Tagged: technology

The Best Way to Check TSA Wait Times in Advance (It's Not the TSA App)

As the partial government shutdown continues to drag on, many U.S. airports have reported extended wait times for passengers at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. TSA…

Hold Your Horses: How Animal-Free Electric Carriages Could Replace Horse-Drawn Carriage Tours

On a whirl though Philadelphia’s historic city center, our family’s unusual outing attracted a steady stream of craned necks from curious passersby, accompanied by camera clicks and…

How to Use Apple's New Digital ID to Carry Your Passport in Your iPhone for TSA Checkpoints

Apple launched a new feature this week that lets iPhone and Apple Watch users store their U.S. passport information on those devices for use at Transportation Security Administration…

This Hotel Chain’s New “Scent-Powered Alarm Clock” Wakes You Up with Breakfast Smells

A major hotel chain is trying out new alarm clocks designed to wake guests not with beeps or music but with the smells of breakfast. Wakey wakey, eggs 'n' bakey, indeed. The…

Southwest Airlines Announces a Wi-Fi Change That Won't Enrage You (for Once)

After many months of making customers mad, Southwest Airlines is finally doing something that flyers might actually like. Beginning Friday, October 24, the airline will offer free…

Did La Quinta Hotel Really Make Guests Check in by Video Conference?

We know that American business owners are contending with a sudden reduction in low-paid workers, particularly in the hospitality industry, which is being impacted by the ripple…

Airbnb Scam Warning: AI-Altered Photos Used to Accuse Guest of Causing $16,000 in Damage

Airbnb has had to apologize and issue a refund to a guest after a host allegedly used AI to create fraudulent photos in support of a claim that the guest had caused a whopping $16,000…

Hertz Is Using AI Scanners to Charge for Rental Car Damage That Human Eyes Miss

Hertz is not a company known for mastering technology. After all, it was just a few years ago that dozens of former customers accused the car rental agency of ordering them to be…

AI-Driven Surge Pricing Comes to Airfares and Hotel Rates

It’s bad enough when you need an Uber just as the ball game is ending across town, and a $24 ride jumps to $68.But now that $549 airline ticket to London can leap to $849 just as…

Another Airline Is Finally Launching Free In-Flight Wi-Fi

After dragging their feet for years, major U.S. airlines suddenly seem to be in a rush to give passengers free Wi-Fi. This week American Airlines announced that free high-speed Wi-Fi…

British Airways Customer Service Chatbot Doesn't Know What London and Heathrow Are, Apparently

Science fiction led us to believe robots would be flummoxed by trying to process logical paradoxes, such as the sentence "This statement is a lie" or perhaps the idea of "jumbo…

Don't Lose Your Phone on a Flight! They Might Turn the Plane Around

Misplace your phone during a flight and the pilot might turn the plane around. That's what happened on a recent Air France flight from Paris to the Caribbean. When a passenger and crew…

Travel Scam Warning! This "Unpaid" Tolls Con Targets Road Trippers

Have you gotten any urgent text messages on your phone lately letting you know that you owe money for unpaid highway tolls? Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good: You…

You Can Now Use Venmo for JetBlue Tickets—but Should You?

JetBlue has become the first airline to accept Venmo as a payment option when booking flights directly on the JetBlue website. The airline's partnership with the popular mobile payment…

Are TSA Liquid Carry-On Restrictions Really Relaxing Soon?

We're seeing a lot of speculation around the internet this week about whether the Transportation Security Administration is about to relax limits on the size of liquids that passengers…

15+ Amazing Travel Tricks Your iPhone Can Already Do for Free: Flight Status, Translation, Conversion, Measuring Bags, More

If you have been traveling with an iPhone for a while, you might assume you already know all the things it can do for you. But for the past few years, Apple has been quietly adding new…

What’s Up with These Hourslong Check-in Lines at Las Vegas Hotels?

"Hotel check in wait times are out of control in Las Vegas," social media influencer VegasStarfish argues in a recent posting. The video evidence accompanying the claim certainly makes…

When Delta's Free Wi-Fi Will Be Available on All International Flights

Delta Air Lines has begun rolling out free Wi-Fi on international flights, with most routes to Europe expected to have the service by the end of September, the carrier announced this…

Disney's Lightning Lane Passes Explained: These 10 Tips Will Save Money and Time

The app-based Lightning Lane service, which was introduced as Genie+ at Disney's American theme parks in late 2021 and revised in July 2024, evokes dread in casual visitors to the…

Where is Everybody? "Humanless” Customer Service is Dominating Travel. Can We Be Heard as Consumers?

None of us voted on this, but like it or not, there’s been a tremendous shift in how we interact with travel companies. Speaking to a real live person can be tedious, time-consuming,…

The Difference Between CLEAR and TSA PreCheck? For Starters, One Has Way More Critics

“Enough is enough,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, at a hearing in December. “As carried out by the private sector,…

Disruptions to Airplane GPS Systems Are on the Rise—What Passengers Should Know

If there’s one thing most of us take for granted in boarding a commercial aircraft, it’s that the plane is headed where we expect it to go. If you’re flying from New York to Miami, it…

Venmo Groups: A New Tool for Managing Expenses on Group Trips

When it comes to organizing a group trip, the Type A member of your crew already has enough to do, what with booking sunrise yoga classes and laminating copies of the itinerary to…

How to Use Delta, American, United, and Southwest Bag Trackers

Southwest Airlines recently became the latest U.S. carrier to roll out a bag-tracking tool for customers. Now live on both the airline’s website and mobile app, the service allows…

This Emergency Alert App Saved a Skier’s Life. Make Your Phone a Rescue Locator, Too.

On a foggy day last winter at Idaho's Soldier Mountain resort (pictured above), a skier got separated from her party and wound up lost in an out-of-bounds area where neither chairlifts…