Freebie Friday: Free Hotel Nights in Vegas (Now If We Could Only Get Them to Create All-Winner Slots)

Where better to kick off the new year than in Vegas, right? Especially when that celebrations could be (partially) free.

Main Street Station, one of downtown's two classiest casinos (along with the Golden Nugget) is offering free Tuesday night stays for those who book three-nights altogether for stays anytime between Feb 8 and Mar 29, 2011. Since room rates can drop as low as $36 at that time of year, that's three nights for as little $24 a night--a terrific rate for the comfortable, chic, recently renovated rooms here.The property also boasts one of the prettiest casinos in town and the very best budget buffet.

The same offer is being made at other Boyd Gaming properties such as the Fremont Hotel and Casino (not as pretty in the public areas, but with surprisingly lovely rooms); and the California Hotel Casino (the third most attractive, but here the freebies are for either Sundays or Tuesdays). And at the off-Strip Sam's Town where the lack of freebies is made up for the fact that room rates drop to just $19 a night during that period. (And I'm a fan of Sam's Town; the rooms are among the biggest in town and quite plush, there are all sorts of fun activities on site, and the animatronic show in the lobby is a hoot).

Finally, for those planning to be in Vegas tonight, the city's struggling casinos are breaking with tradition and offering New Year's Eve deals, mostly for play at a number of casinos. For a run-down on the offers, click here.

Happy New Year to you all!

Predictions, predictions and more predictions! What Will Travel Be Like in 2011?

(Photo by Hamilcar South)

Every travel writer worth their salt is dusting off their crystal ball and trying to predict what 2011 holds in store for travelers. And of course, by making these predictions, we're trying to influence just how the new year shapes up. Here are some of the more interesting round-ups I've seeen:

1) My father, Arthur Frommer shares some of my thoughts on what's to come and diverges in some ways. Like me, he thinks we'll see an increase in the number of folks choosing vacation rentals over hotels and an increase in travel to Central America. He also predicted, correctly it turns out if recent history is a harbinger for what 2011 holds, that airfares will be rising. Other thoughts: more brain-numbing bells and whistles on cruise-ships, less work for travel agents and a reduction in group tour sizes.

2) Interestingly, Laura Bly of USA Today looked at the same trends and decided that travel agents were on their way back (I think my father's right on this one). She's also looking south of the border for more travel, though not as far (she picks Mexico as a hot spot for 2011, along with "royal wedding central" London, Iceland and the Civil War sites of the US). Bly is worried, rightly, that the new tactic of airlines refusing to sell through some of the major online travel agencies will have ugly implications for travelers. She's foreseeing a rise in hotel pricing and in what I think is a stroke of wishful thinking proposes that more travelers will do what she's planning to do soon and take a vacation from technology (traveling without cellphones, internet access, etc.) Good luck with that one Laura!

3) CNN's Agnes Pawlowski interviewed me, Robert Reid (of Lonely Planet) and Martin Rapp of Altour to determine what we thought would be the hottest destinations of 2011. Our picks (not all of which we all shared): New Zealand, New York City, Guatemala, Barcelona, the Peruvian Amazon, Norway, Albania, Japan, and Bulgaria.

4) Frommers.com turned to its writers and editors to make the same type of choice of 2011 destinations, coming up with a quirky list that consisted of Albania, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago (Chile), Puerto Viejo (Costa Rica), Hokkaido (Japan), the Pontine Islands (Italy), the Kent Coast (the UK), Cesme Peninsula (Turkey), Doha (Qatar), Stockholm, Atlanta, Nahanni National Park (Canada), and Ireland (the reader's choice).

5) Robert Reid and I seem to be on the predictions circuit! Beth Harpaz of the AP tapped us, too, and I told her I thought London would be hot because of Kate and William (that seemed like a no-brainer) while he plugged NYC once again. Her list also includes Alaska for its increased visibility via the Sarah Palin series; the launch of the new Disney cruise ship; the addition of a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. on the National Mall; and an uptick in hotel pricing.

Finally, I wrote about the top trends of 2010 and how they'll morph in 2011. You can read my thoughts here.

Happy New Years and lets all plan to travel MORE in 2011!!

Will Online Travel Agencies Go the Way of their Bricks-And-Mortar Brethren?

In a recent article starkly titled "High Paying Jobs with No Future", the CBS site MoneyWatch listed "Travel Agent" as its fourth pick, noting that the number of travel agencies have been sliced in half in recent years, from a high of 44,000 in 1997 to just 20,000 today.

Most cite the rise of such online agencies as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz as the reason behind the demise of the bricks-and-mortar travel agency. And certainly the ability of customers to see pricing options, flight itineraries and other info online--and without the help of a travel agent--did a job on agencies' revenue streams.

(Photo by Disparky)

But another development was just as significant: the decision by many of the world's airlines in the late 90's to stop paying commissions to agents. It was a body-blow for the industry, sending many agencies reeling into bankruptcy and others scrambling to come up with new and ever more innovative ways of making money.

History seems to be replaying itself online.

In just the last several months Delta Airlines has announced that the online agencies CheapOAir.com, OneTravel.com and BookIt.com will no longer be able to sell their fares. American Airlines is taking this hard stand with mighty Orbitz, and just last week won a court settlement giving it the right to restrict its sales in this fashion. In protest, Expedia has announced that it will no longer "feature" American's fares, which basically means that it will still sell them, but that they won't appear at the top of searches.

So will this lead to the demise of the online travel agencies? Expedia certainly seems to be worried that it will. Why else would it be standing with its big rival Orbitz rather than capitalizing on Orbitz' loss? At this point, its hard to know whether or not the other airlines will try this strategy (a bald attempt, once again, to pay as little as possible in commissions).

Looking at the history, its also unclear whether this strategy will actually help the airlines' bottom lines. When the carriers cut off travel agents their amount of business eventually diminished and fares sank lower and lower over the ensuing decade. Now that couldn't have been the result they were expecting. There's an argument to be made that agents who have a personal relationship with clients (or at least the trust of clients) might be able to sell a higher airfare more easily than airline websites could.

What's clear today is that consumers need to work with the entities that don't have a proverbial "dog in the fight". I'm speaking of the online travel search engines such as Momondo.com, DoHop.com and to a lesser extent Kayak.com. These three "google" travel information rather than actually sell travel. I'd say the first two may have the upper hand as they list ALL the airfares out there, even those that don't kick back a finders fee (so that means you'll likely find Ryanair, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic fares on the first two, but probably won't on Kayak).

(Note from Pauline: In an earlier version of this article, I said that Southwest could be found on Do Hop and Momondo.com. Though I've found that airline's fares listed there in the past, I'm not currently seeing them, leading me to assume there's been some sort of change in the search paradigm to exclude Southwest, likely at the carriers request. My apologies for not catching this change before I posted.)

The UK's Travelodge Chain Holds It Biggest Sale of the Year Tomorrow

(Photo by Karen Bryant)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, there are few chain hotels that can the British Isles version of Travelodge's combination of comfort and cost. Its rooms are spotlessly kept, cheery (in an Ikea type of way) and most offer a couch that can transform at the pull of a sheet into two highly sleepable twin-size beds. Which means that a family of four can stay for the same cost as a couple--a rarity in Europe. With these pluses I'd say its not too much of a minus that most Travelodges are located right off highways, rather than in the centers of towns (the Edinburgh Travelodge is one exception, and a TERRIFIC place to stay relatively inexpensively if you want to be in town for the famed Edinburgh Festival.)

Onto costs: they're usually extremely reasonable. And during their sales, rooms here become downright steals. Happily, tomorrow Travelodge is holding its biggest sale of the year, putting properties across the British Isles and Spain for as little as 9 British pounds per night. Rates of 25 pounds or less will apply to no less than 1,000,000 rooms for all of 2011.

As with most of these promos, the deals are first-come, first-served, so I'd suggest waking up a few hours early tomorrow, or those across the pond may snatch up the deals first. You'll also be competing with me, as I need cheap lodgings for the Wales wedding of a cousin. (You've been warned!).

The Blizzard Ate My Blog (Some Advice from Others On What to Do If You're Supposed to Be Traveling Or Home Right Now)

Its a snow day here in the northeast!

Good news for anyone already at home, hoping to extend their holiday weekend. Terrible news for pretty much everyone else.

Not only is air travel canceled, so are most train and bus itineraries in this neck of the woods. The effects of all these cancellations are rippling across the planet, as planes that were supposed to be in London or Las Vegas by now, sit stranded under a blanket of snow on a JFK or Logan runway. And in NYC the subways are either heavily delayed (apparently 400 people were stuck on the A train for several hours last night) or suspended for the time.

Since I'm stuck at home with antsy children, I'll direct you, dear reader, to some other sources who are covering the storm and its ramifications for travel.

Chris Gray Faust gives some sound advice on her blog about what air travelers should be doing right now.

The Wall Street Journal offers a thorough round-up on air travel and rail cancellations.

Good luck to all those in transit!

Freebie Friday: Gratis Upgrades on Many Norwegian Cruise Lines 2011 Sailings

(Photo of Norwegian Epic by Cruise News Weekly)

This one may or may not be a good deal. Here's why: Norwegian is restricting the offer only to new bookings and will not allow it for "existing group rates". Since many discounters get lower prices for their customers by booking blocks of rooms at a time, this means you may end up paying much more than you normally would have to get the "free" upgrade. Oh, and that upgrade is only within cabin categories. So you might get a bigger inside (ie porthole-less) cabin with this offer, but you ain't getting a balcony or window.

Still, some may be able to eke the value out of this one, so here's the fine print: bookings must be made before March 27, 2011 and participants must use the code PGWave11 when they purchase. The offer covers a variety of sailings in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Europe.

For complete information, head to Norwegian's website.

Where to Go? Where to Go? Do Hop Tries to Come Up with an Answer to That Age-Old Travel Conundrum

I can only describe this new application from DoHop, called DoHop/Away as a magic eight ball for travel.

(Photo by Horia Varlan)

You input your gateway, a month you might travel, virtually shake it, and the site comes up with a raft of often odd-ball suggestions for where you might go, based on random dates within the month and pricing.

Want to leave Chicago in March? DoHop thinks you should go to sunny Detroit! Thinking of escaping Denver in January? Where better to go than Kansas City!

Of course, if you scroll down there will be some more vacation-worthy suggestions. But because you have to give the computer an entire month to work with, often the dates returned will be unuseable (for most vacationers). I input New York for February and came up with an excellent round-trip price to Kingson, Jamaice ($302). Problem was, I'd have to leave on February 24 and return March 14 so any savings I might get on the flight I'm likely going to lose in long-term hotel costs once there (and many would-be travelers would likely lose their jobs if they ran away to the tropics for more than two weeks!).

Though I have my problems with the site (and to be fair, its very new and the folks at DoHop are considering a long weekend feature, which will help better pin down travel dates) I'm guessing there may be some very flexible travelers out there who'll find it useful. Hence today's mention.

As for regular fare searches, DoHop.com often comes out on top for those, making it an excellent resource to check when you actually have a destination in mind. In early 2011, rumor has it, the site will add a multi-stop itinerary feature, which will greatly improve its usefulness.

Opinion Poll Trumps Facts Once Again? The U.S. Travel Association's New Survey

Have you been on an airplane lately?

I have. A number of them actually. And no matter what the carrier or destination, the flights I've been on have been full. Overly full actually; it seems like each time I've taken off, would-be stand-by travelers have been left disappointed at the gate.

The stats bear out my observations. Looking at the past summer, airlines flew with an average of 89% percent of their seats filled--the highest numbers, actually, since these sorts of numbers started being recorded. Autumn and winter flights have been nearly as crowded.

Yet according to the US Travel Association, the act of having to take off one's shoes before going through security is so angering would-be passengers that they haven't been traveling as much as they could. Apparently, shoe removal was the biggest source of anger among the traveling public, beyond any ire inspired by going through a scanner or removing a pat-down.

The USTA wants to appear before Congress with the results of this study, and ask for help, as they believe security regulations are hurting the travel industry and, by extension, the US economy.

Really? Really?! My question to them: on what planes would these folks have flown? Because the ones that are up in the sky couldn't accommodate all these extra folks with shoe anxieties. And wouldn't the detonation of explosives aboard an airline hurt the travel industry far, far more than any regulation the TSA could concoct?

I'm not arguing that travel is NOT down. It obviously is (just look at hotel occupancy numbers). But the reason for that is just as obvious: its the economy, stupid. Until people get back to work and/or feel secure in their jobs, we're not going to see the numbers of travelers that we did in the free-spending decade we just lived through.

This seems like another case of an opinion poll trumping the facts, a problem in our opinion-obsessed society. Let's look at what actually is happening (not only in travel, but in politics) rather than what folks thinks is happening.

Catch It If You Can: AirTran's One-Day Sale

Why pay more for this experience?

A little over 14 hours remain in the 1-day sale just announced by AirTran. Some of the savings are so good, they warrant a look, even though it needs to be a rushed one. Fares are good for travel through March 9 (those going to or from Puerto Rico only have until Feb 16 to fly with this sale); and Sunday travel is always blacked out. Tickets must be purchased by midnight ET tonight, for travel at least 14 days out.

Some of the goodies:

• Atlanta to Rochester: $69 each way
• Milwaukee to Omaha: $49 each way
• Flint and Nassau (the Bahamas): $119 each way
• San Antonio and Grand Rapids: $89 each way

These are just a few of the deals. Take a look at the website---QUICKLY!--for more offers. 

An Eruption of Good Deals from Icelandair

The volcano that disrupted air travel across Europe has simmered down. And as if in penance, Iceland's national airline Icelandair is shaving a good $100 off the regular cost of airfare to Europe. Unusually, the deal isn't just from the east coast, but from Seattle as well, with round-trip prices from that western gateway to Reykjavik for just $409 plus tax. Seattle to Manchaster, UK is $489; to Copenhagen $569; and Paris $619.

Looking towards the Blue Lagoon in Iceland (photo by Matthew Wilkinson)

The airline also has excellent rates from Boston (the cheapest gateway, going to Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Paris and Glasgow) and New York City (flying to Reykjavik, London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

Note: All flights are via Reyjavik. Flyers are welcome to extend their layover there at no extra cost, if they want to make their vacation a two-country one

Book by Dec. 24 for travel Jan 15-April 2. All details can be found at the Icelandair website (see above).

Freebie Friday: Fourth or Fifth Nights Free At the Super-All-Inclusive Resorts of Breezes

Is a free hotel stay even better when it comes with a free round of golf, three free meals, a free nightclub visit and several colorful (free!) drinks with umbrellas in them?

If you answered "yes" to the question above, you'll want to know about the Breezes chain of resorts latest promotion which is giving vacationers a break for staying a while. In the Bahamas, you stay just four nights to earn a complete rebate on one of them; in Jamaica, Brazil, Panama and Curacao guests receive their fifth night free.

The only catch? You must book the deal by Feb 17 for travel from Jan 4 through Aug 31.

Breezes Curacao

As for the properties, they vary greatly, with some bright, shiny and chic and others needing  a new coat of paint. (Read the reviews before booking).

What's nice about the Breezes chain is that its is truly all-inclusive, meaning tips are not expected, the liquors you get are top shelf, and you won't be paying extra if you want to do a sporty activity, even if you need lessons in that activity. Another plus: some of these resorts are the only all-inclusives in their areas (such as Buzios and Curacao), so they offer an option for folks who like "wallet-free" vacations but want to get out of the usual all-inclusive areas.

For full information on the promotion go to Breezes.com.

And Its Another 3-Day Sale, This Time From Small-Group Adventure Operator Intrepid Tours

India Gate in Delhi (photo Lazlo)

Intrepid--the world implies a certain level of bravery, one that is unflagging, a character trait rather than a momentary summoning of will.

Some would argue that a person with a desire to head to some of the least-traveled areas of the world, say Lesotho or a place that ends with a "stan", is by their very nature "intrepid".

And those are the type of people, I'd guess, who the company Intrepid Travel want to lure: folks who aren't shy about getting off the beaten path, who want to try local guesthouses or even sleep in tents, who wouldn't be caught dead in a 40-person motorcoach.

Well, Intrepid has made it even easier, no let's say cheaper, for these types of folks to travel by offering a 3-day sale that starts today and ending at the end of day on Dec 18.  The sale covers 2011 travel through mid-March, and, depending on the destination, offers discounts of 15% to 50% off. Among the best values are tours of the southern coast of Africa (South Africa and Lesotho) starting at only $43 a day; and from Mumbai to Delhi in India from just $47 a day. Tours are available in other parts of Africa and Asia as well as North America, Europe and Latin America all at a discount.
 
Need to know more? Click on the link above which will get you to the Intrepid website. It looks like there's still good availability on most of the tours being discounted (hence the sale, I'm guessing).

Southwest Expands (And Celebrates with a Summer Sale), MegaBus Does the Same

Its now a good-looking 40 years old, and to celebrate Southwest Airlines made two tantalizing announcements today:

• By 2012 it will have several new crafts in its fleet big and strong enough to make flights to Hawaii and other farther-flung destinations. 
• In the coming months, the flyer is adding a number of new routes, most notably from Newark to Baltimore, Phoenix, Denver and Houston. 

For those Newark non-stops, it will be slashing rates to as low as $49 (that covers the Newark to Baltimore flights). Tickets must be purchased by end of day (Pacific time) Friday, Dec. 17. The sale is good for flights from June 5 through Aug 12.

Bus A Move To Or From Toronto

The much younger Megabus (founded in 2006) has an even more tantalizing offer: how does almost free grab you? The company is giving away 20,000 seats for winter trips between nearly 50 US cities (including Buffalo, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, Cleveland and Washington, DC) and Toronto at that non-price."Buyers" pay just a .50 cent booking fee. And when those seats are gone, the price will start at $1 (really $1.50 with the booking fee).

Use the code WOW200K when booking.

The demand on this deal is so great that its been crashing the Megabus site. But keep trying as this deal will sell out soon.

A New Airline Fee That May Actually Help Travelers

Following in the wheel-treads of the Spanish carrier Vueling, Continental has announced that it will be rolling out an optional, new fee for certain domestic and international flights. Called Farelock, the fee allows travelers to lock in a price on a flight without actually buying it yet.

(Photo by Josh Beasley)

For the cost of a Starbucks coffee concoction ($5) one can lock in a fare for 72 hours; $9 is the price for a hold that lasts 7 days. If, at the end of those periods, the traveler decides, well, not to be a traveler, he can get out of the ticket having only paid those small amounts. They will pay the $5 or $9 though as these fees are non-refundable.

The cynic in me wonders if this is a way to monetize changes that are likely coming down the pike due to new DOT rules. One of the regulations that was being considered this summer, but hasn't yet been announced, would allow travelers a grace period of 24 hours after purchase to change or cancel a ticket (a great idea, since so many folks discover when they get the confirmation email that the ticket they purchased has the wrong name or date on it).

Whatever the motivation behind the new fees, I'm controlling my knee-jerk reaction to the word "fee" and cautiously getting behind this new one. For folks who have issues setting their schedules; who worry about a flight selling out, but need more time to search for fares; or who might need to check whether there's room at an appropriate cost in the area they're visiting before they book, these new fees could be a god-send.

I also have some advice for travelers hoping to use this new service to their best advantage:

• Lock in your fare, if its domestic, late in the day on a Tuesday: Most fare sales are announced Mondays at 8pm for domestic tickets. The other airlines match by about 3pm on Tuesdays, so buy locking in then you'll have a lot of inventory to choose from, and (hopefully) good prices, too.
• Don't lock in fares more than 4 months in advance, if possible: Remember, you can only hold the seat a maximum of 9 days without paying. Most fare sales don't occur until about 3.5 months before the date of travel.
• Stay vigilant after you've locked in: Domestic fares are posted three times a day, and international fares can change hourly. So lock it in, and then get to work. You could save a lot that way.

It will be interesting to see how widely Continental expands this program (currently only some of its flights are covered) and whether other airlines follow suit.

Win a Grand in Travel Certificates from Southwest Airlines

Well, its "freebie Friday" on a Monday here at the Pauline Frommer daily, as I wanted to get this giveaway to your attention before it disappeared. Through Dec 21, Southwest Airlines will be giving away one $1000 gift certificate each day. Since most Southwest flights are in the $250 to $300 range round-trip, that's a good amount of travel. Two winners have already been announced for Saturday's and Sunday's give away.

Here are the rules: participants must follow Southwest on Twitter (their handle is @southwestair). This will allow them to see what the daily contest entails. Today, travelers must send a picture to Southwest via twitter of themselves and a reindeer by 4pm central time. A panel of judges will pick the winner.

You can see the winners from the first two days of the contest plus all the rules at the Southwest site. Probably the most important rule is that all submissions must have the hashtag #12daysofluv.

Good luck finding a photogenic rheindeer!