Which Airlines Respond Quickest on Twitter?
Posted on 10/05/2016, 4:00 AM
If you find yourself in a pickle at the airport, don’t expect your airline to respond quickly to your tweets for help. Some do much better than others. Conversocial, a software company that tracks social media interaction by major brands, recently completed a test that determined that when it comes to Twitter communication with customers, North American airlines are much more responsive t...
App Reveals Passwords for Airport Wi-Fi
Posted on 10/05/2016, 4:00 AM
We're just going to leave this right here. Don't know if this is legal, but it exists. Computer engineer Anil Polat, writes Condé Nast Traveler, compiled a list of crowdsourced Wi-Fi passwords valid for access at airports around the world. His app, WiFox, can download them all to your phone so you'll have them when you need them. As Traveler reports, it's a little stronger on airport Wi-Fi ...
Should Hitler’s Birthplace Be a Tourist Draw?
Posted on 10/05/2016, 4:00 AM
During the Third Reich, the former pub on a corner in Braunau-am-Inn, not far north of Salzburg, was a pilgrimage site for Nazis. People would gather there to chant slogans. That’s because on April 20, 1889, Adolf Hitler was born there. Or at least it’s thought; though some people think he was born in a long-since-demolished building next door, it’s agreed that his family lived in town un...
Petition: Chinese Theatre Footprints at Risk
Posted on 10/04/2016, 4:00 AM
Concerned preservationists took the TCL Chinese Theatre to task for dragging souvenir stalls over its prized collection of celebrity footprints in concrete. The furor began late last week when Vintage Los Angeles, a civilian-managed Facebook page, posted a photo of the slabs for Jean Harlow and Lana Turner covered by a cart “full of souvenir junk.” The resulting uproar inspired a petition on ...
Science: Noise Makes Airplane Food Awful
Posted on 10/04/2016, 4:00 AM
An academic named Professor Barry Smith, who founded something called the Centre for the Study of the Senses in the Philosophy department of the University of London, had an idea on a flight. He flew British Airways round-trip to Istanbul both with and without noise-cancelling headphones, and he ate the food. That’s adventurous enough, you might say. But the learned man came away ...
Backstreet's Back in Las Vegas Residency
Posted on 10/04/2016, 4:00 AM
Everybody! (Yeah!) The biggest boy band of all time, a group that has sold over 130 million albums, is the latest throwback act to announce a residency on the Las Vegas Strip. So rock your body! (Yeah!) Their show, “Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life,” starts at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino (where Britney Spears also did it again) beginning March 1, 2017 through ...
Alaska Cruising at a 7-Year High
Posted on 10/03/2016, 4:00 AM
Alaska is hot! Increased demand has put cruises to America's northernmost state on the boil again. This summer, reports the Associated Press, the millionth passenger cruised to Alaska, the first time the industry has hit that milestone since 2009. As the recession becomes a memory, as tourists grow wary of the Mediterranean, and as Zika grows as a concern, Alaska is well-positioned ...
Terrible Person Vandalizes Death Valley
Posted on 10/03/2016, 4:00 AM
Some awful human being has defaced a precious and panoramic dry lake bed in Californian’s Death Valley National Park by taking a swerving, 10-mile joyride across the thin crust of the delicate formation. The thoughtless vandal took the name of the feature, the Racetrack, seriously and used it as their personal off-road playground. A witness reported it while it was happening, and...
NYC Landmark Carnegie Deli to Close
Posted on 09/30/2016, 9:45 PM
New York City's world-famous Carnegie Deli survived nearly eight decades. But it won't survive its current owner. The deli, which opened its doors in 1937, had been having a rough go of things lately. It closed for a year in 2015 following the discovery of an illegal gas hookup. Staffers filed a lawsuit over wages. And a backroom soap opera unfolded in the gossip pages when it was allege...
Report: Marriott-Starwood Marriage Means Higher Rates
Posted on 09/30/2016, 4:00 AM
A carefully orchestrated spin campaign (including some paid partnerships with major travel bloggers) has meant that much of the news coverage surrounding the new Marriott-Starwood merger has focused on its effect on loyalty program members. But there are deeper ramifications than that. One aspect of the consequence of consolidation has been relatively unexplored: What the merger will do t...
