We hope you like the current casinos in Las Vegas, because that’s what you can look forward to for the next 10 years or so. No newly built Mount Rushmore facade, no Mini Grand Canyon indoor shopping avenue, no Godzilla-shaped hotel—nothing new to delight the vulgar parts of your optic nerve. The Wall Street Journal says after a decade in which casinos spent more than $30 billion on expansions, they’re now going to pay off debt and focus on “branding, marketing and customer loyalty.”
Do Something Nice, Go To Disneyland
By October 1, 2009
Disney’s gone and done something admirable again. We get it, Disney: you don’t want our golden poop. Fine.
Vacationer Says Universal Studios Stripped Away Premium Membership Benefits
By September 29, 2009
Frequent Universal Studios Florida vacationer Victor bought a premier annual pass for $300, which gave him free kennel service and $50 upgrades from regular rooms to suites.
Don't Bother Visiting The Grand Canyon Skywalk
By August 27, 2009
Update: We asked the Skywalk to confirm that they have a “no-refunds” policy. Their answer is at the bottom of this post.
Delta Doesn't Care About Your Honeymoon
By August 14, 2009
[Note: Sandals has already responded to the post, expressed sympathy, and reached out to Autumn. We've removed their name from the headline to more accurately focus the blame on Delta, which is the company really behind the problems.] We get that Delta employees just flat out hate their jobs at this point—that would explain the surly flight attendants on my last Delta flight, at any rate—but why would you take that out on newlyweds, who have their whole lives to be disappointed and deserve that one week of happiness at the start? The least you could do, angry Delta employees, is try to help out after your employer utterly fails to deliver the passengers anywhere near their destination. No, a dingy one-night stay in a hotel room in NYC is not the same as a week in Antigua.
Complaining Via Twitter Works When Comfort Inn Won't Listen
By July 20, 2009
Kristy and her husband were dissatisfied with their recent Comfort Inn stay while on vacation in southern Utah. The hotel manager resolved their cleanliness concerns, but then threatened to revoke their discount if they complained to corporate. Kristy tried to get her message across to the people in charge through the usual channels, and it seemed that nobody wanted to listen, Finally, she posted about the situation on Twitter and got the resolution she was looking for.
Delta Screws Man Out Of Family Trip, Business Conference, WSJ Interview, And Two Flights
By July 15, 2009
Wow, the folks at Delta really must hate the creative director behind and star of those UPS whiteboard commercials, Andy Azula. On the open letter he published today, he notes that he’s a frequent-flyer with Platinum status on Delta, and until this past June one of their “biggest fans.” Then Delta forced him, his wife, and his twin seven-year-olds to wait 13 hours in the Richmond, VA airport, while their luggage remained trapped on a plane that was forever “almost fixed.”
This Subway Shop In Virginia Promotes Timeshares
By June 17, 2009
Tim thought he was entering an innocent giveaway at his local Subway in Warrenton, Virginia earlier this month. Nope. It was just timeshare bait. We wish the Subway would have known better than to allow the dropbox in their store to begin with, but after reading Tim’s story you’ll know what to watch out for should you run into a similar contest.
Six Flags Over Bankruptcy Court
By June 15, 2009
Those home ticket-printing fees just weren’t enough to help Six Flags pay down their $2.4 billion debt load. The economy and bad weather have taken their toll, and the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend.
By June 5, 2009
The next time you’re looking at hotels online, try www.biddingfortravel.com and www.betterbidding.com. Our readers recommend both sites for helping you figure out which hotels you’re being offered on Priceline or Hotwire. (Thanks to bohemian and picantel!)
The Staycation Is Soooo 2008
By May 13, 2009
Roll on, Summer of 09! Staying at home is sooo last year. According to a recent travel survey, America is on the move again! 95% of respondents said they are planning to get away this summer. No more navel gazing and lawn mowing. It’s on to brighter things such as cruises, the Caribbean, and even Europe. Plus, with “historically low airfares” and gas prices down a buck fifty per gallon from a year ago, you can even visit *gasp* other parts of America!
Orbitz Can't Deliver On Tickets It Sold, But Can't Deliver The Refund Either
By May 7, 2009
Austin bought two tickets to Aruba last December. By the end of February, Orbitz had changed his itinerary so many times that now they were only flying him as far as Atlanta, and 11 days later were flying him back from Aruba—it was apparently up to him to get from Atlanta to Aruba in the first place. At this point, the only option was to request a refund, which Orbitz said would take 60 days. Two months later, Orbitz told Austin that they’ll give him his money back in 60 days. We’re pretty sure that’s 120 days total, and there’s still no guarantee Austin will see his money.
Memo To Cruise Lines: Seattle Is Not Cozumel
By May 1, 2009
A few different cruise lines took initiative and changed the itineraries of ships heading to Mexico in the near future. However, they won’t let customers who are uninterested in sailing to the tropical paradise of San Francisco rebook or get full refunds.
On Costa Cruises, Your "Waiter" Will Take Your Bread Basket Away And Give It To Another Table
By April 10, 2009
There were lots of problems on the recent Costa Cruise vacation that Krista and her friends took, including lukewarm hot tubs, closed buffets, and missing towels. But the biggest surprise was when their waiter was replaced on the second day with a newly promoted, untrained busboy who abandoned them nightly. Well, when he wasn’t taking their sugar or stealing their basket of bread.
If You Save Too Much — You Might Regret It Later!
By March 24, 2009
We’re always telling people to save their money — but that’s just because we’re overcompensating for a society that spends too much. It is possible to be too frugal and you risk regretting that you didn’t have a little more fun while you had the chance.
Airlines Having A "Worldwide Distress Sale"? Time For A Vacation?
By March 18, 2009
You know, we hesitate to use the term “fire sale” to describe airline prices but there are apparently some insane deals to be had right now according to the San Francisco Chronicle
JetBlue Will Refund Your Ticket If You Get Laid Off Or Fired
By February 18, 2009
Afraid you might get laid off? Too worried to book plane tickets? JetBlue thinks you are. They’ve launched a program that guarantees a full refund to those of you who get laid off at least two weeks before you fly.
US Airways And Delta Duel Over The Phone For Most Incompetent Airline Ever Award
By February 16, 2009
Want a great example of the broken state of airline customer service in this country? Try a four-way conference call between yourself, Amex Travel, US Airways, and Delta. You’ll see firsthand how CSRs from the two airlines can play the “it’s not our responsibility” so well that even a devoted Amex Travel rep can’t get them to solve your problem.
