If you’ve ever felt frozen on a plane, or caught a whiff of vanilla in a hotel lobby, or couldn’t quite make a Wi-Fi connection in your room, congratulations: You may be a victim of the travel industry’s latest manipulation tactics.
Todd Brueshoff cancels his Hertz rental through Expedia two days before pickup and receives an email confirming that there’s no cancellation fee. But wait, there is! Hertz charges him a $52 no-show fee. Can he get his money back?
You’re sipping a margarita at the beach in Mexico when you realize the ice may have been made with tap water. You brush your teeth in Bali, accidentally swallowing a drop. Hours later, you’re chained to a bathroom, your dream trip collapsing like a house of cards.
To get an idea of how forgetful travelers have become lately, consider what happened to Ally Murphy and her husband on a recent flight from London to Atlanta.
It’s not fear driving Harry Wenkert to make a “must-have” travel purchase for 2026. It’s peace of mind, he says.
Do you knock three times on the airplane fuselage before you board a flight? Or do you carry a lucky rabbit’s foot on vacation? If you do, then you might be a superstitious traveler.
What’s the worst thing you’ve seen someone do at a hotel? For Lynne Goldberg, it’s the check-in bully.
Remember those travel insurance requirements during the pandemic? They’re back.
You can almost feel it when you fly these days. It’s that sense that you’re a second-class citizen with limited rights — or none at all.
An airport can be a dangerous place.
Just ask Brandon Barron, who recently flew from Charlotte to Orlando with his wife, four young kids and his mother, who has Alzheimer’s.
