Author – The Durango Herald

Why are you tuning out preflight safety announcements?

Admit it, you don’t pay attention to those preflight safety announcements anymore. I don’t, either. “Now, we request your full attention as the flight attendants demonstrate the safety featu...

DATE: Jul 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Got a complaint about the travel industry? Take it to the top

If you’re thinking of taking your travel complaint to the top, here’s a little good news: someone’s listening. When I started advocating for consumers more than 20 years ago, exec...

DATE: Jul 1, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Critics question influence of airline perks on Congress

When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., canceled most of the Senate’s August recess, lawmakers and staffers didn’t have to worry about one thing: airline ticket change fees. ...

DATE: Jun 24, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Questioning the conventional wisdom about summer travel

The 99 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are the busiest of the year for travel, but also the most misunderstood. The conventional wisdom surrounding summer travel includes...

DATE: Jun 18, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Your Greyhound bus is late – what can you do about it?

Jason Levitis emailed me recently from Greyhound bus No. 2559 from New York to Washington, which was supposed to arrive at 11 p.m. The problem? It was 12:25 a.m. and the motor coach was crui...

DATE: Jun 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Another thing your DNA can tell you: Where you might go on your next vacation

When Richard Hill set out to find his biological parents, he didn’t expect he would wind up on a vacation. But when his DNA test results came in, he hit the road. “Within weeks, m...

DATE: Jun 2, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Chatbots are the travel industry’s new conversation piece

Travel chatbots are having a moment. It’s about time. After a few false starts, these automated programs that answer basic questions, find deals or secure refunds are slowly comin...

DATE: May 27, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

When it’s about luggage, basic isn’t a bad thing

When it comes to the latest carry-on luggage, manufacturers are getting back to basics. So are travelers. Integrated electronics, such as charging stations and digital scales, are...

DATE: May 20, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Should you book your vacation rental through a third-party site?

If you’re like most travelers, you book your vacation rental online through a third-party website. Of the top 100 vacation-rental sites, 76 percent are third-party sites – Bookin...

DATE: May 13, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

For summer vacationers, RV sharing is revving up

John Flynn and his family won’t check into a hotel on their next vacation. Instead, they’ll roll to their destination in a Fleetwood Jamboree, a 31-foot recreational vehicle that sleeps six....

DATE: May 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

New legislation could make it harder to tell how much your airline tickets cost

An old ticket-price tactic for airlines may make a surprise comeback, thanks to proposed legislation. Before a 2011 full-fare advertising rule forbade it, airlines displayed initi...

DATE: Apr 29, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Travelers have plenty of reservations about hotels

Of all the hotel annoyances, the one that bothers Louise Sattler the most is the smells. “Scents,” she says, “and smoking in hotel rooms.” Sattler, a psychologist from ...

DATE: Apr 22, 2018 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter