The four ickiest things you never want to touch on a plane
The tray table on planes harbor more germs “per square inch” than any public place on an airplane, including the bathroom. Surprised? Make sure to bring plenty of sanitizing wipes or hand sanitizer to wipe it down. Be happy: “None of the 26 samples collected from airports and flights contained what are called ‘fecal coliforms,’ such as E. coli, which can make you really sick and spread to others.”
And make sure you have enough wipes to cover these next-ickiest places: the toilet flush button followed by the seatbelt buckle (no excuse not to buckle up) and the overhead air vent.
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The bottom line here is the same thing you’re told to do during flu season (which is coming up): Wash your hands. A lot.
Wi-Fi, toys and tequila: Top hotels with awesome free amenities
In July, Spain-based Room Mate Hotels, (which figured out the magic of providing no-charge Wi-Fi to guests back in 2005 — two years before the iPhone was even born), began offering guests a portable 3G wireless router with 100MB of data at no extra charge. Yup, instead of shamefully trying to find that Starbucks or any local cafe just to use their free Wi-Fi, you can now connect from anywhere in town with the pocket-sized router that’s included with your room.
We hope every hotel copies this incredible perk, and while we’re dreaming, here are a few other boutique hotels that are setting trends that all others should follow.
Think about toys for your kids, s’mores, iPhones, walking sticks, tequila, and so on. Enjoy dreaming.
What happens to old rental cars after their last drive?
Ever wonder what happens to rental cars when they are “used up”? Many are sold as used cars, some become collectors items like the one in the lead photo in this story, some are auctioned off and sent overseas and finally they might be taken apart and used for parts.
The rental car retirement plan usually includes four possibilities: selling to consumers, repurchasing by the manufacturer, wholesale auctioning, or selling for parts.
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First, if the rental car is in terrific shape — not too many miles, zero or little damage — then the rental car company might opt to put it up for sale directly to consumers.
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The second option is for old rental cars to be rebought by their manufacturers.
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Third, the rental car company can essentially take the manufacturer out of the negotiations and sell old cars at wholesale auctions itself.
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Finally, the cars that are in truly poor shape are sold for parts or at salvage auctions.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.