The Handy Reference Guide to Travel Sites and Resources

I gave a talk to a handful of people recently and gave them these as sites to be aware of.

Organizing sites:

Trip It: Organizes your flight, hotel, and transportation into single trip itineraries. An App is also available. This is probably the current industry leader for organization.  

Mileage Manager: This site does charge a nominal fee to keep track of all the mileage and discount programs.  But worth it for those who travel a lot, particularly if you book your own.

Travel news and blogs

http://elliott.org/: This is a GREAT site. If you run into a customer service issue/scam, this guy will go to bat for you and help you fight. There is an e-newsletter you can sign up for too. 

http://www.travelindustrywire.com/: Subscribe to their free weekly e-letter to keep up on travel industry news. 

Budget Travel: Though mainly designed for vacationers, they have an e-letter that has really useful information. 

http://www.johnnyjet.com/: I like this site because it has fun things and helpful tips. 

The Air Travel Rights You Aren't Aware of (and How to Get Them): An article to bookmark with helpful links, particularly if you need to file a complaint.

Airports

Travelnerd.com:  Terminal maps, fee calculator, parking and ground transportation info, rates, and coupons, 

Smart Layover: http://smartlayover.com/  If you get stuck, this site (and app) tell you where to find a spot to nap, gate info, layover details, and day-use hotels. 

Gate Guru: http://gateguruapp.com/  This app has detailed info on more than 200 airports and will tell you where to go and what is near your gate, help with layovers, etc.

Air Booking

Yapta.com:  Connected to Kayak, this site lets you search flights and track the ones you like before or after you book. You get an email when a fare drops. Some airlines refund fare drops in the form of credits; I collect money easily because of this site.  If you use a travel booking software, you can use Fare IQ. 

Kayak: Basically Yapta with a fare predictor and a few other features Yapta doesn’t have.  

Bing.com/travel:  I’m not a huge fan but I will often check their fare predictor.

Hipmunk: I don’t LOVE this site but it is a favorite with many.

Hotels

Tingo.com: Hotel-booking site that automatically refunds price drops. 

The Suitest: One to keep an eye, it still has a way to go in usability but a great way to find if you are getting a good deal on a room and particularly helpful when you are looking for a particular type of room, i.e. suites.

Google.com/hotelfinder: Works so nicely with Google maps, though I often just plug a meeting address into Google.com/maps and then do a search nearby. 

Car Rental

AutoSlash.com: Finds the best discount code and applies it

Avis Business:  The best  business program I work with. Works with all size companies, in most situations other employees can drive without signing on or paying fees, and always an upgrade coupon for any length of rental. And you can book with a preferred driver number for others (unlike Hertz which requires you to have their password).

Food and Beverage Guidelines

Per diem rates: The US General Services Administration sets guidelines for food and beverage allowances by region/city. Very helpful if you are operating on a per diem basis for travelers or simply want to set a ceiling for allowable expenses.

Travel Coordinator Education programs

The Travel Institute: Low cost certification with online education. A caveat: a friend who has traveled for years and started her own travel agency says she hasn't been impressed with the knowledge of those who seek certification from online programs.

Social Conscience

ECPAT-USA: I’m a huge fan of ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) and have spoken with Carol Smolenski, President. Support those in the travel industry who have established protocols for dealing with the travesty of child prostitution and trafficking. Marriott and Disney have refused to sign this code. Hilton, Delta, Carlson and Wyndham are huge supporters.

Keeping Track of Awards Can Be Simple

I was recently trying to book family travel and couldn't remember where I had filed the kids frequent flier numbers. They aren't really frequent fliers but I get them numbers anyway. At the least I keep them in free magazine subscriptions from expiring miles. Now a new website makes it a lot easier to keep track of all your miles and points in one place. AwardWallet.com sends you an email when your miles are expiring or when your balance changes. Disappointingly, American, United, and Delta have all forced AwardWallet to quit displaying their info. But if you use hotel rewards, smaller airlines or credit card points, this site will still provide a valuable service.

Airlines Are Not Created Equal: a Tale of Two Airlines

It's tempting to buy the cheapest ticket. I know. I've done it.

But a tale for you to illustrate why you should keep an airline's policies in mind when you select a ticket.

I bought a ticket for traveler on Southwest recently. His flight was canceled the morning he was scheduled to depart due to a snowstorm a Denver. A snowstorm is covered by an "act of God" clause. The airline is not required to refund the money; but they are supposed to offer you credit for a future flight. I called Southwest. They were unable to get the traveler to his destination that day. So I asked for a refund. (It never hurts to ask.) "Sure, I can do that," the customer service agent responded. I almost fell off my chair.

In contrast, American Airlines had a number of planes damaged in a tornado in Dallas last April. I had a traveler scheduled to fly AA with a layover in Dallas. The flight was canceled. I spent an hour and a half on hold with the airline. I was told at the time that they wouldn't issue a refund but they could give me credit for the unused portion of his ticket. I was given the dollar amount to use on a future flight and told to call in to book travel for him. I had a year to use the credit.

I attempted to use it this week. I called in, followed instructions, provided the ticket number, record locator, traveler's name and was told that he had flown that day and there was no credit. I pointed out he couldn't have flown, the flight was canceled. I mentioned the exact dollar amount that should be left on the ticket. I waited while the agent talked to her supervisor. She told me they could see the credit wasn't used, but they couldn't access it. I would have to submit a web form to their customer relations department because their hands were tied. But I was assured. The people in customer relations could handle it. (But I couldn't talk to them.) I did so. I received an email back stating they valued their passenger's privacy and they couldn't correspond with me about the issue because I was not the traveler. This ticket was booked using a business credit card in someone's else's name (not the traveler), with my name noted as the "arranger." The company has a Business Extra account with American and had a number associated with the ticket. I filled out the form with the traveler's name and took a copy of it so he knew what to say if they contacted him. Nothing. No response. The credit expires in a month, and it is clear to me that American intends to make this as difficult as possible to retrieve.

All airlines are not created equal. And sometimes, you should just pay more and go with a reputable company with good policies. Sadly, American Airlines is no longer that.

Southwest Adds New Fees...Will There Be More?

Southwest recently added a new early boarding fee called "upgraded boarding" and added fees on overweight baggage. They also admit that a no-show fee is in the works for the near future.

Nothing too serious yet, but admittedly Southwest has struggled compared to other airlines who have found ancillary fees to be the path to profitability.

In recent months, Southwest fares have been highly competitive beating out other airlines where they hadn't been in quite some time. Is it an attempt to build customer loyalty before adding more fees? Or the result of collecting a little more in optional services? We shall see.

For now, it is a great time to use Southwest, particularly with no bag fees for the first two bags and no change fees.

Sources: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/17/uk-southwestair-fees-idUSLNE8BD01O20121217
http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/travel-fees.html