TripAdvisor is plagued with fake reviews. Why? As I wrote about yesterday, the problem of review fraud is two-fold: Intense competition in the travel industry, greatly exacerbated by the state of our economy, has caused hotels and other travel providers to artificially manipulate review rankings in order to achieve increased bookings and revenue. Inherent conflict of interest exists between […]
On reflection, TripAdvisor may at first appear to be a benevolent site where regular people share their honest travel opinions. Dig beneath the surface, however, and you will find something quite the opposite is happening at TripAdvisor. This is big business and the going is rough in today’s economic climate. There are over twenty million reviews on TripAdvisor. I […]
Has this ever happened to you? After a long flight to Hawaii you rush down to the beach only to see Jellyfish warning signs. This let down can be avoided with proper planning. Tip: Check the full moon calendar when planning your vacation and add 8 days. This will give you the approximate date jellyfish arrive on south facing […]
A centipede sting is like that of a wasp. How to avoid and what to do if this happens.
What I Learned From hotelchatter.com’s $254 Waikiki Parc Deal. Even after traveling extensively for decades, I keep learning. Hotel Chatter’s post: In this situation, Hotel Chatter had a Waikiki Parc offer that at first glance looked like something worth pursuing. In my opinion, however, it was not. Here’s the purported deal: $254/night average price for 4 nights including breakfast […]
Food costs here in Hawaii can be very high (or not). I’m often amazed by visitors fresh from the plane buying hundreds of dollars of overpriced food at the grocery store. If you’re going to be here for a week or so, just a little extra planning could put hundreds of dollars of savings in your pocket. Enough to […]
Yesterday I gave you my advice on what to do when your hotel room does not live up to expectations. Normally I complain immediately if I’m unhappy. On my recent trip to New York I was stuck with a bad room for 6 nights. Here’s what happened at New York’s Millennium UN Plaza Hotel: I booked a “superior room” […]
THIS IS A SUPERIOR ROOM ON THE HOTEL’S WEB SITE: THIS IS THE SUPERIOR ROOM I WAS GIVEN: I was expecting multiple windows, a corner room, and updated furnishings, based on the superior category I reserved. This is the first of two parts on what to do if your hotel room does not meet expectations. Tomorrow I’ll tell you […]
I’ve been very fortunate to spend the majority of my life’s flying time in the front of the plane. It started decades ago and I’ve rarely flown in economy since. One of those rarities is pictured above when we made the mistake of flying economy from LAX to Bangkok. I’m not sure however that the photo does justice to […]
I’ve been following a recent controversy between the Skin Cancer Foundation and Environmental Working Group over how sunscreens are tested. Beat of Hawaii previously wrote about sunscreens back in May. According to the New York Times, the Skin Cancer Foundation, which also tests sunscreens for safety and effectiveness, complains that the testing done by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) […]
I’m prone to seasickness (though not to airsickness). Sitting in the back seats of cars and buses doesn’t leave me feeling all that great either. How about you? If you’re bound for Hawaii, the water starts getting rough here, generally about October. Today’s post might help if you’re planning on any of the following: Na Pali boat tours Mainland […]
The softness in the airline sector is directly impacting hotel reservations and room pricing. PKF, a hospitality research firm, believes that for every 1 percent domestic airline capacity reduction, there will be up to .39 percent less hotel demand. If they are correct, U.S. hotels could see as many as 40 million fewer room nights occupied this year! This […]
