Travelers looking to save costs have long sought out the best time to buy airfare, the best way to maximize points, how to find the best credit cards, use the best apps and even make the most of a hotel stay.
But while hidden fees can derail a trip’s budget, so too can deceptively cheap rates. Travelers who book on a budget airline may be surprised to find the savings can be marginal — even nonexistent.
While much of the world is on royal baby watch, there’s a new arrival in the travel world to get excited about. Arthur Frommer has just announced via the New York TImes that he will again publish guidebooks under a new name, FrommerMedia. The guides will be distributed and marketed through Publishers Group West of Perseus Books Group starting in October. He will also launch a new series called “Easy Guides,” in response to the too-lengthy printed tomes that can’t compete with quick (and free) apps and online content. Mr. Frommer and his daughter Pauline will head up the new company and expect to have 80 titles by 2014.
The Frommer’s brand was sold to Google last year and the print books were to be discontinued, causing many fans to mourn the loss of an iconic brand. Mr. Frommer bought back his name in April and announced he would publish books again, while the old content remains with Google.
Thirty-one-year-old heartthrob Cory Monteith of “Glee” was found dead at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, Canada over the weekend. Sadly, this isn’t the first time a celebrity spent his or her final hours in a hotel. Here’s a look at some other hotels made famous by celebrity deaths.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida
Anna Nicole Smith was found dead at the age of 39 in room 607. Coroners ruled her death resulted from “combined drug intoxication,” but no illegal drugs were found in her system.
Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, California
John Belushi was found dead at the age of 33 in Bungalow 3 of this Sunset Boulevard hotel, shortly after being visited separately by friends Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. The comedian, actor and musician’s death was ruled a drug overdose.
Stamford Plaza Hotel in Sydney, Hotel
INXS singer Michael Hutchence was 37 when he was found dead in room 524 of this Australian hotel, which was then a Ritz-Carlton. Despite the fact that a coroner ruled his death a suicide by erotic asphyxiation, fans and relatives consider his death accidental.
Hotel Chelsea in New York, New York
Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of the Sex Pistols’ front man Sid Vicious, was found stabbed to death under the sink in the bathroom of the couple’s hotel room at Hotel Chelsea. Four months after her death, Vicious, who was out on bail, was found dead of an overdose.
Ritz Hôtel in Paris, France
Style icon Coco Chanel died peacefully in her sleep at this Paris hotel at the age of 87. Chanel is credited with inventing the “little black dress,” as well as Chanel No. 5 perfume, the most famous fragrance ever made.
Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California
Singer Whitney Houston was found submerged in a bathtub at the age of 48 in Suite 434. Her death was ruled an accident due to “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.”
Highland Gardens Hotel in Los Angeles, California
After failing to show up to a recording session, musician Janis Joplin was found dead at age 27 in room 105 of this property, which at the time was called the Landmark Hotel. Her death was ruled a heroin overdose.
Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand
In 2009, David Carradine — a martial artist and actor most known for his role as Bill in “Kill Bill” — was found strangled to death in the closet in this luxury hotel. Carradine, who was making a film in Bangkok, was found with a rope around his neck and another around his genitals. It’s believed his death was an accident.
After arriving at the airport, would you be willing to drop your travel plans to head somewhere else? Heineken is daring travelers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to do just that.
At the push of a button, travelers could be whisked away to Bali instead of Branson. Sure, it’s just an advertising ploy to promote Heineken Dropped, a YouTube series that has the beer company sending travelers to random destinations, but it got us thinking about the pros and cons of spontaneous travel. It’d be fun to discover somewhere unexpected — like the man above, who is being sent to the island of Cyprus instead of going on a six-week vacation with his grandparents to Vienna, Austria — but what if you packed completely wrong for the trip?
If you want to read more stories about spontaneous travel, AFAR magazine’s Spin the Globe feature sends writers to randomly chosen destinations. Here’s some recent features from Gadling contributors Don George and David Farley.
[via Adweek.com]
Not content with putting its mark on buildings and train cars, a gang has allegedly taken things to a higher level by tagging a $2.3 million jet. The graffiti artists snuck into Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles to scrawl the words “R.I.P.” and “flame” across a Learjet Model 60.
It’s estimated the jet’s owners will have to pony up $110,000 to fix the plane. The FBI and Los Angeles police are investigating how the secure area was breached, with authorities believing the tags may be “gang related and gang initiated.”
“This is a big deal to me, to have somebody who could get onto the airfield and who could do that kind of damage, that kind extensive graffiti to an aircraft, and not be seen,” Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon tells the Aviation Writer. “I’m not happy about it.”
[via news.com.au]