An App That (Almost) Guarantees the Lowest Hotel Rates
Posted on 05/31/2019, 7:00 AM
It’s said there are no guarantees in life. But does that apply to travel? For hotels, a relatively new app may offer the closest thing to a guaranteed low price that I’ve seen. It’s called Pruvo, and it promises that if you tell it your hotel price, you won’t be undercut. Here’s how it works. The consumer goes hotel shopping, using any online travel agency they like—Booking.com, Expedi...
Arthur Frommer: Seaweed is Invading the Mexican Caribbean, But There's a Bright Side
Posted on 05/30/2019, 7:00 AM
Among the current important news of travel is a sudden and mysterious drop in tourist traffic to the so-called “Mexican Caribbean” (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, the Mayan Riviera), an area which usually accounts for half of all tourism to Mexico. After several speculative guesses as to what is happening, scientists and Mexican officials have agreed that the cause is “sa...
Florida Finally Gives Tourists a Way to Avoid Rental Car Rip-Offs on Cashless Roads
After years of paying extortionate fees from rental car companies to use cashless toll booths, tourists finally have a solution—if they know about it.
L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art Getting Rid of Admission Fees
Posted on 05/22/2019, 8:45 PM
Pretty soon, it won't cost you a penny to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. The institution announced it is reducing its $15 general admission fee to $0, a move made possible by a $10 million donation from the president of MOCA's board of trustees, Carolyn Clark Powers. You'll still have to pay for special exhibits, however. Speaking to the New York Times, museum dire...
Thanks a Lot, Instagram. Horseshoe Bend Now Has an Entry Fee
Posted on 04/22/2019, 7:00 PM
Many of the world's most beautiful places have become victims of their own Instagrammability, with hordes of selfie snappers causing congestion, safety concerns, and strains on infrastructure. As a result, officials at photogenic locales across the globe have introduced measures aimed at thinning crowds—or at least shifting some of the financial burden for upkeep onto tourists. The latest examp...
Arthur Frommer: The British Outlawed Deception by Hotels. Why Won't America?
Posted on 04/15/2019, 9:00 AM
A British organization that regulates hotels—it’s called the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)—has just taken steps to prevent U.K. hotels from using deceptive sales tactics. Its approach should surely be adopted by our own Federal Trade Commission. The Brits have won adoption of the new anti-deception rules by several gigantic hotel-booking organizations that publish hotel vacancies...
This Spring, It Will Never Be Cheaper to Fly to Hawaii, Says Arthur Frommer
Posted on 04/10/2019, 9:00 AM
The biggest news in travel is the recent start-up by price-cutting Southwest Airlines of a massive number of flights from the U.S. west coast to the islands of Hawaii. Travel to those popular resorts will never be the same again. For several decades, the airlines serving Hawaii have zealously maintained the highest possible price level for flights there. Vacationers paid as much as $60...
Arthur Frommer: Decent People Will Avoid All Contact with Brunei
Posted on 04/08/2019, 9:00 AM
It is highly unlikely that many of our readers will travel as tourists to the nation of Brunei on the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. The economy and currency of that nation are so strong (based on oil and natural gas reserves) that prices there are forbidding. Accordingly, Brunei doesn’t react to threats of tourism boycott, and enjoys very little tourism in any event. One recent visi...
Tipping in Costa Rica: A Gratuities Guide for Hotels, Restaurants, and Tours
Some tips on tipping to follow while checking out Costa Rica's cities, beaches, and jungles
When Should You Book Airfare and Hotels? A Huge Study Reveals the Current Answers
Posted on 04/03/2019, 1:00 PM
The Airlines Reporting Corporation’s annual Travel Pricing Outlook study (conducted in partnership with Expedia) arrived with very little fanfare this year. Which is odd—and not so odd. Odd because it is, by a factor of a gazillion, the largest study of the year, for the size of the numbers being crunched. And not so odd because this 2019 study, the fifth annual one, doesn’t really break much n...
Unruly Drinking on This Spanish Island Could Cost You Thousands
Posted on 03/22/2019, 1:00 AM
Tourists who break public drinking laws on the Spanish island of Majorca—long known for its beaches and raucous party scene—will face fines of up to €3,000 (US$3,400) this summer, as part of a crackdown on boozy misbehavior. Under the new restrictions, law enforcement can fine alcohol-fueled revelers for fighting, breaking stuff, and otherwise “causing a public nuisance," according to The Indepen...
Tipping in Portugal: A Gratuities Guide for Hotels, Restaurants, and Taxis
What to tip waiters, taxi drivers, tour guides, and hotel staff in Lisbon, Porto, and other locations in Portugal
This Airbnb Scam Is Costing People Thousands: How to Protect Yourself
Avoid this vacation rental scam that uses the secure reputation of Airbnb against you. Here's how to make sure you're never a victim.
Tipping in China: When You Can—and When You Shouldn't
Gratuities aren't standard in China. Here's when to tip waiters, hotel staff, and tour guides—and when to keep the change.
Flying With Wine: Packing and Legal Tips You Need to Know
Packing wine to fly? We asked an expert about customs laws, airline policies, and avoiding luggage disasters.
Hotel Booking Sites Are Using These Shady Tactics to Trick You into Booking
An investigation of the major hotel reservation websites has exposed some of the mind games they play to deceive you about rates and urgency.
Venice Has Adopted the Ultimate Means for Reducing Crowds: Admission Fees
Posted on 01/29/2019, 12:00 AM
Just about everyone will agree that the worst current problem in travel is overtourism—the crowded conditions in the world’s most popular cities and destinations. In places like Barcelona, Dubrovnik, and the Cinque Terre, there are just too many visitors in high season, harming the pleasure of both residents and visitors. But though everyone will agree that overtourism is growing, due to th...
Can the Taj Mahal Be Saved? New Measures To Preserve India's Wonder
Posted on 01/25/2019, 2:00 PM
The Taj Mahal remains the most convincing argument that Agra, the northern Indian city where the marble mausoleum stands, was once something like a paradise. Gazing at Shah Jahan's show-stopping tribute to his deceased wife, you can believe—even amid the hordes of tourists—that Agra was renowned for its elegance and beauty during the city's Mughal Empire heyday, when longboats floated down the Yam...
