Some Last Minute Summer Travel Tips

Good Morning America at ABCNews.com offered some last minute travel tips. Let's check them out and see how useful they are:
1. Travel after the kids go back to school. We all know we have to pay more during peak travel seasons. The question is whether we will have time to travel after the summer or major holidays.
2. The best time of searching cheap tickets include Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Usually airlines put new deals during those days.
3. Follow airlines and resort destinations/hotels at Twitter.com. They often tweet exclusive deals.
4. Consider the option of bus travels. Excellent example is $1 fare between NYC and Boston or between NYC and D.C. I know http://www.megabus.com/ offers $1 deals between Syracuse and NYC, but I have not found these deals for myself yet. However, a ticket of $28 each way between NYC and SYR is still a great deal --- I need to pay about $50 for gas alone if I am driving.
5. Check out http://www.hotelchatter.com/ and stay in a newly open and renovated hotel. Often these hotels offer better rates to fill the empty rooms.
6. Search for a cruise vacation a week before the ship sets to sail because a cruise line needs to fill its empty rooms.
7. Use airline credit cards wisely. For example, open two accounts of American Express Gold Delta credit card. Then, after you make a purchase and pay it off, you can earn a free round trip ticket between the U.S. and Europe.

I, myself, often use the following tactics to save some money:
1. Use http://www.kayak.com/ to compare hotel and airline prices, but http://www.hotwire.com/ to check out rental car price. For some reasons, hotwire often gets very good deal of rental cars.
2. Leave Thursday and return on Monday, especially when I am renting a car.
3. If my days are flexible, search three days before and after my desired travel days. Also, search nearby airports, especially for top travel destinations.
4. Book my hotel and air together as a package and make sure to compare the same package in different websites. I often see $300 differences between different websites for a 5-day trip. The websites I often compare the websites of http://www.travelocity.com/, http://www.expedia.com/, and http://www.orbitz.com/.
5. I often try to stay in a hotel that offers complimentary hot breakfast. It could save up to $20 a day for two persons by doing that.

Comments

Luxury vs. Millennials and Their Technology: The Ritz-Carlton (By Julia Shorr)

Embodying the finest luxury experience, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC has been established since 1983. In 1998, Marriott International purchased the brand offering it more opportunity for growth while being independently owned and operated. They are known for their enhanced service level as the motto states, “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen”. The luxury brand now carries 97 hotels and resorts internationally and is attempting to keep the aspects of luxury while keeping up with the trends of the technologically improving generations. The Varying Demographics of the Target Market The Ritz-Carlton’s typical target market includes: business executives, corporate, leisure travelers, typically middle-aged persons and elders, and families from the upper and upper-middle class section of society . This infers a large range of types of travelers in which all are similar in that they are not opposed to spending extra for the luxurious ambiance. However, w...

Is It OK for Hotel Staff to Wear Piercings and Tattoos?

Time has changed. I see more and more college students wearing piercings and tattoos nowadays, but is it OK for hotel staff to wear piercings and tattoos? The answer is “no, no, no.” According a report at USAToday.com, customers across the board do not want to see any hotel workers with pierced eyebrow, pierced tongue, tattooed arm, or nose ring. Some may argue that tattooed and pierced workers may seem more acceptable in edgy boutique hotels as compared to the big franchised hotels, but the survey results did not find any differences among a variety of lodging products. Many respondents believe people who wear visible tattoos and piercings are taking a high risk of their professional lives. If you stay in a hotel, do you mind being served by tattooed and/or pierced staff? What if you are the one who makes the hiring decision? References: USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010 Picture was downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010P

How to Convince AI that You Are the Best Candidate for the Job

Last week, we discussed how more companies used AI to screen resumes and analyze job candidates’ performance in the initial interviews. We called for companies’ attention to the potential AI biases in hiring . This week, we will visit what job candidates can do to help AI pick us and recommend us for hiring. A. Writing a Resume Tailored to AI Screening First and foremost, job candidates must thoroughly research the job and the company to understand its job descriptions and organizational culture. From there, they can: Write the resume in Word and submit it as a Word document instead of a PDF file. Select a straightforward format and avoid using graphics, charts, or complex layouts that could confuse AI. Use headings effectively to help AI pick up the content it seeks, such as “Relevant Job Experience” and “Education.” Strategically pick the relevant keywords that match the job descriptions as the job candidates describe what they perform(ed) at work. Highlight their achievements a...

Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

Search This Blog