Cambridge Hyatt lures Facebook fans with free internet access

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Do you like Hyatt? Wait, let me rephrase that: do you “like” Hyatt? Not in that way … in the Facebook way.

Here’s the deal: if you like the Hyatt Regency on Cambridge on Facebook (in the manner that used to be called becoming a fan), you’ll score a night of free internet access. When you figure the $12.95 that the hotel is sacrificing, according to AllFacebook, the cost per lead is pretty low, and it’s already led to close to 400 fans.

According to AllFacebook, the Hyatt Regency Cambridge picked the right lever to pull:

Running a wireless service within a venue is ultimately a flat cost. There’s no additional cost per user, although the fixed costs of a wireless system for a hotel that sleeps 10,000 people a night will be much more expensive than for one which sleeps 100 people each night. Anyways, the interesting strategy highlights just how far companies will go to obtain “Likes” and it also illustrates an interesting strategy for attracting new fans.

Skype celebrates the World Cup with a month of free phone calls to one country

by Scott Carmichael on

Are you a Skype user? If not, you may want to sign up today, because a new promotion from this Internet phone service is giving away a free month of phone calls to one of 32 different countries. In the fine print, you’ll see that “a month” actually equals 120 minutes, but if you have someone heading abroad this summer, 120 minutes could be the difference between free or a a $100 phone bill.

The free calls can be made to landlines only, and the deal is only available to the first 100,000 people that sign up, so don’t delay! You’ll find the Skype free calls football promo here.

Watch Darth Vader record spoken directions for TomTom GPS units

by Scott Carmichael on

One of the more entertaining features of TomTom GPS units is their ability to be outfitted with different voices for spoken directions. Instead of listening to “Jill – US Female Voice”, you can be bossed around by Dora The Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and Homer Simpson.

The newest celebrities to join the lineup of available voices are from Star Wars. $12.95 gets you Darth Vader or C3PO – and in the hilarious video clip above, you’ll see “Darth Vader” in the recording studio. I’ve had a few of these voices on my own GPS unit, and while they are mildly entertaining for a couple of trips, the novelty wears off very quickly. Still, it is a fun way to make your boring GPS unit a little less dull.

EuroCheapo announces the best cheap hotels in Europe

by Annie Scott on

Today is an important day: EuroCheapo has just announced their first ever Cheapo 100 list of the best cheap hotels in Europe. If you’re a traveler on a budget and don’t know where to go, this is where you should look.

Going to Europe doesn’t have to be that expensive. Try EuroCheapo’s Flights section or find yourself a low fare by using AirFareWatchdog or another service which will send you an alert when the deal you want rolls around. Then, head straight to the Cheapo 100 and find a hotel in one of 20 cities, handpicked just for you by EuroCheapo’s editors.

“There are cheap hotels and then there are fantastic cheap hotels,” says Tom Meyers, EuroCheapo’s founder and Editor-In-Chief. “This list includes the 100 hotels and B&Bs most enthusiastically recommended by our editorial team. We have ‘hotel crushes’ on these properties and we think our readers will, too.”

To my delight, they have “hotel crushes” on hotels in cities including Vienna, Florence, Munich, Stockholm, London and even New York City (like our own Grant Martin, they like The Jane). Each city includes hotels in the categories of Super Cheapo, Best Location, Most Unique, Best Budget Style and Best B&B, Pension or Guesthouse. Quick one-liners give a little more into about each hotel, and a click will take you to EuroCheapo’s full review.

Click here to visit the Cheapo 100 and start planning your European dream vacation (for less).

[Photo by Annie Scott]

Where’s My Tip – a cashless way to tip when you travel

by Annie Scott on


Tipping when you’re traveling can be an uncomfortable situation. For example, you get to a foreign country and, exhausted, you have to get cash and get it changed into small bills or coins immediately so that you can tip whoever takes your bag when you get to the hotel. Half the time, you don’t even know what an appropriate tip is in that country (I always ask the exchange teller if I’ve forgotten to Google it), and the other half of the time you forget completely and all you have in your wallet is a $20 bill. Even on a domestic trip, having nothing but a $20 bill is a dilemma.

Where’s My Tip is a new company which aims to solve these problems. Upon joining, you get a small box of 100 cards slightly taller and less wide than business cards which say “You’ve just been tipped!” Instructions on the card direct the holder to WheresMyTip.com, where they can click “Request a Tip” and enter the unique ID number on the card.On the “Request a Tip” page, the tipped party enters their name, the email address they use for PayPal, their service and location (like … bellhop service at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island) and their tip request. Yes, the dollar amount. The screen prompt will inform them that the most commonly requested tip is $5.

After the request has been filed with your unique ID number, you will be emailed a PayPal invoice for the amount specified by the tipee. PayPal takes their cut, of course. You will also have the option to modify the amount; if they request a $400 tip, you obviously don’t have to pay it.

There are clearly some kinks to be worked out; I’m sure that the valet at a restaurant would rather the $20 bill than a card with instructions on it. Also, this won’t work in parts of the world where people aren’t hip to the PayPal thing (though that number is always shrinking). Still, this is an innovation we could see growing into, at the very least, a great backup for when you have no tipping cash on you, and maybe, one day, an alternative to carrying cash when you travel at all. Additionally, if someone, like the concierge, gives you service over and above what you have in your wallet, this is a great way to get them that $50 you’d like to give.

We recommend tipping a couple of dollars extra with these, since the tipees have to go online to get their tip.

Membership at WheresMyTip is $100 per year and comes with 100 tip cards per year. Currently, membership is by invitation only. Click here to apply for a membership.

[Photo by Annie Scott]