How Many Days Can You Stay In Cities Around The World For $100?

by Jessica Festa on

Have you ever wanted to know where to go to really stretch your $100 as far as possible? To help you choose the most budget-friendly destination for your next trip, Tripomatic has put together a useful infographic.

The informational photo covers 42 of the world’s most-visited cities. You’ll see average prices of accommodation, food, transportation and attractions, and how many days your $100 can get you at each destination. Some interesting findings include:

  • For the price of one night in New York City, you can stay seven nights in Kuala Lumpur.
  • A soda in Rome costs the same as a nice dinner in Bangkok.
  • The cheapest popular destination is Goa, with beds for $2.69, food and transport coming to $7.64 per day and free museums.

If you’re having trouble viewing the infographic, click here.




[Image above via 401(K)2012; Infographic via Tripomatic]

2012 Labor Day Travel Trends

by McLean Robbins on

Labor Day is just around the corner, and new data from KAYAK shows just where travelers are searching.

If you’re planning a flight, Las Vegas, New York and Chicago are the top flight search destinations for Labor Day. Average clicked fares for travel to these destinations for the holiday weekend were $291, $300 and $254, respectively.

Of course, you’ll save money if you travel after the holiday weekend – 8 to 10% on average.
People may be flying to Chicago, but they’re staying in Atlanta. Las Vegas, New York, and Atlanta are the popular U.S. hotel destinations by absolute search share rank with hotels coming in at $183.74, $275.63 and $204.21, respectively.

What’s in the ATL? Atlanta search share increased 54% YoY, perhaps due to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Atlantic City ($276.97) and Myrtle Beach ($136.73) hotel search shares increased 49% and 41%, respectively.

Internationally, it’s all about Ireland. Dublin is the top trending destination YoY, likely because of the Notre Dame v. Navy football game on Sept. 1 in Dublin – flight searches surged 246% compared to last year. Will you be cheering on the midshipmen or the Fighting Irish?

London, Dublin, and Paris are the most popular flight search destinations for Labor Day weekend in Europe with average prices of $1071.24, $1355.32 and $1,200.03, respectively.

Within the Caribbean and Central America, San Jose CR, Panama City and Belize City are the most popular flight search destinations. Belize City saw a 50% YoY increase in search share.

So, now that you have that data in hand, where will you be traveling this Labor Day?

[Flickr via Moyan_Brenn]

‘Road Warriors’ Stay Connected While Traveling

by McLean Robbins on

Today’s business traveler carries between three and four mobile devices with them while on the road, states data from a new survey from Four Points by Sheraton. This Starwood Hotels and resorts brand surveyed 6,000 global business travelers to find what devices they are most likely to use while traveling – and what hotels can best do to help these tech-savvy travelers.

Business travelers are “connecting” to friends and colleagues while on the road more than ever, with 55% saying that they travel with three to four devices. Brazilian travelers are the heaviest packers, with 27% saying they travel with more than five devices at one time. We’re not even sure how one gets to that many tech items, unless you’re traveling with multiple telephones. Germans were the least device-dependent, with 33% reporting they travel with only one or two items.

Smartphones #1
Not surprisingly, smartphones (74%) are the number-one device used by travelers, although tablets (65%), music players (43%) and laptops (32%) are also popular. Chinese respondents were the only group to bump laptops out of the top four, in favor of cameras (30%).

Business travelers are also glued to those smartphones. After landing, the majority (54%) turn on their smartphone while the plane is still taxiing on the tarmac, while 12% admit to never turning it off in the first place. The remaining respondents wait until they’re in the terminal or settle into their taxi/car (17% each).

Given our tech-obsessed society, some of these stats may seem mainstream, but checking their smartphone is also the first thing respondents do when they wake up in their hotel (36%). Only 19% turn on the TV first and 18% take a shower. Checking Facebook (12%) ranks fourth, while checking Twitter and calling home share a distant fifth (7%).Business Travelers Prefer Tablets
Tablets are quickly gaining market share among business travelers, with 68% of respondents saying they use their tablet more often than their laptop, and accordingly a similar number (69%), if told they could take only one of the two on the road, would choose to travel with their tablet.

This is in line with the business goals of travelers – many use mobile devices to keep up with email (90%), although many use devices for Internet browsing and social media (75%). Keeping up with the office is important too, but less so – only 73% of respondents cited this as important. Either these travelers still prefer books or they aren’t reading for pleasure – only 43% use mobile devices to read.

Business Centers Still Rule
In addition to all their hand-held technology, the majority of respondents report that they have visited a hotel business center (66%). They mostly do so to print business items (93%). They are also inclined to use the business center to print personal items (87%), check social networking (87%) and check email (86%).

What do you think? How many devices do you travel with, and which do you use most frequently?

[Flickr via magerleagues]

More US Hotels Are Now Charging For Internet: The Good News? Breakfast Is Often Free

by McLean Robbins on

Free breakfast? Fairly likely. Free Internet? Less so, states a new survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and STR.

The biennial survey shows that 23% of U.S. properties among a sample group of more than 12,000 charge for in-room Internet, up 8 percentage points from 2008. Luxury properties are most likely to charge for the service (84%), while no “midscale” properties charged for Internet. It’s a fairly steep decline as one moves down the price scale, with 76% of upper upscale properties charging, compared to 26% of upper midscale and 18% of upscale hotels charging.

Along with this rise shows a jump in charges for fitness facilities – one in four hotels charge for these facilities, up from just over one in five in 2010.

Hotels are, however, more likely to offer free breakfast (79%), although an article from Business Travel News suggests that this shift is likely due to the re-organization of hotel type participating in the survey, writing that “[n]early all mid-tier hotels – 95% of upper midscale and 97% of midscale – offer free breakfast, as do about half of U.S. upscale hotels.”

The survey also shows that despite the increased push for hotels to become more tech-savvy, many developments, such as mobile check-in and use of mobile devices for room keys have had little adoption, at 3% and 1% respectively.

Lobby check-in kiosks are also becoming a thing of the past. Now only 7% of hotels use them, compared with 28% in 2008.

[Flickr via mrkathika]

The Perks Of Traveling Alone

by Chris Owen on

Traveling single over the last couple months has opened my eyes to the needs of the solo traveler. Stepping into that role, not by choice really but due to scheduling conflicts, I found myself alone. While a couple of months is nothing compared to a lifetime of solo traveling, I got a good taste for what’s different in the world of traveling single. It’s not all bad.

You are not sharing a room
You can put your stuff wherever you want to. For some, that might mean dropping their clothes on the floor as they fall off at the end of a long day on the road. Initially. Once the thrill of it all is over (in about 12 seconds for me: thanks mom for ruining it), I get an overwhelming desire to have everything neat and tidy. Not so much because of a need to be organized but because that messy +1 is not along for the ride. Undoubtedly, he/she/it would disorganize the mission, effectively sabotaging it.

Scheduling
You are on no one’s schedule but your own. Stay up later or go to bed earlier if you want to. There is no need to remember that other person’s dietary requirements or likes/dislikes about pretty much anything.

On your own temporarily, you might want to reconsider taking photos showing you at that place not everyone needs to know about. Amsterdam comes to mind.Healthy Choices
You don’t have to make the healthy choice when dining. You probably will but if a few off-track indulgences won’t make big a difference in your healthy lifestyle plan, now would be the time to do it with no guilt trip, actual or perceived, from anyone. Skip a normal exercise routine though and you’ll pay for it later.

On the other hand, if that absent traveling companion has a way of bringing out the worst in you, this is a good thing.

The down side: you also don’t have that extra person to share in expenses. There is no one to split cab fare with or help navigate in an unfamiliar part of the world. Hotels can be more expensive on a per-person basis while traveling solo. Cruise lines typically price everything as double occupancy, so solo travelers pay double too.

Still, there’s a bit of joy in traveling solo that is undeniable – but just a bit. Sharing travel experiences makes for rich memories, full of detail that can be recalled years from now. Social sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, HipGeo and more is one thing. Sharing with a friend is quite another.


[Flickr photo by JonoMueller]