Carol Margolis - 2/78 - Pearls of Travel Wisdom

U.S. News Top Hotels vs. TripAdvisor Top Hotels

January 30, 2015 by Carol Margolis Leave A Comment

I recently posted the TripAdvisor list of Top 25 hotels. Now comes a similar list from U.S. News & World Report. Actually the latter is much more detailed, breaking down the best of the top hotels in North American countries and many international cities. They even include a list of best hotel brands. Many people…

Beijing Adding a Third Airport

January 29, 2015 by Carol Margolis 1 Comment

When most people think of Beijing and airports, their first thought is Beijing Capital International (PEK). Much less well known is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), a domestic airport serving only China United Airlines. According to this article, the Chinese capital will be adding a third airport. Set to begin operations in 2018, planners are including…

Gotta Love the Love at Love (Field, That Is)

January 29, 2015 by Carol Margolis Leave A Comment

It seemed to take forever but the arcane federal law known as the Wright Amendment finally arrived at death’s door last year. As predicted, this has proved to be a windfall for Dallas Love Field (DAL). How much of a windfall? The numbers are impressive. Air traffic at DAL is exploding and it is not…

Update on Hotel Rate Predictions for 2015

January 29, 2015 by Carol Margolis Leave A Comment

This is going to be a painful year for hotel room rate increases. A few weeks ago I said… “The average daily rate for hotels increased over 4% each of the past three years. Freitag expects the increase in 2015 to be higher, about 5%. My projection is this will be a bit property-specific but I…

TSA’s Newest Record: Firearms Seizures

January 28, 2015 by Carol Margolis Leave A Comment

As I mentioned early last month, TSA was well on their way to set a record year for seizing carry-on guns from passengers. Well, they did it in style. The final number for 2014 was 2,212 guns, an increase of more than 20% from the previous year and almost three times the number from only

Are Your Favs in This List? TripAdvisor Top 25 Hotels

January 28, 2015 by Carol Margolis Leave A Comment

As they do every year, TripAdvisor presented their list of the Top 25 hotels in the world. With such outstanding competition, it shouldn’t be a surprise that only a couple Four Seasons properties made the list, none of them in the U.S. Indeed, the only American property to make the list is The Langham in…

Marriott Blocks Wi-Fi – FCC Says Never Again!

January 28, 2015 by Carol Margolis 1 Comment

Seems this subject about Marriott blocking Wi-Fi at a Nashville hotel has been beaten to death but Marriott chose to drag it out. Instead of admitting it was a mistake and wouldn’t let it happen again, the hotel chain went on the offensive asking the FCC for guidance. Well, really more like protection for their…

Higher Education –> More Likely to Steal from Hotel Rooms

January 27, 2015 by Carol Margolis 5 Comments

In a very strange survey from Germany, they found that those with higher education were actually more likely to steal items from hotel rooms. The devil, however, was in the details. Of these ‘stolen’ items, 69% were actually bathroom amenities like soap, shampoo, and other hygiene products. More surprising was that 1.3 million towels were…

Orlando Tourist Sues United Airlines over Ticket Prices

January 27, 2015 by Carol Margolis 1 Comment

I can kind of understand this lawsuit and no doubt many who have purchased multiple airline tickets at one time will at least feel some sympathy. Seems this tourist from Illinois purchased three one-way tickets to Orlando from United Airlines. If he had purchased the three tickets separately, he claims the total airfare would have…

New York City Sues Apt Building Operating as a Hotel

January 27, 2015 by Carol Margolis Leave A Comment

Last week the city of New York filed a lawsuit against a Manhattan apartment building claiming it was operating as a hotel. The city filed this against Metro Apartments for a few reasons. First, they claimed there were safety code violations. Second, they noted that the building was not up to hotel safety standards. Third,…

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