Work for a company that will only reimburse coach fares? Book a full-fare economy class ticket with a Y booking code.
Commonly referred to as “Y-up” tickets, travelers with a Y booking code may request complimentary upgrade to first class seating. Airlines created the Y booking code to get around tighter corporate travel policies, while still catering to their most lucrative passenger segment.
Most hotels now use keycards to unlock room doors (instead of keys). Some hotels suggest you return the keycard after your stay, or leave it in your hotel room.
However, you don’t have to do either of these things. Hotel keycards are deactivated as soon as your stay is complete, and you are free to take them if you wish.
Keycards can provide a fun memory of the hotels you’ve stayed in, and you can even show off your growing pile to admiring friends and family members.
Tourist attractions are peppered with refreshment stands where visitors quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger. These stands also present a wonderful opportunity to grab cheap souvenirs.
The majority of tourist attractions offer their goods in reusable cups and containers. These reusable cups and containers can be purchased in most cases for a nominal cost above the cost of the item you’re already purchasing.
Souvenirs like this are great for kids (and for adults). You can buy a frozen drink in a reusable cup, or cotton candy in a reusable bucket, and you have an instant, affordable memento of your trip. Every time you use that cup in the future, you’ll think about the great trip you had!
Dining out during vacation is an experience you want to remember — just like sightseeing! after all, with only a little work, you’ll get to try something that’s a specialty for that region.
My mouth still waters when I review the pictures of the ahi poke I had from Hawaii, barramundi fish in Australia, and the poisson cru in Tahiti. So go ahead and take a photo (or two… or ten!) of the lovely presentation. No need to be embarrassed as taking a picture of the food is a high compliment to the chef.
If you’re a big fan of Return of the Native or Jude the Obscure, there’s a travel package that’s perfect for you. Built around the chance to hang with Thomas Hardy’s ghost – or, should we say, Thomas Hardy in ghost form? – Summer Lodge Country House Hotel is bringing four writers under its roof for a unique weekend of literary bliss. Guests will be able to learn how to make it as a writer from some heavy hitters, specifically Roger Collins, Marcelle Bernstein, Eric Clark and Jim O’Connor. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Hardy himself will weigh in with a few tips.
Roger Collins is an actor, broadcaster and writer, who counts his weekly International Herald Tribune column “The Frequent Traveler” among his claims to fame. Marcelle Bernstein is a novelist, nonfiction writer and journalist and has written Body & Soul and Sacred & Profane, both best sellers that later became feature films and television dramas. Eric Clark is an investigative journalist, and Jim O’Connor is an advertising copywriter who has pushed everything from forklifts to Australian rum.If you want to get in on the action, Summer Lodge’s Writers’ Weekend package includes two nights in a classic double room, a full English breakfast every day, champagne and canapés upon arrival and a three-course dinner Saturday evening. You’ll also be able to attend three writer workshop sessions over two days, sip tea and coffee during the events and receive a signed book by either Eric Clark or Marcelle Bernstein.
“Summer Lodge has close associations with Thomas Hardy,” says General Manager Charles Lötter. “He lived nearby and the hotel is at the very heart of the Wessex landscape he immortalized. The village pub, the Acorn Inn is featured in his novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles as The Sow & Acorn. What’s more, in his capacity as an architect, Hardy was asked to design the upper floor and the drawing room of Summer Lodge by the 6th Earl of Ilchester in 1893. So you could say the house is haunted by him – although I’ve yet to bump into him myself.”