Casinos offering travel deals in U.S. gambling spots

by Jamie Rhein on

Here at Gadling, Grant gave the scoop about Las Vegas’s economic woes last September. Gambling was down 16% from the previous year this past November, according to Steve Stephens, the Travel Editor for the Columbus Dispatch. The downturn has not just been in Vegas. This past week, I heard on the radio that Donald Trump’s casino company in Atlantic City is in danger of bankruptcy if the economy doesn’t pep up. With the new train service from New York City to Atlantic City, I wonder if this will help?

Along with Las Vegas, Stephens covered other casino economic troubles and how this translates to deals for travelers in his column Ticket to Write in today’s Dispatch.

Detroit’s Greektown and MotorCity Casinos are not doing as well as last year. Either are Indiana’s. This is the time to look to these places for vacation deals. At MotorCity Casino there are overnight packages that include a variety of perks like food credit and Red Wing hockey game tickets. The Detroit MGM Grande, that actually did well last year is still jumping in on the deal making. You can stay for three nights for the price of two.

Stephens also suggests is the Belterra Casino in Belterra, Indiana. There is a promotion that gives people a $100 resort card that can be used on various services ranging from golf to spa treatments on weekdays.The room rate is $100. On Friday, the room rate is $150 and on Saturdays it’s $200.

For the 55 and over crowd, more deals are to be made. Sign up for Club 55 membership at the Casino Aztar in Evansville and you’ll be able to stay for a screaming deal that range from $30 on Sundays to $69 on Fridays.

9 reasons ’09 will be the year of the “YAYcation”

by Brenda Yun on

Christopher Elliot, over at Tribune Media Services, reported how 2009 will likely be the year of the “naycation.” While Gadling’s own writer, Tom Johansmeyer, agrees to some extent that this could be the case, I hope we might be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

So, the optimist/devil’s advocate that I am, I present to you 9 reasons this will be the year of the “YAYcation.”

  1. Obama: If The Economist‘s Global Electoral College is any indication of how the world feels about Obama, then it is a logical assumption that Americans can feel more welcome abroad. With Clinton as the new Secretary of State, and Obama’s openness to relations to formerly cold countries such as Cuba, we should explore some uncharted territory.
  2. The economy: The world’s ailing economy appeared to be Elliot’s main argument for the “naycation,” but I beg to differ. If the economy is so bad, then why not invest in an affordable trip abroad? Your money will go farther abroad than staying home and paying for steep electric and phone bills.
  3. No job? Might as well travel: My cousin lost his job at Wachovia a few months ago, is now engaged to his long-time girlfriend, and is planning a year-long globetrot. WHY NOT? Take advantage of your lost job and get lost in the world for a while.
  4. Disappearing wonders of the world: It’s not just global warming that is causing the world’s beloved wonders to disappear. I think some places in this world are becoming too trodden and destroyed by human contact. The Pyramids, Taj Mahal, and Machu Picchu are just a few of the places I’ve seen that simply no longer hold the same luster as before. People populate and flood these places on a daily basis, and we need to go there — now — to see them before they are overridden by tourism.
  5. New, great places to explore: There are several new world wonders like the Kremlin in Moscow, Aya Sophia in Istanbul, and the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany that are awesome places. But what about exotic countries like Mongolia, Slovenia, and Morocco? I’m ready to explore, aren’t you?
  6. Independent women travelers: No longer are men the only ones gallivanting around the world. Nowadays, there are more and more females traveling around solo, and women are muchless daunted by traveling abroad and the economy shouldn’t have anything to do with it.
  7. Cheap flight deals: Gadling blogger Kraig Becker summarized some fabulous travel deals for the new year. There are tons of great, cheap flights around the world, and it’s not that hard to find them anymore either.
  8. The world is flat: Thomas Friedman called it when he explained how the world is flat, and I can’t agree with him more. Your friends around the world are easier to contact (by email, text, Skype, or otherwise), making it so much easier to organize a trip to visit them and sleep on their couches. Or, if you’re daring and trusting, you can couch surf with perfect strangers for free.
  9. Virtual travel just won’t cut it: I am a huge fan of vicarious travel, but there comes a time when this kind of thing just doesn’t produce the same effect. Instead of playing Halo 3, for instance, I would much prefer getting out there into the wide open world and seeing the real thing with my own two eyes.

Yet another bad -cation

by Tom Johansmeyer on

“Staycation” was shoved into our lexicons over the summer, as gas prices spiked and credit was squeezed. Now, with the cost of fuel well off its highest levels, the staycation has given way to yet a new flavor of the non-vacation variatoin: the “naycation”. I still don’t know why CNN can’t just say: “The economy sucks, and nobody can afford to drop big cash on a trip. Or, if they can, they’re too petrified to do so, because … well … the economy sucks.” Instead, they are a bit more helpful, offering nine reasons why travel is likely to be down in 2009.

Highlights:

  1. The “economy stinks” (CNN lacks my edge)
  2. Staycations were boring
  3. The deals weren’t good enough
  4. We’re looking ahead to 2010

Now, there are a few others, such as “we’re tired of being lied to.” The big one here is the price of jet fuel, which has dropped from more than $140 a barrel in August to below $50 in November. C’mon guys, why are you still spanking us with surcharges?

Even with all these other reasons, it all comes back to a precarious economy in 2009. Remember that the major layoffs of 2008, in many cases, won’t be felt until 2009, as severance packages run their courses. People with jobs are petrified, and would rather stick a few thousand dollars in the bank than in the pocket of a European hotelier.

[Via Christopher Elliott (not the one who played Cabin Boy) on CNN.com]

Woolworth’s, the famous shopping icon, is closing its doors in the U.K.

by Jamie Rhein on

“My cousin said that all the Woolworth’s in Britain are closing starting tomorrow,” my mother-in-law said today as she was driving me to run an errand outside of Cleveland where we’re visiting for a few days. “He’s very upset.”

Her cousin, who we visited a few years ago, lives in Cornwall. The economic downturn has meant curtains to this bargain shopping icon that was still making a go of it in Great Britain after the U.S. stores closed.

I remember going to the Woolworth’s in State College, Pennsylvania with my best friend when we were in the 5th grade. Those were in the days when it was considered safe for kids to ride their bicycles all over town. Our mission, mostly, was to get a Coke at the lunch counter and take our pictures in the automatic photo booth, the kind that spits out a long vertical strip of four.

When F. W. Woolworth, the company that was created in the U.S. in 1879, closed its doors in the U.S., I must have been living overseas because I only have a vague recollection of the news.

Now, that the 807 stores are closing across Great Britain starting tomorrow, including the one in the photo taken by Redvers in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, I feel a whiff of nostalgic sadness. Folks in Great Britain, according to this article posted at TwinCities.com, feel the same.

Woolworths are friendlier than mega stores like Wal-mart and Target. The lunch counters say stay awhile. The goods always seemed like just the right amount of choices. Sure, it’s great to load up a cart at a big store, but the choices can be too many, and the cart can easily be overloaded with things we really don’t need by the time we reach the checkout counter.

Woolworth’s stores seem to evoke literary themes found in novels like To Kill a Mockingbird–the small town “How de dos.” Walmart greeters sure have a lot of pressure to make us feel welcome in the rush to find a bargain. Although Grant recently wrote about London not being as expensive as a place to buy gifts as he thought it would be, the options are decreasing. Too bad.

Thanks for the memories Woolworth’s.

Advantage Rent A Car is the next victim of the crappy economy

by Scott Carmichael on

The doom and gloom stories about our economy going down the toilet are starting to depress me.

The news from Advantage Rent A Car is no different – not only have people stopped buying cars, they obviously no longer rent them either.

The chain has 49 stores in the United States, and well over 100 overseas but the decline in rentals and the lack of available credit has forced them into Chapter 11.

The press release does not mention what the fate is of their international locations, but the Advantage.com website won’t let you reserve a car at any of their locations.

Customers with a rental car reservation will be assisted by Hertz who will honor “nearly all” the pending reservations. The Advantage locations at the following airport locations will remain open for normal business: Austin, Chicago Midway, Colorado Springs, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

If you have an existing reservation with Advantage then you are advised to call 800-777-5500 or 80-777-5524 to be advised of the status of your reservation. Advantage does remind people currently using one of their rental cars that they will want them back as scheduled. The “consolidation” will affect 440 Advantage employees, I wish them the best of luck in finding a new job.