Safeguard the safe – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

If the safe inside your hotel room is electronic, follow these procedures to keep your valuables even safer:

  1. Before and after entering your key code, wipe the touch keys with a damp cloth, then dry the keys.
  2. After the door is locked, firmly press all numbered keys once. This may set off a small alarm, but it will stop quickly.

Why would you do this? There have been reports that in some hotels the hotel staff was placing a powder or oil residue on the touch keys, which when lit, showed them which numbers on the safe were pressed. Wiping the keys clean and pressing them all throws potential thieves off the trail.

Bring a CB radio – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

CB radios used to be all the rage, and a trip across country would demand one.

While CB radios are no longer en vogue, they are still a heck of a lot of fun — and a great source of back-up if you’re in trouble. Bringing a CB radio can help with many road trip problems: staying awake, fun for the kids, and even getting directions.

The best part is, CB radios are not very expensive and are very easy to install. If you’re not sold on them right away, you can choose permanent or temporary installation and see if it suits your needs.

Check historical on-time ratings – Airlines tip

by Gadling Staff on

The uncertainty of flight delays can be nerve-wracking. Will you make that 40 minute layover… or will you be stuck in Newark for half the day? An alchemy of time of day, current weather, and the airports involved determine your fate.

You can obsessively check, but can’t really predict, weather. The other factors, however, are a little easier to figure out ahead of time. Sites like the well-regarded FlightStats.com offer historical on-time performance for most routes. Punch in your flight info, and you’ll be rewarded with average delays and details on past performance.

Maybe, now, you can relax.

Maybe.

Ask and ye shall receive… beer glasses – Souvenir tip

by Gadling Staff on

I enjoy collecting beer glasses for national brews that I sample when traveling, but tracking down stores that sell the glasses is time-consuming and logistically difficult, if not impossible.

However, on a recent trip to Slovenia, while enjoying a locally-brewed Lasko Pivo, I asked my bartender where I might be able to buy a glass featuring the logo. After hearing about my collection, the pub owner offered to give me two glasses of his own.

Now I ask all my bartenders the same question — more often than not, they are happy to help me build my collection, at no charge.

Share postcards from YOUR hometown – International travel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Whenever I travel overseas, I always pack a stack of postcards from North Carolina and my hometown, Asheville, located in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains.

The postcards show beautiful scenery, and they pinpoint a location some non-Americans might be unfamiliar with. By sharing my postcards, anyone can start a generic conversation (e.g., “This is where I live…”) and go from there.

Bonus: by giving someone a postcard, it becomes a souvenir from our meeting. Add your contact info on the back, and you can always stay connected.