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Halloween Stories! Reprinted from Last Year.

What better time to trot out the nonsense stories than at Halloween. Yes, maybe a couple times a year I will write about something not likely to make the front page of the N.Y Times but at least this post relates to hotels. And that is stories from known spirit sightings at hotels around the world. In addition, my own hotel has an eerie event happen sporadically, which I will mention later.

Club Med Sale

If you are a Club Med fan, they have a sale now that is not to be missed. You have to book by Nov. 2, but you can travel as late as next April. And what they are offering is 7 (seven) nights for the price of 3 (three).

Of course the 3 nights are overpriced but you know there is no free lunch anymore. The package starts at $800 per person, which suggests they have rooms for more than $250 per night. I personally would not want to stay at such a high brow resort but when you average 7 nights over $800, it comes to a little over $100 per night - not a bad deal at all for one of their all inclusive resorts. Their choices are also varied - Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean or Florida.

In the Caribbean, one of the offerings is the Caravelle in Guadelupe. I was in Guadelupe many years ago and though it was challenging getting around because it is a French island and my French is limited to "Excuse my French", I had a blast. Rode buses not knowing where I was going or how I was going to get back, ordering food from a French menu, conversing with locals in pigeon English, etc. I was NOT at a resort however but in the capital city so I expect at Club Med the menus would be in English also and getting into and back from town a breeze.

And yes, you have to get there (by air unless you are a good swimmer) and there will be extra charges (taxes, gratuities, drinks, etc) so it isn't as if you are off the hook for $800 only. What is great however is the idea of going to Mexico in the heart of winter in the Northwest and East, say a week long trip in January or February?

You can check the Club Med offer here.

Last Minute Sale - S.F (or LA) to NY for $100

It is indeed sale time again for the airline. Just like last year at this time, both Southwest and Virgin America launched great sales for many dates before Christmas and this year is no exception.

Virgin will take you from SFO to Las Vegas for $40, to Seattle from LA for $60 as well as the NYC run noted above. These are just sample fares also - you can see the remainder here.

As always, these must be booked within days but the announcement only came out on Oct 21st, so sorry for the short notice. I'll try to do better next time. Meanwhile, feel free to go from LA to Boston or Washington D.C. to S.F. for only $100 each way.  Plus, plus, as always.

As an aside, Travelzoo today reported an air fare war going on between Wash. D>C> and SF. Now only $160.00 TAXES INCLUDED! Check it out here.

(If you miss this sale, don't worry. There is almost a 100% chance they will be repeated over and over, just like last year!)

How to Travel 'Well'

A year ago I found a great post regarding how 'lucky' travelers seem to have such great times on their trips. There may indeed be some luck involved (being in the right place at the right time) but much of what the article contains is simply great advice.

I am writing this post about now because the advice is timeless. It starts with having a good (and open) attitude about going to new places. Perhaps half the travelers I get at my front desk have that attitude but the other half look like the weight of the world fell on their shoulders and they are beaten down, tired, mostly annoyed at life. Yes, travel can do that to you - it is no 'picnic' anymore (not the least of why is they don't serve food anymore!) and it hasn't been real fun to fly for years.

But there are things you can do to enhance your trips and I suggest you read Why Some Travelers Have ALL the Luck and see whether you can garner some of that good karma too!

Attn East Coast SnowBirds! Virgin Islands Sale.

 

In a hokey attempt to capitalize on the U.S. Mint's inclusion of a commemorative quarter for the U.S. Virgin Islands, 'some' hotels in the islands are offering a fantastic not-so-hokey sale: rooms for up to 3 nights for 25 cents each! Yes, you must fly there, but for some Easterners, that is a hop, skip and a jump trip. You HAVE to book an airfare and hotel package to get the 25 cent nights and of course it is most likely you would spend more than 3 nights there, so it isn't as if they are giving you three days for a quarter a day or people would probably SWIM there from Miami!

I myself vacationed in St. Croix many years ago and it was wonderful. It is my opinion that because cruise ships don't usually stop in St. John or St. Croix that these islands are less crowded. I vowed to return and explore St. John for that reason - now would be the time (if only I could get off work!)

For once, this is not one of those book by tomorrow and travel by Friday kind of deals. In fact, you can travel up till Dec. 15. A great opportunity to explore the warm beaches of St. Thomas and St. John and get away from the snow of Dec. for a t least a few days.The notice and details can be found here from the Daily Travel Blog of the L A Times.

More Airfare News

As a companion post to my last one regarding the outlook for hotel and airline fares in 2010, I use this post as support for some of my premises stated int the last post.

Southwest Air, the bell weather airline for discount fares, recently announced their next GREAT sale. But if you look over the last few quarters of airfare sales, you would notice the 'sales' are not nearly as high as they used to be. A great article from USA Today shows you why.

Even though I suggested fares WOULD rise more than the 5% American Express Business travel expects for next year and that seems to be exactly what Southwest is indicating, it is far to early to call this a trend or even call it "solid gold". Remember, airlines and hotels (as a general rule) put forth future rates that they HOPE to get. If and when the demand does not meet their expectation, prices are slashed. Southwest may be posting these fares HOPING to get these fares but they have proven to be the quickest with a sale and can change their rates on a dime. Which is what I expect will happen.

As a barometer, let's keep an eye on those cross country fares that USA Today noted. I fully expect to see fares back in the under $100 range before this fare 'sale' runs it course. As always, it is a waiting game and this game is played by both sides. Airlines wait to see how bookings are and people react and travelers wait to see how much the airlines are willing to lower fares. If you haven't the stomach to wait it out, feel free to book now but those who have played this game through the years will likely come out the winners once again when SUPER airfare sales result!

What to Expect in 2010

It is always precarious to venture into the world of 'predicting' and posting an article on what to expect in the travel sector in the coming year is no different - it's scary. Many things that affect your prediction could occur (wars breaking out, terrorism attacks, economic upheaval) but anyone reading your "best guesses" only remember what you SAID would happen., They forget words like "might", "maybe" and "most likely" and tend to remember only what you said would happen.

But as one who has never been afraid to insert foot into mouth, I boldly venture forth into the unknown once again.

Recent articles have surfaced that suggest the travel world could see some changes in the next year that will adversely affect consumers. In a nutshell, most experts expect airline and hotel rates to continue to weaken through the end of the year and somewhat into 2010 but by the end of 2010, both should turn upwards. In the case of hotel rates, perhaps only slightly but airfares are primed to rocket upward somewhat significantly. The reason for this is that airlines have cut back so much AND CONTINUE to do so and those capacity cuts will cause higher rates when demand rebounds, as it is expected to next year. One article in particular from American Express suggests airfares will rise only slightly, but this is not what many of the other experts have been saying. They expect significantly higher fares.

What do I think? I think airfares will rise more than the 5% AMEX suggests but unless the economy starts to show signs of recovery, demand may not surface so much that 20% rises result. If we indeed have a jobless recovery, a lot of people will simply not have the money to travel and even those with jobs will still feel insecure until they see people going back to work. An MSNBC article from Oct. 2 shows exactly how this is happening also.Throw in the confusion resulting from the pending Health Plan initiatives and I sense people will be reluctant to spend money on trips until the dust settles.

Which probably won't be until summer of 2011 - in my humble opinion.

Why Hawaii Fares Stay 'High"

It's an almost weekly event in my inbox - an alert (or story) about travel to Hawaii pops up. For the last 16 months, the sentiment has remained the same - travel is off as hotels reports lower and lower occupancy. Last summer was nothing to write home about and  I have read estimates that occupancy is down ANOTHER 14-16 percent this summer. Yet air fares have not dropped. Conspiracy? Not likely. Lower demand yes, but then why hasn't that impacted air fares downward since supply and demand is supposed to dictate those levels.

Some suggest (and I would have been one of them) that it is caused by less capacity, since two major Hawaii bound airlines went under last year. But that is not the real reason either, according to industry spokeperson Rick Seaney. So what would the reason be?

All you frequent flyers! It turns out that supply and demand does not work so well when the demand does not result in revenue. Seaney was quoted in an article that under normal circumstances, when a carrier (to a lucrative destination) goes belly-up, other carriers (normally) rush in to pick up the 'gravy'. But in this case, because so many of Hawaii bound passengers use frequent flyer miles instead of paying cash on the barrel head, there is no incentive for UAL to increase flights or some other carrier to rush in with a plethora of new flights.

In the past, when both business travelers and cash paying customers ruled the skies, airlines simply limited the number of seats they would offer to frequent fliers using earned mileage and they could absorb the 'freebies' by offsetting the loss of revenue with those paying higher (or even regular) fares. I suspect when demand from business travelers tanked and U.S. residents balked at traveliing ANYWHERE this year, that meant more seats for frequent fliers and airline employee and companion fare flyers, which brings no revenue to the carrier. Even imposing fuel surcharges and babbage and weight restrictions didn't help apparently. Demand is STILL down for hotel occupancy in Hawaii and joptel prices keep on plunging, but it appears the 'right' type of consumer is not doing the traveling.

So let this be a lesson to all you frquent flier miles people! Start vacationing in the Caribbean or Mexico or Honduras and use your free miles there so the rest of us that pay cash can go to Hawaii and get lower fares to boot! The hotels in Hawaii will greatly appreciate your gesture.

The Anti National Parks Post

Many traveling people like to have 'to-see' lists. Being in all 50 states is an admirable (and personal) goal. Seeing the major National Parks, traveling to as many continents as possible or attending baseball games in every National or American League city are others travelers aspire to. Well, here's a list FEW people write out - seeing the LEAST visited National Parks. Reviewing the list makes it pretty obvious why few have this on their 'to-do before I die' list. The parks are spread out from Alaska to Samoa, which makes routine summer driving to the National Parks seem like going to the corner store in comparison.

I located a bizarre entry about the least visited Parks (and no, death Valley is NOT one of them) from a Yahoo post and I thought this would be a great idea for the person who seems to have been everywhere. Fortunately, you can scratch off almost half of them in one state (the good news) but the bad news is that state is Alaska - about as remote as it gets for Americans.

Nonetheless, it makes for an interesting read (since I had never heard of most of these Parks) and you may find it interesting as well.

Romantic Getaways

Sometimes all we can do is dream. About life, our future or even our next vacation. Sometimes people PLAN for a dreamy romantic getaway but have few ideas where to go. Well, wonder no more if you fall into this category.

Travel + Leisure online magazine presented an article earlier this year naming the top 50 Romantic Getaways, titled "50 Best Romantic Getaways". Of course their choices are subjective and people may have favorite spots not listed but this article is a great way to start if you are looking for ideas. What I liked about the article was that not all the sites were overseas (like staying on Mt. Fuji or in the Alps in Europe). Some spots are close to home in fact (Napa Valley Wine Country, downtown NYC, Whidbey Island in Washington for instance) though of course the majority are in Morocco or Granada Spain.

The site has a slide show for the 50 locations and is worth a look even if you are in the dreaming stage. The pictures alone are worth a few minutes of time because you never know, someday you may win the lottery and will need a romantic getaway in Bora-Bora.