In this issue …
- Your fave double standards.
- Hotel mixups and lessons learned from summer.
- Spinning the truth, airline style. Plus, there’s something about Bob.
- More hotel screwups.
- Sittin’ by the dock of the lake.
- How to reach yours truly.
- Support this site.
This issue of Elliott’s E-Mail is 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.
FIRST | Random thoughts about the week in travel
Burning question … double standards? The travel biz is full of double standards. For example, if an airline cancels a flight, it owes you nothing. If you don’t show up for your flight, you lose everything. What other double standards are there, among hotels, car rental agencies and cruise lines? And what’s your favorite? Send me a note or shoot me an IM (celliottlive on AIM).
Follow me on Twitter. Do you Twitter? Or Flickr? If you do, let’s connect. Here’s how to find me on Twitter. And here’s me on Flickr.
SIGHTINGS | Noted Elliott appearances online and offline
Oops, wrong hotel — He thought he had reserved a room at the Days Inn in Franklin, Ind. Instead, he had booked a room at the Days Inn in Franklin, Ky. Now Days Inn won’t fix the mistake, insisting that his reservation is nonrefundable. Is Pradeep Sanghvi out of luck? (From The Troubleshooter)
7 lessons learned from the summer of 2007 — Congratulations, you’ve survived the summer of 2007 — the worst summer for travel in modern history. No, wait, make that since the invention of the wheel. Or was it? Well, no. (From MSNBC.com)
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
BLOGGED | New posts on Ellipses
Revealed: the awful truth about ‘anonymous’ airline Wikipedia edits — How badly are airlines trying to spin their version of the “truth” on the Web? When it comes to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia where edits can be anonymous, no one really knew. Until now. (From Ellipses)
That’s absurd: United charges $100 to change ‘Bob’ to ‘Robert’ — Ticket change fees must be a major source of revenue for the airlines. How else do you explain Bob Bennett’s recent e-mail exchange with United Airlines, in which the carrier insisted it charge a $100 fee for changing the name on his ticket from Bob to his legal name, Robert? (From Ellipses)
TSA tells mom “go away” after confiscating baby formula — Who is the Transportation Security Administration protecting us from? Crissy Tuning’s three-month-old son? Yes, specifically, his “dangerous” formula. (From Ellipses)
Tip: For last-minute hotel stays, look online before you book — Here’s a tip for anyone without hotel reservations: Never accept the first price you’re offered at the front desk. One reader refused to, and he saved $100 a night at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers. Yes, that’s $100 a night.
(From Ellipses)
Poll: The summer of 2007 was — Listen up, fellow travelers. It’s time to sound off about the summer of ‘07. You have an opinion about the last three months, don’t you? Like I have to ask. Click on the poll and sound off in the comments, please. (From Ellipses)
That’s not the Spirit: “Let him tell the world how bad we are” — There are plenty of frivolous complaints about airline service out there, and I’m the first to admit that the missive from James and Christine in Orlando probably would have fallen into that category. They were passengers on a recent Spirit Airlines flight to Atlanta which was delayed by a few hours, and its an event for which they probably weren’t entitled to any compensation under the airline’s contract of carriage. But then Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s chief executive, apparently pushed the wrong button on his computer — and now all hell is breaking loose in the blogosphere. (From Ellipses)
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!
FLASHBACK | A retrospective from the Elliott archives
Wrong hotel More misunderstandings about your accommodations …
Wrong hotel! — have a big gripe. I bought a vacation to Las Vegas on uBid.com. The hotels offered through the bid were the Stardust, the Sahara, or the Desert Paradise Resort condominiums. I picked the Stardust. (From The Troubleshooter)
Same card, wrong hotel — I booked a room for four days at the Tremont Plaza in Baltimore for four days to attend a conference. I made the reservation through Hotel.com on an American Express card which is a joint account with my partner. In other words, same card, same number – same account. (From The Troubleshooter)
Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by the Alaska Travelgram, which gives you the inside scoop on Alaska, with information on activities, accommodations, hot air fare deals and secret insider tips — from the folks who live there. Subscribe here. It’s free.
POSTCARDS | The latest from Elliott’s personal photo blog
Rain delay — The boys are waiting for the rain to stop so they can go outside and play. It’s going to be a long afternoon.
Sittin’ on the dock — Iden hangs out at the lake in Clermont, Fla. We visited our favorite bakery in Yalaha today and stopped by this quiet park before heading on to Orlando for lunch. Aren didn’t make it out this far because he didn’t want to get sand in his shoes.
Friends — Aren and Castor share a quiet moment after chasing each other around the house. This is the first time I really noticed that they both have the same eye color. Pollux, the other cat, has green eyes.
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:
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