The Beijing Tea House Scam is one of the most well-known tourist traps around the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, Lawrence Andrews hadn’t heard of it until he had already become a $4,700 victim. Read more “This is how to easily lose $4,700 in the Beijing Tea House Scam”
Advice
Looking for advice from the Elliott Advocacy team. This is where you will find it. These are the tales from consumers who have asked for our assistance.
Looking for advice from the Elliott Advocacy team. This is where you will find it. These are the tales from consumers who have asked for our assistance.
This is how to easily avoid common holiday travel mistakes
At about this time every year, radio and TV producers ask me to go on the air and dispense travel advice. They’ll ask me how to avoid the agony of holiday travel. And at about this time every year, I really want to tell them, “It’s easy: If you want to avoid all holiday travel mistakes and hassles, stay home.” Read more “This is how to easily avoid common holiday travel mistakes”
This is how to easily spot fake online reviews!
If you’re buying something online during the holidays, chances are you’ll get to a point where you’ll wonder if there’s a way to easily spot fake online reviews. Read more “This is how to easily spot fake online reviews!”
How to find the right travel adapters and converters for your next trip abroad
Are your travel adapters and converters ready for your next vacation?
When John Gasink plugged his continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device into a power outlet at the Heidelberg Marriott Hotel, he was in for a shock. So were many of the hotel’s guests. Read more “How to find the right travel adapters and converters for your next trip abroad”
Want to improve your travel literacy? Here’s how
Now that vacation season is over, it’s time to start thinking about ways to improve your travel literacy — loosely defined as your ability to get around without looking like a clueless tourist — before your next trip. Read more “Want to improve your travel literacy? Here’s how”
One more British Airways flight downgrade with no refund
Please welcome Carson Harris to the exclusive club of air travelers who have been downgraded. It happened to Harris on British Airways, which presented him with an involuntary flight downgrade on one segment of a roundtrip flight to Bucharest. Read more “One more British Airways flight downgrade with no refund”
How to find the best – and avoid the worst – hotel room
There’s no quick answer to the question, “How do I find the best hotel room?” That’s because no two hotel rooms are exactly alike. They defy easy SeatGuru-ization, which is to say you can’t create a reliable online directory of room sizes and amenities. Read more “How to find the best – and avoid the worst – hotel room”
In travel, some deals really are too good to be true
The quoted rate for an “amazing” three-bedroom condominium in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, looked too good to be true. The unit, which featured flat-screen TVs, beds with “lush, warm comforters,” a gourmet kitchen and a lanai overlooking Lake Pend Oreille, cost only $1,900 for the month.
And guess what? It was too good to be true. Read more “In travel, some deals really are too good to be true”
Only you can prevent a full Elliott Advocacy meltdown!
If you’re a reader of my personal website, you probably already know about the full meltdown that happened after we posted a blockbuster story by Michelle Couch-Friedman about buying jewelry on a cruise. Suddenly a surge of traffic flooded the Elliott Advocacy site and within just a few minutes, our server choked up. Instead of the article, that annoyingly familiar “error establishing a database connection” message greeted you. Read more “Only you can prevent a full Elliott Advocacy meltdown!”
This is what happens when a cruise line forgets your amenity
What happens when a cruise line forgets your amenity? That’s the question facing Carol McHale, who ordered a birthday gift for her father from MSC Cruises, who was on his first solo trip since his wife’s death.
His present got lost at sea. Read more “This is what happens when a cruise line forgets your amenity”