Social media addicts get hotel points when they jones for recognition

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Does check-in mean more to you than a pretty girl at the front desk, fumbling with your credit card and a humble request for an upgrade? If this expression instead reminds you that you’ve been the uncontested mayor of your tiny cubicle for the past seven and a half months – and you like to travel – Topguest.com has you in mind. This new social media service seeks to score hotel points for you based on foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt and a handful of other networks.

So far, Standard Hotels is previewing Topguest. According to CNET:

Right now, there are two rewards in place: check in to all four Standard hotels in the course of a week (which involves being in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami) and earn a complimentary week’s stay at any one of them), or check in to Standard establishments ten times and receive a 25 percent reservation discount.

Okay, so the perks are a little thin right now. But, if Standard can wrangle the addicts, look for the other hotels to get on board.

Grab a book of matches before leaving the room – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

When visiting a foreign country, especially one with an unfamiliar language, grab a book of matches from the hotel where you’re staying as soon as you arrive.

If you get lost in town during your stay, and you know just a little of the language, the book of matches will be a great way to show locals where you need to go, and have them direct you to the right place.

Frustrated passenger beats up airline “employee” – breaks its screen

by Scott Carmichael on

A passenger at Bismarck airport was apparently having some issues getting a Delta Airlines check-in kiosk to accept his information.

So, instead of yelling at it, like any normal frustrated passenger would do, he beat the poor thing up.

His anger caused $15,000 in damage to the kiosk, and in addition to being taken into custody and being charged with a felony, both the airport terminal authority and Delta Airlines have barred him from any contact with them.

So, let this be a lesson to anyone that thinks the check-in kiosk does not have feelings that can be hurt – that may very well be true, but beating it up will still land you in the slammer.

%Gallery-68288%


%Gallery-13474%

%Gallery-28218%

Photo of the day (4-16-09)

by Kent Wien on

Sometimes a photo makes it into Gadling’s Photo of the Day because of what’s missing in the picture. JRodmanJr’s picture of the San Francisco international terminal void of any people is a great example. Let’s hope this shot, taken in the middle of the day, isn’t a harbinger for the future of the airline industry.

Are you a Flickr user who’d like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling’s Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

Ryanair removes the airport check-in desk

by Scott Carmichael on

By now I’m sure everyone has heard of Ryanair, the cheeky European low cost carrier. Their insanely low fares have turned them into the third largest airline in Europe.

Of course, in order to offer low fares, you need to cut a few corners. You won’t find any free pretzels on Ryanair. In fact, pretty much anything service related is either non existent, or requires an additional fee.

Their latest cost saving measure is to completely remove all airport check-in desks. That’s right – the familiar desk at the airport where a smiling airline employee would get you checked in and on your way to the gate is being replaced by the Internet.

Ryanair now expects all their passengers to check-in using the web. Of course, this would not be a huge issue if anyone could use the service, but non-EU passengers on Ryanair are unable to do a web checkin. This means that anyone without a European passport will be forced to use (and pay for) the single baggage drop desk at each Ryanair location.

We’ve finally reached a point where a super cheap ticket starts to look less and less interesting. What good is a $20 ticket when the cost of checking in at the airport and taking 2 bags with you can add an extra $80? I’ve long joked that we’ll eventually see an airline charge for using the bathroom, but now I’m convinced that we’ll actually see that happen some time this year.

(Via: The Telegraph)