Veterans thanked with free bed and breakfast stays

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you’ve served your country, there’s a bed and breakfast waiting to serve you.

Many B&Bs already give military discounts of 10 percent to 20 percent, but a Shinnston, West Virginia innkeeper is about to up the ante. Kathleen Panek has gotten more than 525 inns in 48 states (and two in Canada) on board with her plan give rooms away to active and retired service members on November 10, 2010, the night before Veterans Day.

Panek got the idea two years ago, and started with her own inn, Gillum House. Last year, it spread to a total of 10 in West Virginia, and this year, it has obviously surged.

Part of the reason for the success is that Panek has kept her expectations reasonable. USA Today reports:

Since most B&Bs are small, “we only ask inns to give one room,” Panek says, and about 25%-30% of participating establishments – including all those in Georgia, Missouri, Washington and several other states – are already full. But, she adds, “we’re getting new places signing up every day.”

Do you plan to do anything for Veterans Day? Leave a comment, and let us know!

[photo by Beverly & Pack via Flickr]

Go inside the CIA with the Smithsonian’s newest Resident Associates Program

by McLean Robbins on

Ever dreamed of being a spy? In today’s increasingly covert operations-governed world, agencies like the CIA are playing a key role in major international events.

The latest offering from the Smithsonian Resident Associates Program is showcasing a six-course series about how the Central Intelligence Agency carries out its principal missions of collecting, analyzing, and protecting secrets and helping inform and implement foreign policy.

Classes will explore the myths portrayed in novels, movies and academia, examine how CIA directors interact with the President, how different types of espionage operations are run, examine different spy technologies and discuss the complex world of moles and double agents.

Instructors include CIA experts, General Michael Hayden, the 18th director of the CIA and the official CIA historian. The class is $120 for general admission and $84 for Smithsonian members and begins October 5.

Can’t stay in town that long? We’d recommend visiting the International Spy Museum in Chinatown, where, for $20, you can learn about many of the same subjects in a fun, game-like environment. It’s perfect for families, too.

Washington, DC tour guides lose right to be wrong

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The right to an accurate tour is conspicuously absent from the Bill of Rights – unlike the freedom to run your mouth endlessly. For this reason, tour guides are fighting new regulations intended to ensure that visitors to our nation’s capital get the correct info. Tour guides will have to pass a 100-question, multiple choice exam that includes questions about Washington, DC‘s architecture, history and more.

Of course, some tour guides are pretty ripped about this.

Segs in the City, Segway tour company, claims that the exam infringes on their right to free speech. The company’s owners, Bill Main and Tonia Edwards, have filed a federal lawsuit to stomp out the new regs.

Airlines provide change fee relief because of Hurricane Earl

by Tom Johansmeyer on

As Hurricane Earl works its way up the east coast, airlines are letting passengers take one item off their lists of concerns. Delta has announced that passengers affected by the storm can make one-time changes to their plans without incurring any fees. This applies to flights scheduled for today and tomorrow and covers more than 20 airports in the eastern United States, including the New York area, Washington, Boston and Baltimore.

AirTran Airways has gotten in on this concept, as well, with passengers hitting a number of airports, including San Juan, Puerto Rico, being able to change their plans without paying extra. It only works for flights taking off by Saturday.

[Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr]

Five basic facts about the hotel market, especially in New York

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Big-city hoteliers will be happier sooner than their small-time counterparts. It looks like demand for rooms in smaller cities is going to take longer to come back, with rate increases unlikely, it seems until next summer. The New York market has already shown a solid recovery, thanks to the corporate cards that keep road warriors away from home. For the little guys, though, the future isn’t as bright … at least, it won’t be until almost a year from now.

According to a study by Smith Travel Research, here are five interesting (and important) facts about the U.S. hotel market:

1. Flat occupancy: Small-town and highway hotels stayed basically flat for the first half of 2010, at 49 percent. Meanwhile, metro markets – like New York, Chicago and Washington, DC – pushed from 61 percent for the first half of 2009 to 65 percent for the same period in 2010.

2. Follow the money: Major hotel companies, including Marriott and Wyndham, have demonstrated that the cities have been kinder to them financially. The cash is coming from bigger city properties.
3. New York is crucial: Rates have been on the rise since March in New York, after the city experienced drops for almost a year and a half. This has been buoyed by business travel, which is where the real money is.

4. New York’s occupancy is 50 percent higher than the United States: While the overall U.S. occupancy rate reached only 56 percent for the first half of 2010, the city attained a level of 79 percent. Again, business travelers have contributed heavily to this trend.

5. Hotel rates dropped, except in New York: Excluding New York, U.S. hotel rates fell, on average, 2.7 percent (2 percent when you include New York). New York, which accounts for a mere 1.9 percent of room supply in the United States, it’s responsible for close to 6 percent of revenue.

According to USA Today:

“New York City is skewing the numbers,” David Loeb, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee tells Bloomberg. “Urban and suburban markets are doing the best while the others are recovering more slowly.”

[photo by Francisco Diez via Flickr]