Yotels

Should you find yourself waiting in London Gatwick Airport, find your way to a Yotel in the South Terminal. These miniature ‘hotel rooms’ range from small pods to standard rooms to cabins with Internet access, bathrooms, work desks and even room service. Minimum charge is for four hours and runs around $50. Overnight costs are around $100. This is a great option for the night before an early flight, as well as for showering and freshening up when there’s little time between landing and an appointment—or when there’s too much time between an international arrival and a connecting flight. Next, yotels are planned for London Heathrow and Amsterdam. Book online at www.yotel.com.

Flying?

But when? Maybe not as soon as you plan to, given the high number of flight delays, which—this year alone—have already cost the U.S. economy more than $17 billion.

When the delays are equipment-related, however, better safe in the airport than sorry in the air. Consider the 11-hour Virgin Atlantic flight which delayed departure by five hours because of a nonworking toilet, then took off anyway with the toilet still out of commission.

Most delays are caused not by dysfunctional appliances, but rather by too many planes and not enough air traffic controllers. The Department of Transportation (DOT) projects a cost of over $22 billion for a new system. Expense aside, the system won’t be ready until 2025—that’s with no further delays!

In the meantime, take solace in the fact that air travel in North America and Europe has never been safer—and take advantage of the websites that provide important travel information. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association at www.natca.org offers airport-specific tips on how to avoid delays, and avoiddelays.com ranks the worst offenders to date. Join the airlines’ frequent flyer programs and be sure your number is in your record, as the airlines sometimes work harder to accommodate their own frequent fliers and are more likely to bump those who bought through online agents.

Enter the flights you plan to book at FlightMemory.com and see the data on spreadsheets (longest, shortest, top airports, dates, airlines, seats, prices, etc.). There is even a map highlighting the routes that can be made into a poster.

Speak the Language?

Carry Lingolook, available in French, Chinese and Japanese on fan-out flashcards. Each guide has 75 phrases divided into ‘Leisure’ and ‘Travel and Transport’ categories with illustrations (www.lingolook.com).

Working with the Currency Exchange

As if it isn’t hard enough to patrol the currency exchange rate when you travel, now you can pick whether to be billed in the local currency or let the merchant convert the charge to U.S. dollars. In this case, he or she sets the exchange rate, which may be higher than your credit card or bank would use. This will be shown on your bill and there should be a disclaimer for you to sign stating that you understand you have a choice of currencies.

If you choose to be billed in the local currency and let your card issuer determine the exchange rate, you may be charged a percentage to convert to USD, which you won’t know until you see your account. You can use a card that doesn’t charge an exchange fee if you can find one, pay in the local currency and take your chances on what the exchange rate will be when the charge goes through on the bill. Best advice: Call your bank or credit card and find out what charges they have currently and whether they have agreements with banks in countries where you will be traveling. Get a list of ATM machines and use your debit card. Bankrate.com has a chart of card fees under ‘currency conversion fee policies.’

Travelers’ checks are no longer a good investment. Although you will know the rate you’re paying when you buy them in foreign currency, they’re not accepted at most places. When they are, the charge to cash is usually $5, no matter the amount of the check. And any checks you bring back with you incur the conversion charge again.

Dog Nights

Pet attachment was the subject of a recent survey by Trip Advisor. If you or someone you love is looking for pet-friendly accommodations, Best Western was cited as the most pet-friendly hotel chain, followed by Holiday Inn and Red Roof Inn. The Best Western Lake Norman in Cornelius, North Carolina was acclaimed the top pet-friendly hotel. The U.S. is the country pets most enjoy visiting, followed by Canada and the U.K. The quarantine quarters must really be nice. |

USEFUL WEBSITE ADDRESSES

• www.frequentflier.com: Details of airline frequent flier programs
• www.flightexplorer.com: Flight tracking with routes, weather, seat maps, airport parking, and airport Wi-Fi hotspots
• www.seatguru.com: Airline seat maps and descriptions
• www.farecompare.com: Compares fares worldwide and offers the opportunity to sign up for alerts on lowest fares for specific routes. Also provides instructions on how to get a refund from various airlines when the fare goes down before midnight of the day a ticket is purchased at a higher price.
• flightstats.com: Global information in real time
• www.quickaid.com: Airport maps
• www.lovemyseat.com: Seat maps
• tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/index.shtm: Travel security rules
• www.staralliance.com: Round-the-world fares
• www.australia.com: Australia Tourist Commission
• www.yotel.com: Sleeping accommodations in London Gatwick airport