Use these wildlife viewing rules when observing or photographing wildlife in the natural world. More and more travelers are choosing to travel to national parks and remote locations such as Greenland, Central and South American rainforests, the Galapagos, and the...
Washington, DC, recently has seen a surge in restaurants charging a junk fee. These Washington, DC, junk fees are similar to a resort fee on their menus. Sometimes, the fee is not even on the menu. Like hotels, once one restaurant starts to add these fees and seems to...
With a more active hurricane season than normal, many travelers want to know if cruising during the hurricane season in hurricane belts across the globe is safe. I’ve got the answers for you here. It is hurricane season. Hurricane Ophelia is bearing down on my...
Travelers United is fighting the plague of unchecked social media influencers. Are they ads or legitimate editorials? Travel social media influencers continue to rake in large amounts of money to promote certain companies to their followers. Despite the Federal Trade...
I’ve debunked ten of the most common travel security myths and have solutions for each to keep your digital devices safe and secure while on the go. Technology fact and fiction of travel security are often intertwined. Unfortunately, too often, fiction guides...
The best of times and the worst of times for passengers and airlines. In Washington, whenever you speak with members of Congress or their staff, you hear regularly that the aviation system in the country is the best in the world. These congressmen and their all seem...
Don’t complain when traveling after this packed summer season. There’s one thing Jerry Slaff won’t do when he travels to Edinburgh and Dublin this fall: He promises not to complain. “We’re hoping to avoid the big push of summer tourists...
Travel agents/advisors are priceless when it comes to service, but they can’t work magic A comedian friend of mine recently told a joke about mall travel agents/advisors, where the punchline was, “They’re just googling flights and hotels on Expedia;...
Electric vehicle renters must understand their challenging issues to eliminate unfortunate surprises and delayed road travel. If you think that when you reserve a rental Electric Vehicle (EV) it’s the same as renting a gasoline-fueled car, you’re mistaken....
Passport renewal appears to be a crapshoot. Maybe nine weeks. Maybe nine days. Only two weeks ago, I sent my passport in for renewal. You can imagine my concern after the litany of newspapers and magazine articles about problems with the process. I felt naked without...
These accomplishments have been achieved by working closely with our members, national media, the travel industry, the Department of Transportation (DOT), Congress and many other agencies.
– Removal of restaurant fees from DC area eateries — this is an ongoing project
– Creation of DOT Dashboard to outline consumer rights after cancellation of a flight
– Bi-partisan bill to eliminate hotel resort fees introduced into House of Representatives
– Creation of the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections
– Advertised airfares now include airfare plus, mandatory taxes and fees
– Lost/damaged/delayed luggage compensation limit increased to $3,800
– Passengers have 24 hours to change or cancel their nonrefundable tickets without penalty
– Once an airfare is purchased, that airfare and ancillary fees cannot be increased
– Families flying together act passed by Congress that requires family members 13 years of age and younger to sit with other family members at no additional cost.
