Happy Halloween, everybody! Today's update begins with a story to strike terror in the heart of hotel executives . . .
* EXPEDIA TO BEGIN SHOWING VACATION RENTALS WITH HOTEL SEARCH RESULTS (Travel Weekly)
When you search for hotels at Expedia or any of the various booking sites the company owns (including Hotels.com and Travelocity), you'll soon see vacation-rental options displayed, too, according to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Expedia.com currently has a tab for "vacation rentals" that takes you to search results from HomeAway, an Airbnb competitor acquired by Expedia in 2015.
But under the new initiative—expected to begin testing before the end of the year—HomeAway offerings will be right there on the page alongside hotel listings.
"What we are talking about," explained Khosrowshai in the company's latest earnings call with reporters, "is a much more fundamental kind of integrated experience, where someone who comes to an Expedia or Hotels.com and is searching for hotels, depending on length of stay, depending on weekday, weekend, etc., they are going to get a complementary mix of hotel search results and/or vacation-rental results."
He predicted that consumers will benefit from the increase in choices, and that HomeAway will get an increase in bookings.
The move will likely not thrill the hotel industry, however, since it makes it even easier to find numerous rooms at often cheaper rates than hotels are offeing in whatever location you're visiting.
* MYSTERY CRUISE LEAVES PASSENGERS IN THE DARK ABOUT ITINERARY (The Telegraph)
For those who think travel no longer feels like an adventure into the unknown, the U.K.'s Bolsover Cruise Club is offering a 16-night luxury cruise on which passengers will have no clue where they're going.
Purchase the company's Secret Sailaway for £12,339 (US$15,000) per person, and you'll be told only the departure and return dates of the trip, as well as info on where to board the vessel.
For any further details about stopover ports and your final destination, you'll either just have to wait and see or figure out the answers to 10 riddles that have the itinerary hidden within them.
Okay, there is one other way to get the lowdown: You can ask the company after you've booked a cabin.
But that kind of sucks the fun right out of the whole enterprise, don't you think?
* AMSTERDAM'S NEW HANGOVER BAR OFFERS MORNING-AFTER COMFORT (Daily Mail)
If you overindulge the next time you're in Amsterdam, you might want to consider a morning-after stop at the city's new Hangover Bar.
Open only during the day from Friday to Sunday, the first-of-its-kind establishment is designed to supply everything you need to recover from a boozy evening, including vitamin-rich smoothies, an oxygen bar, and beds planted in front of TVs loaded with bingeworthy shows.
The one cure you won't find inside: hair of the dog. Alcohol is not sold on the premises—though there are "hangover inspectors" who administer Breathalyzer tests at the entrance to make sure that you still have alcohol in your system.
We're pretty sure that makes the place the only bar in the world where you can get thrown out for being underserved.
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