The truth about Trip Assured
The most difficult kinds of cases to mediate as the Travel Troubleshooter involve insurance claims. This week’s column, in which I was unable to reverse an Access America decision, is a prime example. But another insurance dispute has been simmering on my backburner for some time — this one involving a company called Trip Assured.
Hilton’s resort fee penance
Hotel resort fees are evil. Starwood has already confessed to its sins. Wyndham, too. Now, it’s Hilton’s turn.
Missed connection, denied claim
Her trip to Egypt is insured by Access America — at least that’s what Dawn Wolf is led to believe. But when she’s delayed at customs on her way home, she has to pay $669 to get back to Phoenix — and now the insurance company won’t pick up the tab. Did Access America make a mistake?
Kill the trusted traveler?
Kill it. Kill it now. That’s the consensus of readers when asked what the government should do with its nascent registered traveler program.
Got any gators in there?
My luggage is always getting me into trouble. I don’t travel anywhere without knives. At the minimum, I’ll pack my two favorites: a 10-inch Mac knife and a Henckels paring knife. Sometimes, if I’m cooking for a big event, I bring a whole set with me. It all goes into my check-in bag, of course.
A business hotel is a business hotel
It turns out a business travel hotel is a business travel hotel, after all. Some hotels that only a few years ago rebranded themselves as “family friendly” resorts have been quietly phasing out promotions and programs meant to attract families with children. One reason is that their rooms have been filling up with more of their core business customers.
Security goes down the drain
The Transportation Security Administration today lifted its total ban on gels and liquids carried on planes, replacing an arbitrary prohibition on almost all things fluid (including sandwich condiments) with one that is about as clear as a bottle of hair gel.
Silly hotel surcharges
Hotel guests are drowning in hundreds of silly little surcharges. That’s the conclusion I came to after researching my recent story about fees, and for which readers of this blog shared many of their “gotcha” moments while they were on the road.
A good day for travelers
It’s a good day to be a traveler. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it will not change its current rule and enforcement policy on airline price advertising. The airlines had been pushing for a rule change that would have made their fares appear cheaper than they were.
Don’t go overboard
It’s been more than a week since Tammy Grogan, a West Toledo, Ohio, passenger on a Carnival cruise was reported missing. There’s still no sign of her. Time for another indignant blog post about cruise lines negligence? Yeah, maybe. But that can wait.
Is screening a punishment?
A secondary screening by a Transportation Security Administration agent — being taken aside and given the once-over with a handheld magnetometer — is said to only happen under a specific set of circumstances. The passenger looks suspicious, acts suspicious or is traveling on a suspicious itinerary, like a one-way ticket paid for with cash. But a secondary screening as punishment?
Small overcharge, big problem
One night at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Torrington, Wyo., costs $67.06, according to the bill that’s given to overnight guest Robert Duval. But a few days later, his credit card is charged for $74.52. What happened? And why won’t anyone from the property or hotel chain answer his request for a refund?
An attandant’s revenge
During my eight years as a flight attendant, I heard more complaints about the decline of airline service than I can remember. But what about the decline of passenger behavior?
How much for that room?
For years, hotels have increasingly saddled their customers with nonnegotiable surcharges for everything from the use of an in-room safe to a general resort fee that pays for amenities that were once part of the room rate.
Reporter’s notebook: blogging
A postscript to today’s New York Times feature on business travelers and blogging: Thanks a lot, CJR Daily.