Tips for Travellers Articles

(Dive Travel Business News - July 20, 2010) -- Investigations into car rental companies by ABC News has revealed that companies like Enterprise, National, and Alamo rent out cars under safety recalls prior to them being fixed.

This secret information was revealed by a rental car company during a court case in California that involved the death of two women due to a malfunctioning PT Cruiser. In one affidavit, an Enterprise manager pretty much said that if there is demand, the cars are rented out regardless of any safety issues.

Sisters Raechel and Jacquie Houcks were killed instantly after their Enterprise rental car caught fire and hit an oncoming semi-tractor trailer on Highway 101 in northern California in 2004. For five years and right up to two weeks before the trial, Enterprise lawyers maintained the position that the eldest sister was negligent in the way she drove the car and therefore was responsible for her death and the death of her sister. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 19, 2010) -- Planes are running so full this summer that U.S. travelers bound for summer vacations may have to wait overnight for the next plane if they miss a flight.

Flight cancellations due to bad weather and equipment problems are compounding the seat shortage issue, creating a domino effect, putting stress on other airlines and routes, and causing missed connections to international destinations. Few options are left for summer dive travelers who've paid for a ticket but can't get to their dive destination on their original itinerary.

For the past two years, US airlines have been cutting back service, using smaller planes or cutting routes altogether in a bid to address the impact of a poor economy, rising fuel prices and fewer passengers. The U.S. airlines' belt-tightening included a 6.7 percent capacity cut in 2008 and a nearly 9 percent cut in 2009 in a scramble to better match the number of seats to a reduced number of passengers flying. As a result, load factors - the measure of how full planes are - are up. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 17, 2010) -- On July 1, the airport departure tax in the Bahamas increased to $20 per traveler, up from $15.  In addition, the hotel room tax jumped from 6% to 10%.

(Dive Travel Business News - July 8, 2010) -- Are your clients having difficulty committing to an upcoming group dive trip because of budgeting issues?  Voted "Best Budgeting Site" by Kiplinger's Magazine and  a "Top Pick" by Money Magazine, Mint.com has been helping spenders big and small set goals for their personal and household needs since 2007. In June, it launched a new tool to help travelers set a vacation goal and then save for it.

First, travelers establish how much they think their trip will cost. As a travel professional, you can start them off with package prices, air fare costs and daily spending estimates for their next dream vacation. 

Then with a new tool, Mint Goals, helps Mint users figure out how much they need to save every month to make their vacation goal by the travel deadline. Or, they can tell Mint how much they can save each month, and Mint lets them know when you can reasonably expect to be on that plane headed for their favorite dive destination. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - May 6, 2010 ) -- On Thursday April 29, 2010, new US Transportation Department legislation was put into effect that requires all U.S. airlines to deplane passengers after 3 hours or face potential fines of up to $27,500 per passenger. International airlines are not subject to the 3-hour delay rule, even if they land or takeoff from U.S. airports. The rule applies only to domestic flights and will not affect international flights. 

It all started last August when a Continental Express jet with 47 passengers was diverted from Minneapolis due to bad weather and was stranded overnight in the plane Rochester, Minn. some 50 yards from the terminal gate:   The horror stories emminating from that incident - airline passengers young and old, stranded on the tarmac for hours without food or water, without access to their medications or sanitary bathroom conditions - prompted  the Transportation Department to draw up the new 3-hour tarmac delay rules, which were approved in December 2009 and are now in effect.

Here's is a Summary of the 3-Hour Rule: read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - April 10, 2010) -- According to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, hotels charged travelers almost $2 billion in hidden fees and surcharges in 2007. Full disclosure is not the name of the game with hotels and travel websites who are mum about additional fees over and above the room or package rate - until you check out, that is. 

Surprise fees blindside our clients and get them upset with us for not warning us upfront. Third party brokers like wholesalers and tour operators may be very careful to outline what's included in a package - yet some of them don't know or don't care to mention what's NOT included in the rate. We all look bad in the eyes of our clients. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - March 19, 2010) -- Give your travel clients needing a new passport a heads up - The U.S. State Department recently proposed an increase in the cost of new passports (up from $100 to $135) and passport renewals (up from $75 to $110). The U.S. Passport Book and U.S. Passport Card for adults are valid for 10 years.

The proposed schedule of fees for passport application services is as follows: read more »

(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com -- January 24, 2010) -- Since Northwest Flight 253 was threatened on December 25, 2009 by a passenger carrying explosives, travelers have faced long lines and tougher security rules. Extra bag checks, rigorous identification scrutiny and full body pat-downs are just part of the new measures imposed by the Transportation Security Administration in the US and  at all international airports with flights to the U.S..

According to the TSA, all passengers regardless of age (including minors and unaccompanied minors) will be subject to additional screening if selected at random or if circumstances warrant. Secondary passenger screenings are very likely to include full-body scanners (an extra revealing type of digital imaging), full body pat-downs and manual inspection of all hand carried items. read more »

(DiveTravelBusinessNews - Dec 1, 2009) -- Luggagelimits.com is an ambitious new site built around a central database that picks out what you can expect by matching your airline with your departure and arrival airports. Once you choose your airline, a bunch of general information gets displayed, both as a broad description and in boxes with specific information. At the top there's a drop-down box where for setting airline-specific ticket class, which reflects the idiosyncratic options of each company. Visit LugggageLimits here.
 

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(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com - Nov 30, 2009) -- UK Telegraph reporter Gill Charleton recently caused a stir in the travel world when he reported that the popular TripAdvisor website was promoting questionable tour operators. While the ground tour operators cited were located in Florence Italy, the story raises questions about unlicensed tour operators using trusted sites on the Internet to advertise their services. These ground operators lack basic public liability insurance and should something unfortunate happen, travelers using such tour operators are usually not covered under their own travel insurance.

The source of the problem lies with reviewers at the TripAdvisor.com website, and travelers in general, who are unaware that many guided ground tours are operating outside the law and without insurance. Many of these tours are picked up outside a hotel, the traveler pays cash and the company works from a cellphone, not a bricks and mortar operation. Travelers should check to see if a company is legitimate and has insurance before booking.

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