Washington, D.C. hotel booking tips for the Oct. 30 rally

by Amy Chen on

Like thousands of people who are either fans of Jon Stewart and/or Stephen Colbert, I’ll be D.C.-bound for the Oct. 30 rally. And like so many travelers, I intend to keep costs low for the spontaneous trip. Or at least I’ll try to.

Here are 3 strategies to help you (and me) stay on a budget:

Tip #1: Cash in any frequent-flyer points, hotel loyalty points, or other rewards that you’ve accrued.

The day after Stewart announced the rally, I checked the meager balance of my Starwood Preferred Guest account and was thrilled to see that I had actually earned a free night from a previous promotion. (Spending two nights at the Element Hotel near Houston earlier this summer had qualified me for a free weekend night.) I was skeptical about my chances of redeeming the points but called the 800 number anyway. I could hardly believe it when I found out that yes, I could redeem the points and better yet, I had enough to nab one of the last rooms at the W Hotel (the going rate at the time about $300; that hotel has since sold out).

Tip #2: Check B&Bs, but expect a two-night minimum.

Before I could crow too loudly about my free night, I learned that the rally would start at noon. My plan to take an early Amtrak train down to D.C. was derailed when I saw that all the morning train tickets from New York City had sold out. The only tickets left meant that I would arrive at Union Station well after the rally started.

Because I’d dawdled when it came to booking, I’m now forced to head down on Friday night and pay for an extra night’s hotel. And that’s when I ended up with the same problem that many travelers are facing: many D.C. hotels in convenient locations are already sold out, or the only remaining rooms are well over $300 per night. So much for traveling on a budget.

I did manage to find some $150 rooms at www.bedandbreakfast.com, but was disappointed to see that many required a minimum stay of two nights. I wasn’t about to cancel my existing hotel reservation in order to book two nights at a B&B… which leads me to Tip #3.

Tip #3: Book prepaid, non-refundable hotels.

Though I try to avoid booking non-refundable rates, this event is one of the few times where I figure that the prepaid rate is worth the gamble. My total price at the Westin Washington D.C. — $185 with taxes — is definitely not the cheapest rate out there, but it’s close enough to the action that it’ll do.

Other tips & strategies:
1. Alexandria, Va., is a 25-minute Metro ride away.

2. Check www.busjunction.com for affordable bus tickets to D.C. For travel on Friday, Oct. 29, I found one-way BoltBus tickets from New York’s Penn Station to D.C.’s Union Station for $23, which includes free Wi-Fi. I wish I could say the same about Amtrak.

3. After reserving my hotel, I checked in with the Washington, D.C. tourism board for other booking tips. I was reminded that Oct. 31 is the Marine Corps Marathon so hotels in Arlington will likely be busy.

4. There’s always Priceline, Hotwire, Craigslist — or crashing on someone’s couch.

Have you found a great D.C. hotel deal that’s valid for the Oct. 30 rally? Feel free to brag.

[Photo by Amy Chen]

Celebrate National Public Lands Day with free entry to national parks

by Kraig Becker on

Today is National Public Lands Day, which has been set aside to celebrate service and recreation on public lands across the U.S. In recognition of the day, there are a number of volunteer projects taking place throughout the country to help protect and clean up our public spaces and ensure that they remain a viable natural resource that we can all enjoy well into the future.

Some of the projects that are being conducted today include trail and bridge building, trash removal, tree planting, and much much more. With more than 150,000 volunteers expected to take part at over 2000 different sites across the nation, National Public Lands Day is one of the largest volunteer efforts in the U.S. Last year it is estimated that the volunteers removed more than 900,000 pounds of trash, built and maintained over 1300 miles of trail, and planted more than 100,000 trees. Impressive numbers to say the least.

Additionally, the National Park Service has declared today a “fee free” day in conjunction with NPLD. More than 100 parks and monuments will have free admission today in celebration of the event. Such iconic parks as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Acadia are all waiving their entry fees for visitors. To see a complete list of other parks that are also free click here.

Here in the U.S. we are fortunate enough to have some of the most spectacular landscapes fall into the category of “public lands.” Whether you’re one of the volunteers helping to preserve those places or simply headed out to appreciate them, today is an excellent day to reflect on those wild spaces. To find volunteer opportunities in your area go to the NPLD website.

Hotel kicks out British couple after they allegedly write negative review on TripAdvisor

by Aaron Hotfelder on

A lesson to all the amateur hotel reviewers out there: wait until you get home to slam the place where you’ve just stayed.

A vacationing British couple learned this the hard way when the manager of their hotel called the police to ask the couple to leave after the couple allegedly wrote a negative review of the hotel on TripAdvisor. Adrian Healey and his girlfriend had been staying at the Golden Beach Hotel in the English town of Blackpool for two days when the hotel’s manager allegedly barged into their room, accused them of slamming the hotel on TripAdvisor, and told them to leave. The police showed up shortly after.

“We asked for a refund but the hotel refused,” said Healey. “I think it is shocking and people need to know about this.”

“No offence had been committed by the couple, but the manager had requested them to leave the property,” according to the police. “We advised the couple how to go about getting a refund. This is a civil matter.”

Unsurprisingly, the hotel’s reviews on TripAdvisor are, shall we say, “mixed.” Don’t expect them to get any better after this episode.

More here.

[Image Credit: MyBlackpoolHotels.com]

March on Washington with Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert

by McLean Robbins on

Miss the Glenn Beck / Sarah Palin rally in DC a few weeks back? Here’s your chance to march on Washington – with a significantly more fun crowd. Last week, Jon Stewart began spreading the word that he planned to hold the “Rally to Restore Sanity” in Washington, D.C. on October 30th with “all reasonable people welcome.”

“Think of our event as Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement; the Million Man March, only a lot smaller, and a bit less of a sausage fest; or the Gathering of the Juggalos, but instead of throwing our feces at Tila Tequila, we’ll be actively *not* throwing our feces at Tila Tequila,” said Stewart.

“Join us in the shadow of the Washington Monument. And bring your indoor voice. Or don’t. If you’d rather stay home, go to work, or drive your kids to soccer practice… Actually, please come anyway. Ask the sitter if she can stay a few extra hours, just this once. We’ll make it worth your while.”

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” will be in Washington, DC to broadcast “When Grizzlies Attack: The Daily Show Midterm Teapartyganza,” a week of shows as part of its ongoing “Indecision 2010” coverage of the fiercely contested midterm elections. The special episodes will feature news and analysis on heated races across the country from host Jon Stewart as well as reports from “The Daily Show” News Team.

Never one to be outdone, comedian Stephen Colbert announced that he will also be in the city on October 30 to host an opposition rally, aptly titled the “March to Keep Fear Alive.”

“America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man, was built on three bedrock principles: Freedom. Liberty. And Fear – that someone might take our Freedom and Liberty. But now, there are dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our Fear – forces with salt and pepper hair and way more Emmys than they need,” said Colbert.

“They want to replace our Fear with reason. But never forget – “Reason” is just one letter away from “Treason.” Coincidence? Reasonable people would say it is, but America can’t afford to take that chance.”

In preparation, Gadling will be posting away in the next few weeks with new content about this hotbed of political activism, including guides to the best places to visit, sleep, dine, and of course, get your fill of blue coats and red power ties.

Controversy over Condé Nast Traveler’s World Savers Awards

by Sean McLachlan on

The popular magazine Condé Nast Traveler hosts the annual World Savers Awards to recognize the efforts of hotels, airlines, tour and cruise companies that give something back through their environmental or social programs. But one recipient of the 2010 award is attracting controversy over its actions.

Wilderness Safaris won this year’s award in the Health Initiatives category for its HIV/AIDS program, which includes the construction of clinics in South Africa, Zambia, and Malawi. Now Survival International, which supports the rights of indigenous peoples, says Wilderness Safaris falls short of its image as positive force in the community.

It points to its new luxury lodge, the Kalahari Plains Camp, set on the traditional lands of the Bushmen in Botswana. The lodge boasts a bar and swimming pool while the Bushmen have to walk for miles to get water. The local people used to have a well, but the government capped it when it kicked the Bushmen off the land in 2002. Survival International and the Bushmen went to court and won the right for the Bushmen to return to their lands, but the government still won’t allow them to reopen the well.

Wilderness Safaris says providing water isn’t their responsibility, but Survival International points out that they constructed a well near one of their resorts in Zimbabwe in order to attract more wildlife.

How much responsibility does a resort have to the local community? Tell us what you think in the comments section.

[Photo courtesy Ian Beatty]