Read this week’s issue online or subscribe to the RSS feed.
In this issue …
• You can make a difference
• 13 tips to save money on your next cruise
• Revealed: ultimate insider secrets to scoring a free vacation (shameless pitch warning)
• Wrong rate!
• How to reach yours truly
• Support this site
This issue of Elliott’s E-Mail is underwritten by skoobadesign.com, designers and makers of some of the most acclaimed, innovative carrying cases and travel accessories for laptop computers and other tech gear. Skooba Design’s products have been named “best buy” by major independent consumer magazines, as well as leading technology, travel and general interest publications. Elliot’s E-Mail Subscribers get 20 percent off, plus free shipping (UPS Ground/48 States) on all Skooba Design orders of $50 or more. Just enter coupon code enter ELLIOTT20 at checkout. Some restrictions apply. Here are the details.
FIRST | Random thoughts about the week in travel
You can make a difference! This blog and its companion newsletter, Elliott’s E-Mail, is one of the last remaining efforts to produce honest, consumer-focused, truly useful travel journalism. Most of the others have gone commercial — or gone under. Twice a year, I ask for your help to continue this important work. This is one of those times.
• At the Associate level, we’re randomly giving away cool BagRagz luggage covers. They’re a terrific way to distinguish your checked or carry-on bag from the masses — plus, they’re a lot of fun. My roll-on bag looks like it collided with a Hawaiian shirt (and I mean that in a good way). You’ll always grab the right luggage off the conveyor belt when you’re traveling with BagRagz.
• At the Benefactor level, you get an annual subscription to the award-winning, always-compelling Dream of Italy newsletter. No other publication covers restaurants, hotels, cooking schools, villa rentals, museums, shopping and everything in between the way Dream of Italy does. I’ve been a reader since the beginning, and I never miss an issue.
• At the Patron level, you receive the new 2008 Great Alaskan TourSaver. This book contains more than $22,000 in deals for Alaska’s top attractions, including over 140 two-for-one Alaska travel discount offers. Many travelers use just one or two coupons and the book pays for itself. If you’re planning an Alaska vacation next summer, you need the Great Alaskan TourSaver.
How do you support this site? Here are the details, or go to Elliott.org and click on “support this site.”
Burning question … What was the most significant travel event of 2007? Here’s your chance to sound off on the most significant travel news of the year. What single news event affected you the most, as a traveler? Was anything overlooked by my colleagues in the news business? Remember, the best story gets cool Skooba luggage. (More winners will be announced at the end of this month.) Send me a note or shoot me an IM (celliottlive on AIM).
SIGHTINGS | Noted Elliott appearances online and offline
A government rate for a weekend stay? — Cheryl McClure reserves a room at the Hampton Inn in Asheville, N.C., and is offered an $81-a-night rate. Then the hotel has second thoughts and changes the rate to $149 a night. Can it do that? And what, if anything, does a “confirmed rate” get you? Should McClure cancel her hotel stay, or can the Hampton Inn be persuaded to honor its first rate? (From The Troubleshooter)
13 tips to save money on your next cruise — Thinking of taking a cruise? Then you picked the right time — and you’re reading the right story. Wave season — the time of year when most cruises are booked — is just ahead. It runs from January to about mid-March, and because everyone’s out there buying a floating vacation, there are lots of deals to be had. (From MSNBC.com)
Secrets to staying motivated when you work from home — Many self-starters who thrived in an office fall flat when they come home to work. For some of you, being home alone drains your creativity and productivity. You miss the energy of a workspace with like-minded people, colleagues to bounce ideas off of, and work pals who make work fun. (From Office Live)
Free applications to make your Web site shine — So you don’t have a big budget to create custom polls, host videos, or build a social network on your Web site? No problem. You can do those things, and more, for free, thanks to several relatively new applications that are finding favor among small-business owners. (From Office Live)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by Cheapflights.com, which lets you search and compare flights to find the lowest-priced airfare for your next trip. Get the details at Cheapflights.com.
BLOGGED | New posts on Elliott’s Blog
Revealed: ultimate insider secrets to scoring a free vacation (shameless pitch warning) — False advertising. Everywhere you turn, there it is. Particularly when you travel. The world is full of travel companies that promise the world (”You’ve already won a cruise to the Bahamas!”) or close to it (”Become a travel agent instantly and save big $$!”). And where are the industry’s watchdogs? Most of them have fallen asleep after feasting on the scraps thrown to them by the travel industry. (From Elliott Blog)
4 reasons to check out Florida’s Beach now — Early December is an ideal time to visit the St. Petersburg and Clearwater area, which calls itself Florida’s Beach. I was fortunate enough to speak at a convention on St. Petersburg Beach last week, and while most of the rest of the country was bracing for snowstorms, the temperatures there were in the mid-80s and we had the place practically to ourselves. Here are four reason to check out Florida’s West Coast now. (From Elliott Blog)
‘Grumpy’ Santa blogger sets out on 48-state, 25,000 mile trek — In what it admits is a “shameless act of self-promotion,” FareCompare.com will announce today that it is sending its very own Santa on a fun-filled trip to all 48 contiguous states, starting this weekend. Why? “We want to highlight what’s right and what’s wrong with the airline industry through the eyes of a holiday icon,” says FareCompare’s chief executive, Rick Seaney. Isn’t a 12-day, 25,000-mile trek on 66 flights enough to make Santa a little … cranky? Of course. That’s why they’re calling him Grumpy Santa. Here’s an exclusive interview with Michael Federico, who will soon be channeling Kris Kringle’s darker side. (From Elliott Blog)
$50 mystery charges on motorist’s debit card explained — Read the terms of service on your cards carefully. Otherwise you could end up with a couple of $50 charges on your account for no apparent reason. That’s what happened to Paul Shields when he used his AAA debit card to pay for gas in San Diego recently. His story is a cautionary tale for anyone who pays with plastic, and underscores the importance of reading the fine print in your cardmember agreement. (From Elliott Blog)
Celebrity passengers forced to sign very bad cruise contract — The cruise contract — the legal agreement between you and your cruise line — is always worth reviewing before you set sail. But at least one cruise line is making its passengers sign the contract before they board. And if they don’t? No cruise. (From Elliott Blog)
US Airways, American top list of most complained-about airlines — The latest Air Travel Consumer Report suggests passengers are deeply dissatisfied with airline service. In October, the Transportation Department received 1,096 complaints from consumers about airline service — that’s 74 percent more than the 629 complaints received a year earlier, and 22 percent more than the total of 895 filed last month. (From Elliott Blog)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by FirstClassFlyer.com, the only tool you need to fly first class for the price of coach — or close to it. Looking for free and purchased upgrades, two-for-ones and a fast-track to elite status strategies? Look no further than FirstClassFlyer.com
FLASHBACK | A retrospective from the Elliott archives
Wrong rate! More on rate errors and other hotel misunderstandings.
Double-booked at Days Inn — It happens all the time. You book a hotel room, only to find a better price later. But when Julia Rayan cancels her higher-priced room at Days Inn, she’s in for an unpleasant surprise: Turns out there is at least one other reservation that went uncancelled. Now she is being charged for a room she didn’t use. What’s going on here? (From The Troubleshooter)
Burned by a fat-finger fare — Rajat Goel found a $3 hotel room in Japan on Orbitz and booked it quick, knowing it was probably some sort of mistake. But then Orbitz canceled the room – along with another reservation for Goel’s honeymoon hotel in New Zealand. (From The Troubleshooter)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by Priceline.com, the leading travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers. With both Name Your Own Price and everyday fixed low prices, no other travel service gives more ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. No one does deals like Priceline.com!
TALKBACK | How to sound off about this site
Read something you disagree with? Got a story idea or a gripe? Here’s how to be heard:
• Send me an e-mail. I’m at elliottdotorg on every major e-mail provider — AOL, Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo. I’m also reachable at the same e-mail address I’ve always had, of course.
• Call me. My direct phone number is (407) 699-9529.
• Send me an instant message on Gmail.
• Shoot me a note or chat by video on AIM.
• Skype me. My username is christopherjelliott.
• Find me on MySpace.
• Link to me on LinkedIn.
• Catch me on Facebook.
• See me on Flickr.
• Find out what I’m doing now on Twitter.
• Post a response below an article, in the “Comment on this article” field.
• Contact me with this handy feedback form.
Please note: Unless you specify otherwise, all e-mails, letters and phone conversations are considered “on the record.” That means your name could be used in a future article.
BECOME AN UNDERWRITER | How to support Elliott
This site relies on support from travelers like you. If you care about journalism that’s uncompromising, cutting-edge and consumer-focused, then please consider becoming an underwriter. Here are the details.
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
I'm on Facebook: Please "like" 
WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? If you're having trouble with a travel business - any business - and you've reached a dead end, maybe I can help. Send me an