasn't tethered to my computer with deadlines, I'd go back there tonight! But though I can't, there's no reason you shouldn't. There are extraordinary deals to the Cancun area in the coming weeks. Here are just a few:

• Flamingo Resort, Cancun: 6 nights' hotel and airfare from Miami: $477 including all taxes from Vacation Travel Mart (other gateways available for reasonable add on fares)
• Canto del Sol Resort, Puerto Vallarta: 3 nights hotels, all meals, most acitivities and airfare from New York City just $459 from BookIt (again, other gateways are available at a small uptick in price)
• Avalon Reef Club, Isla Mujeres: 6 nights and airfare from Dallas/Fort Worth fo $570 including all taxes from Expedia (again, other gateways are certainly available; and Isla Mujeres is a quiet little paradise, great for folks who really want to get away from it all)

Can you feel your skin tanning right now? I certainly can. Just a small taste of what's available for those who have the time to get away before Christmas. Prices will likely rise after the first of the year, so I'd suggest you go sooner rather than later. 

 

Two Good Air Sales from a Betrothed Pair

William and Kate are a done deal, but the marriage between Air Tran and Southwest? That's still up in the air, no pun intended. Air Tran's shareholders have yet to give the union their blessing. And members of the Department of Justice's anti-trust division requested even more info of the two on Monday, leading some industry watchers to speculate the match may not pass the watchdogs.

In the meantime, this dynamic duo are offering twinned sales. The values, for the most part, are good. 

Southwest's one-way fares on this offer are starting at $59 one-way, for travel from Dec. 1 through Feb 16 (with some blackouts). Tickets must be booked by Nov. 22. Sorry DC-residents and (some) Floridians: the sale excludes Dulles Airport and Fort Myers. Click here for full details.

AirTran's rates start at just $44 each way but they disappear sooner--at midnight on Nov 18. Lowest fares on this sale will be found Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from now through Feb 9 (again with some blackout dates). For full info on that sale, click here. 

Apologies

Bronchitis has me in its thrall. So I will not be blogging today. Terribly sorry.

Puritan America Rears Its Ugly Head: The Full-Body Scanners Debate

At a time when hundreds of Americans are being illegally foreclosed upon because their records have been lost or are in such disorder no-one knows who owns what property anymore; when thousands more are out of work and have no hope of finding work; when cholera is decimating the now-forgotten population of Haiti; and when countless other really terrible things are happening in the world, what has raised the righteous anger of the American people? The idea that someone, without knowing who they are, might see a picture of their private parts.

Yes, it seems that airport scanners are such a pivotal civil liberties issue, that videos of travelers bravely standing up to TSA agents are going viral. And the members of the New Jersey Legislature have seen fit to head to Newark Airport to announce they're going to try and ban the use of scanners in Jersey.

Really?? Really? With all that's going on in the world its scanners that are upsetting people? Have they forgotten that just last Christmas a man came near to blowing up a plane by stuffing explosives in his underwear. Do they not know that the new scanners would have detected that powder before he'd ever been able to board?

Obviously, the scanners are not perfect. The terrorists will come up with other ways of getting explosives on board in the coming years. That's simply the nature of the cat and mouse game we're currently playing with Al Quada. But the deployment of the scanners to our nations airports will have a positive effect. They'll cut down on some of the methods that terrorists will be able to employ in the future. And that's a step in the right direction. A big step.

As for the radiation issue: I'd urge everyone to read the important recent article on uranium mining in Colorado that the New Yorker ran. In it the author talks about recent scientific data showing that exposure to small doses of radiation may not actually be harmful (and may not cause a build-up in the body). I'm not a scientist, so that's all I'll say here. Please read the article, its an eye-opener.

Freebie Friday: Wifi In the Air, a Holiday Gift from Google

(Photo by Sarah G.)

Google is re-gifting, good news for vacationers flying AirTran, Virgin America and Delta in the coming weeks. They'll get free  wifi on all domestic flights between November 20 and January.

Sure, Google did the same thing last year, but who's complaining? Last year, the company also unleashed free wifi at 47 airports, but that hasn't been announced yet for this year.

Google, are you listening? We greedy folks want that, too. And while you're at it, can you wire my Aunt's house by Thanksgiving? I could use some distractions between the creamed onions and the pie.

And a bonus freebie


I'll also mention that the massive hotel discounter, Hotels.com is throwing in free breakfasts during the upcoming holiday period (November 22 through 29), for those who book before November 25.

Before you surf over to the site though, read the fine print. Only "participating properties" are going to scramble your eggs, and you may have to stay longer than you wanted to get that pancake (there are minimum stay requirements on some properties).

My advice? Look at what Hotels.com has to offer and then compare it to discounted rooms you may find through the more broad-ranging search engine HotelsCombined.com, compare and contrast and then book with whatever property offers the best value. Remember: the free breakfast served at some hotels consists of little more than a tiny box of cereal, oily coffee, sour orange juice and, if you're lucky, a pastry or two. Don't book a place just because of free breakfast; you may do better simply heading for some oatmeal at the Starbucks down the road.

Year-Round Discounts and Freebies for Service Members and Veterans

Sesame Place (by Steve Ward)

In honor of our brave men and women in uniform (and such veterans as my father) a few ways in which members of the tourism community salute your service:

• A 50% Discount at Carefree RV Resorts: The discount is valid year-round for Sunday through Thursday night stays. There are Carefree RV Resorts, 35 in all, in California, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas. To learn more, go to CarefreeRVResorts.com
• Complimentary Admission to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place: This one is for active members of the military only and includes free one-day admission for them and up to three members of their immediate families. Register with owner Anheuser-Buch's "Here's to the Heroes" program.
• Motel and Hotel Discounts of 15% to 30%: These are available at Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Wyndham Hotels, Wingate, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Super 8, Ramada and Amerihost Inns with the use of the member ID number 61386. I'd suggest going to HotelsCombined.com, an excellent travel search engine, to make sure you're getting the best rate, before you use this discount. (The group rates secured by discounters may end up being lower, especially in the case of 15% discounts).
• Dollywood Offers a 30% Discount for one-day admissions for active and retired military: The offer also applies to spouses and direct dependents. To learn more, click here. The offer is good through January 1, 2011 (but is likely to be extended).

Beyond these, active duty and retired military should look to the AFRC resorts available across in Florida, Hawaii, Germany, Virginia and Korea which provide rest and relaxation at a reasonable rate. To learn more about these, click here.

Unbeatable Deals for Dublin and Barcelona

Both are nightlife powerhouses. And now, because of serious recessions in both Spain and Ireland, both cities have become budget meccas, at least where package prices are concerned. Here are two of the best deals I've seen in a long time:

Barcelona has the largest number of Gothic quarter in the world

Barcelona: Airfare, 6 Nights Hotel and Daily Breakfast from $799
Though that price does not include air taxes (expect to add another $130 for that) it is well below what an individual traveler would pay were he or she to book the elements in the package separately. The offer is available from both Go-Today.com and Virgin Vacations and is good for departures between January 10 and 31 and February 18 and 28. Lowest rates are from New York City, though other gateways are available at reasonable add-on costs. One word of warning on this package, though: the first hotel listed with each company is out in the boonies (the second one's okay). Be sure you research the hotel fully before you bite, as you want to stay in as central an area as possible in Barcelona.


Dublin: A Long Weekend at the Four Season's Hotel with Airfare from $599
Business travelers have, alas, abandoned the former "Celtic Tiger" and the hotels that once catered to them are having to slash rates to keep their staffs employed. Hence this extraordinary deal from Sceptre Tours. The lowest rate is available from both Boston and New York City and must be booked by November 19 for travel between Dec. 1 and Feb. 10. Discounted rates are also available from Chicago and Orlando, taxes are extra (though fuel surcharges are included).

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.