David Holmes probably needs no introduction. But just in case you haven’t heard of him, he’s the 40-year-old Southwest Airlines flight attendant whose in-flight safety announcement is making the rounds on YouTube. I asked him how he became the rapping flight attendant.
From the monthly archives:
April 2009
If there’s just one thing we’ve learned this week, it’s that alcohol and booking travel don’t mix. And just in case you had your doubts, here’s yet another case in which booze may — and I stress the may — have played a role, at least according to the airline.
Trista Blanchard expected sun and fun on her recent Dominican Republic vacation. She wasn’t prepared to spend $45,000 on a timeshare — or for the nightmare that followed. Here’s what she says happened to her.
Expiring ticket credit, all-inclusive hotel rates … and a trip to 1870s Florida.
OK, let’s see if we can get this straight: If you cancel your nonrefundable airline ticket, how long do you have to rebook? Give up?
Can an airline send a debt collector after you to pay for a missed flight? Strangely, the answer is: yes.
Are tourists destroying tourism? The ones Bob Menconi saw on the lido deck of the Celebrity Solstice were — one heaping plateful at a time.
The trip cancellation policy for her European river cruise promises her a full refund, but when Sylvia Sweeney tries to recover the $5,595 she spent through her tour operator, she’s turned down. Can Sweeney do anything to recover her money?
In his new memoir, “Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy,” Isadore Sharp describes how he built one of the hotel industry’s most successful and respected brands. But the book ends just as things start to get interesting: with a historic downturn in the lodging industry. I asked Sharp to pick up where the book left off.
Tired of being shocked by a barrage of fees and taxes on your hotel bill — everything from “resort” fees to taxes and convenience charges? Then you might want to travel abroad. John Humbach did, and learned that sometimes, the price your quoted for a hotel room can be the price you pay. To the penny.
If you’re tired of being nickeled and dimed to death when you fly, you might want to be in Miami on May 12 and 13. That’s when hundreds of executives will gather at an industry conference to figure out how to grow the $3.5 billion in so-called “ancillary” revenues they expect to collect from us this year.
Are car rental companies taking a page from the airlines’ playbook when it comes to fees? Plus, high gas bills and surviving a hotel stay with kids.
It turns out your nonrefundable ticket isn’t entirely nonrefundable, after all. Taxes and government fees, which until now have disappeared into a void — and many believe, are simply pocketed by airlines — can be returned.
Kiss those little bottles of lotion goodbye. You stand to gain better things, thanks to the ailing economy. That includes free Wi-Fi in more places, better customer service and of course, many unbelievable bargains.
I stayed at the Hyatt Place in Lake Mary, Fla., this weekend, one of the “new build” Hyatt Place properties that opened in January. Sharp looking hotel, isn’t it? That’s the first thing I liked about it.
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