Hidden Costs Boost Travel Prices

Travel suppliers are trying to boost their prices without seeming to. Rising costs coupled with a weak economy has the travel industry scrambling to increase prices while still appealing to cash-strapped travelers. It's a time for "consumer beware." Some of the promotions being offered are misleading at best and downright deceptive at worst.

Here are four things savvy travelers will want to watch for:

• Hidden add-ons. Many hotels are posting enticingly low prices to get customers in the door, then adding on exorbitant resort fees, energy surcharges, shuttle fees, and unexpected fees for room features like phones, safes and mini bars, even if you don't use them. Check before you book. What you expect to be free may not be anymore. And watch for extortionary fuel surcharges on airline flights to recoup fuel costs. It's routine in other parts of the world and appealing to cash-strapped U.S. airlines.


• Unbundling. Airlines are going a la carte. Expect to pay separate fees for each checked bag, advanced seat assignments, frequent-flier miles, snacks and drinks. Many airlines are already charging $25 to $50 for each checked bag after the first one. I just flew to Hawaii on United which offered "food items for sale" in lieu of a lunch tray. Expect similar behavior from car rental agencies and hotels.


• Incidental fees. In an effort to lure you in, airlines, rental-car companies and hotels will continue to advertise affordable base costs. It's the climbing incidental fees that will kill your budget. And don't expect them to be upfront about it. Airlines are already quietly charging more for phone reservations than online ones.


• Fine print penalties. Get used to reading the fine print. Travel suppliers have started hiding tough cancellation policies and stiff fees in all that gray type, hoping you won't drag out the reading glasses to decipher it.

Lost Luggage? How to Make Sure You Get It Back

Lost luggage is every traveler's nightmare. Unless you've been itching for a new wardrobe, it's the worst possible start to your timeshare vacation. Lost luggage complaints skyrocketed in 2006 and 2007, according to the Transportation Security Administration (see our Feb. 13 post). So what should you do if your luggage goes missing to ensure that your bags are returned? Follow these tips:

• Take pictures of all your belongings as you pack your bags. Make an inventory and keep it and all receipts for purchased items separate from your bag.


• Lock your bag with a TSA-approved lock. You can find approved locks at SafeSkiesLocks.com or TravelSentry.org.


• Tag everything. Put your name and contact information inside each bag as well as on the luggage tags. That way if the tag is torn off or damaged, airline personnel will still be able to identify your luggage. I find it easy to stick address labels onto index cards and slip them in my bag. All I have to add is my phone number.


• File a claim immediately if your bag goes missing. Don't leave your destination airport without filing a claim. The sooner the airline starts looking, the better the chance you'll be reunited with your luggage. Remember to ask if the airline will deliver your bags to you free.


• In addition to your airline claim, file a claim with the TSA as soon as possible. Claim forms can be downloaded from the TSA.gov website.

Luggage Theft at Airports on the Rise

You just can't be too careful these days. With luggage theft on the rise at U.S. airports, you could arrive at your timeshare destination with just the clothes on your back. Millions of bags are damaged, delayed, stolen or lost at U.S. airports each year. According to the Department of Transportation, passengers filed 250,000 mishandled baggage claims last November.

Every day in America, the Transportation Security Administration screens 2.5 million checked bags and 50 of those bags go missing or are damaged each day. TSA expects to pay out $1 million in claims this year. The average amount paid on a claim in 2007 was $159.58, not even enough to cover the cost of the new dress you packed. And even worse, half of the claims filed were denied.

"In some cases, if there is no ability to determine responsibility one way or the other, [TSA] settles the claim for 50%," said agency spokeswoman Laren Wolf. One disgruntled passenger, Gladys Hanley of Columbus, Ohio had her claim for missing jewelry denied. "The TSA puts it off on the airlines; the airline puts it off on the TSA," she complained. She was forced to file a claim with her insurance company to recoup her loss.

What most passengers don't realize is that many items they pack in their luggage are not covered by either the airlines or the TSA if they are lost or stolen. "Pretty much the only thing that is going to be covered in bags is going to be cosmetics, toiletries, shoes and clothing," explained Scott Mueller, a former baggage services manager for Midwest Airlines and author of The Empty Carousel: A Consumer's Guide to Checked and Carryon Luggage.

Unfortunately, travelers often don't discover missing contents until sometime after arriving at their destination. Major theft rings have been uncovered at some of our nation's major airports. Unscrupulous security checkers and baggage handlers are often to blame; though some bags are whisked off luggage carousels by waiting thieves before the owners have a chance to notice.

Follow these tips to protect your luggage when you go on your next timeshare vacation:

• Pack all valuables -- jewelry, cameras, cell phone, electronics, prescription drugs, eyeglasses, important papers, computers, heirlooms, keys, etc. -- in your carryon and keep it where you can see it (under your seat or in the bin across the aisle where you can observe anyone trying to interfere with it).


• Don't advertise your profession on your luggage tag. That "Dr." before your name is one thing thieves look for. Use plain luggage tags. Leave the gold laminated tag that advertises your status as a CEO at home.


• Sturdy, used luggage is less likely to attract a thief's attention than flashy, designer bags.


• Always check your claim ticket against the ticket on your luggage to make sure you pick up the right bag.

Vegas Prices Going Through the Roof

If you're planning a trip to Las Vegas, better take lots of cash; prices are going through the roof. the one-armed bandits aren't the only stick-up artists in Vegas. Hotel rates at the big names like the Bellagio and Wynn are running an astronomical $400 to $800 a night for 5-star service. Of course you can find more moderately priced rooms. A room at the 4-star MGM Grand or New York New York will only set you back $100 to $150 a night, a bargain compared to comparable lodgings in other major cities. You'll find even cheaper rates the farther you go off the strip, but the strip is the place to be if you want to have the full Vegas experience. Of course, if you book a Las Vegas timeshare, like Marriott's fabulous Grand Chateau (above, left) you get 5-star luxury for the price of the cheap seats.

Here's a roundup of other cash-grabbers (and a few great bargains) you'll find next time you go to play the slots:

• Transportation. Forget the discounted shuttle buses at the airport and take a cab. The shuttles are chaotic and run on a sporadic schedule. Why start your vacation in a frustrated snit? Around the Strip, the monorail is fun but access is poor and it only serves a limited area. Save your $5 and buy an all-day pass ($5) on the double-decker busline that shuttles up and down the Strip from Freemont Street. You'll never have to wait more than 7 or 8 minutes during the day. At night, buses run every 17 minutes, still not bad. It's the fastest, smartest way to go casino and attraction hopping.
• Shows. If you're dead set on seeing a certain show, blow the budget and purchase your tickets online well before you leave. Otherwise, see the shows that give you the best deal after you get there. You'll find the best deals at the "half-price" ticket outlets that dot the Strip.
• Restaurants. Be prepared to blow a bundle if you eat at any of the big Strip resort restaurants. Entrees start at $20 to $40 a la carte. Add in an appetizer and dessert ($8 to $20 each) and an $80 bottle of wine (that's from the low end of the wine list), and you're talking $250 to $300 for dinner for two. Fortunately you can find less expensive options at restaurants along the Strip and on side streets. Aren't you glad your timeshare has a kitchen? If you eat breakfast and lunch at home, you can rationalize blowing big bucks at a fancy dinner at the Bellagio.

They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas --that applies to your money too!

Odds and Ends: Interesting Travel Tidbits

I've come across some interesting bits of information here and there I'd like to share with you, so today Timeshare Giant debuts an occasional feature we'll call Odds and Ends. You're sure to find some tidbit that will make your next timeshare vacation more enjoyable.

• Getting around Chicago just got a little easier. Chicago has published a free guide for visitors with disabilities. Easy Access Chicago offers basic info on getting around popular city attractions such as Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Wrigley Field and the Sears Tower. Order by calling 1-800-226-6632 or online at http://www.enjoyillinois.com/. You can also download the complete guide from http://www.easyaccesschicago.org/.


• One-stop shopping for travelers is the concept behind Flight 001 (pronounced Flight One). Designed to resemble the curved interior of an airline cabin, the unique stores are packed with everything the harried traveler needs: travel guides, beach towels, sleep masks, neck rests, ear plugs and travel-sized containers of almost anything you've ever put in a suitcase. You'll also find chic, colorful luggage, passport holders and luggage tags. Look for the stores in Berkeley, California; Chicago; Los Angeles; San Francisco; two in Brooklyn, NY; and Dubai.


• Hotel prices are headed up again; aren't you glad you own a timeshare? Hotel rates rose 7.5% in 2006 and an additional 5.7% in 2007. The price of a hotel room is expected to increase even more -- 5.6% -- in 2008! Repeat after me: "I love my timeshare!"


• Sleep tight on your flight. Some airlines are offering a new perk for first-class and business-class travelers: seats that turn into a comfy bed. The flat-bed seats recline to a completely flat 180 degrees, unlike lie-flat seats which still maintain a slight angled incline when fully lowered. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada and Cathay Pacific are among the first to offer the new luxury option. Among cash-strapped U.S. airlines, United started offering flat-bed seats in international business cabins at the end of 2007 and Delta plans to follow suit this year.

Tips for Traveling with Children

A globe-trotting UN diplomat has written a fascinating guide for parents who plan to travel to foreign lands with their children. But even parents who expect to stay closer to home will find the book packed with excellent advice and useful tips. The Rough Guide to Travel With Babies & Young Children (Rough Guides, $15.99) includes a wide variety of tips, including coping with road trips, plane travel, health concerns, entertaining kids on the road and cultural issues.

Written by UN envoy Fawzia Rasheed de Francisco who has advised 16 governments on health policy, the guide is the culmination of years spent on the road with her two young sons. She started traveling with her younger son when he was only two weeks old. Her older son had been to five continents by his first birthday.

Some of the cultural tips are fascinating:

• In India, have your children apologize profusely if they touch someone with their shoes, an especially offensive act.
• In Thailand, children are perceived to be well brought up if they make light of inconvenience.
• Patting children on the head is considered disrespectful in many parts of the world.

Even if your travel plans will keep you closer to home, you'll find plenty of useful tips for your next vacation:

• Give each child a shoebox to decorate before you leave home or after you get to your destination. At each stop on your journey, let them buy a postcard and have them write a brief memory on the back, along with the date and their age. They can put these and other trinkets they find along the way in their Travel Memory Box.
• Have each child keep a journal. They can write about things they do or see on the trip. They can also ask people they meet along the way to write a brief message. If you're in a foreign country, ask new friends to write in the local language or sign their names.
• Give each child a disposable digital camera to make a personal record of their trip.

Canadian Border Rules Tightened

Planning to visit the casinos on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls? Have the Toronto Film Festival penciled in on your calendar? Thinking of driving to Alaska this summer? If you haven't applied for a passport yet, better not put it off. It won't be long before a passport will be required for all travel to and from the U.S. This week security will get a little tighter for U.S. citizens traveling home from Canada. Starting Thursday, January 31, you'll need proof of citizenship to cross America's northern border by land or sea. Passports are already required for air travel.

Under the new law, all travelers, including children, who do not have passports must show proof of citizenship, either a birth certificate or naturalization certificate, at land and sea crossings to re-enter the U.S. from Canada. Travelers 19 and older must also show government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or state ID. Children under 19 can travel with just a proof of citizenship for the time being.

"If you don't have these documents, it's gong to slow down your border clearance," said Mike Milne of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "We won't take verbal declarations of citizenship anymore. You'll have to go into a secondary-clearance area and be asked more questions. Ultimately, a U.S. citizen will get back into the United States, but it will certainly slow down the process."

The new law ends decades of a laissez-faire border crossing policy with our northern neighbors in which oral statements were acceptable on both sides. Since the September 11 tragedy, the U.S. has been moving to tighten its borders. This is just the newest implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which regulates travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. Passports were to have been required for travel to and from Canada sometime this June, but public outcry over processing backlogs caused Congress to move that date back to June 2009. Thursday's new regulations are an interim move.

Explore the Everglades by Canoe

If you've always hankered to explore America's most famous swamp, this is the time to visit the Everglades. Unlike summer when the Everglades are sweltering, sweaty and a-buzz with mosquitoes the size of whale harpoons, in winter the swamp is not too hot, not too cold, not too humid and there's nary a mosquito in slapping distance. The conditions are perfect for a canoe or kayak trek through the primeval Ten Thousand Islands region of the Gulf Coast.

While most people visit the Everglades from the east side entrance near Miami, explorers will want to enter from Everglades City near Naples on the gulf side of the park. The small rural community of Everglades City is an active commercial and sport-fishing port and the jumping off point for most canoe and kayak excursions into the swamp. You'll find a number of full-service outfitters and a variety of guided tours available in Everglades City, including mangrove tunnels, sunset tours and moonlit paddles. A new GPS-marked paddle trail system through the Ten Thousand Islands area can lead you on a long, overnight trek from Everglades City to Goodland, but shorter day-trip routes are also available. Paddlers will also find fun and adventure cruising Collier County's new GPS-marked Paradise Coast Blueway. While you're paddling in the Everglades, watch for alligators sunning themselves, blue herons and egrets stalking fish in the shallows, and the amazing anhingas, a bird that dives and swims underwater to catch its darting, silvery prey.

After a day spent paddling through sawgrass, wandering the mangrove tunnels, exploring the cypress forest and enjoying the exotic wildlife in the swamp, head back to your luxurious timeshare in Naples on Florida's gorgeous Gulf Coast. The Charter Club Resort of Naples Bay (above, left) offers superb accommodations (right) coupled with excellent onsite amenities and a wide variety of area activities. For those who want to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Everglades more comfortably, the fabulous Naples-Caribbean Garden's Zoological Park, Rookery Bay, is located just fives miles south of Naples. And when you're not on the beach, you'll find plenty of charming boutiques and exciting eateries to explore in Naples. Click the post title to preview a complete listing of fabulous timeshares in the Naples, Florida area.

What's in Store for 2008 Vacationers

With the new year just starting, it's time to see what 2008 has in store for vacationers.

1. Passports. If you don't have one, apply now. With phase two of the new passport regulations poised to go into effect this year, backups and delays are expected. Though the government hasn't announced a date, sometime this year you'll need a passport for travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. A passport costs about $100, but remember that it's valid for 10 years -- that's just $10 a year, not a bad deal for a week on the sandy beaches of Bermuda or a close-up view of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.


2. Airfares. Fuel prices are expected to force airfares up, but there will always be deals out there. When you plan your vacation, factor in time for flight delays. The issues that caused the massive delays that plagued summer travel last year haven't gone away and aren't likely to for some time.


3. Meals. Prices at premium restaurants have been rising faster than the puff pastry used to make your appetizer. A meal for two with wine and tip tops $200 at many popular upscale restaurants. Seek out local eateries and ethnic cuisine where you can get excellent food at reasonable prices. Street vendors serve up great, cheap, local food in many cities. Better yet, when you stay at a timeshare, you can eat in your condo part of the time or fix a picnic lunch to take along when you head for the beach.


4. Transit. Cabs or sightseeing tours can take a big bite out of your travel budget. Rent a car or take public transportation. If you're staying in a big city, public transit is the way to go -- no traffic to deal with, no parking problems, no search for gas stations and you get to enjoy more of the local ambiance.


5. Accommodations. Hotel and resort prices are rising which makes timeshare vacationing particularly smart. You can enjoy superior accommodations at the world's most luxurious resorts at very affordable prices. Just take a look on Timeshare Giant to see some of the great values that are available.