7 Days; 7 Travel Stories

1. Only For the Rich and Famous

Several concierge services designed for affluent travelers and celebrities have entered the realm of travel-help services. They”ll help with everything from personal shopping to booking vacation packages to chartering private jets and yachts on short notice. Among the newbies: http://www.nasbras.com/, http://www.playboypassport.com/ and http://www.stuffviptravel.com/. Playboy Passport, for example, provides a 24-hour luxury lifestyle management service that costs $10,000 a year and is open to 1,000 members by invitation only. TW

2. Stay Here

Three dozen hotels in NYC are participating in the city tourist board’s new Sunday Stays promotion, offering travelers rate cuts and more. One hotel is giving 25% off its best available rate on Sundays, an upgrade and free parking. Another is slashing rates 20%, upgrading and offering a welcome cocktail. Go to www.nycvisit.com/nycsundaystays.com to learn more. USA Today

3. Carbonaters

The British are the world's worst offenders when it comes to carbon emissions from air travel, according to a new market research survey. The survey covered 20 countries. The carbon emissions count per adult: 603kg per year. Ireland placed third at 434kg, followed by the US with 275kg. India’s foot print was just 200kg per adult, while China was at 500kg. Herald Sun, Australia

4. India Report

Online travel companies such as Yatra.com and Cleartrip.com are turning the clock backwards and opening retail outlets. Yatra is planning to reach out to around 22 cities by end-2008 with outlets in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore to start. Reasons for diversifying: the Marketing Head of Yatra.com, said: “In some services like booking a holiday package customers prefer a face-to-face interaction as they need to know the exact details of their product.” “It also adds credibility to the brand as the customers have the assurance that they can approach us in case of any queries,” he added.

Another reason for going in for physical stores is slow penetration of broadband and Internet facilities in the country, say experts from both companies. To tackle the issue, Cleartrip has started kiosks in five Big Bazaars in Mumbai as part of a tie-up with the Kishore Biyani-owned Future Group. The customers can make bookings for their air tickets, holiday packages and other offerings and also have the option to pay through extended monthly installments with Future Money providing finances for the same. sify.com

5. Japan Report

More opportunities are being created for pet owners to travel with that special member of the family. Nationwide, a number of hotels and ryokan-style inns have been allowing their guests to bring their dogs, cats and other animals, while an increasing number of public transit districts are letting the pets aboard. Yatsugatake Wan Wan Paradaisu in Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, operates 40 cottages in which guests may stay with their dogs. A 5,000-square-meter dog run, where canines can run freely, is located in the nearby woods. The facility opened in April 2001, and has welcomed about 15,000 people every year. Medium and large dogs can stay for 2,000 yen per night.

Travel agency JTB Corp. deals with hotels and ryokan at which guests with small animals can stay. A JTB spokesperson said pet owners tend to take such trips not for themselves, but for their animals. Inatori Tokai Hotel Yuen in Higashi-Izucho, Shizuoka Prefecture, is equipped with hot springs specially made for dogs, allowing visitors to soak their pets in a hot spring bath. The room rate for small dogs is 4,200 yen.

Transportation companies are also offering services for pets and their owners. Japan Airlines has launched the "Petto to Odekake Sabisu" (Out and about with your pet) program. The airline transports caged pets in an air-conditioned cargo compartment. It costs 3,000 yen per carrier for a flight between Tokyo and Osaka. With All Nippon Airways' "Petto Rakunori Sabisu" (Easy-riding pet service) program, customers can not only fly with ANA, but also use a pet-friendly car rental service in Hokkaido or Okinawa prefectures.

The Japan Railway group also sells pet tickets for 270 yen. Passengers can travel with their pets in a carrier up to a designated size. The total weight of the cage and animal must be no more than 10 kilograms. The Yomiuri Shimbun

6. Hotel Gossip

Airlines aren't the only travel suppliers that overbook. Hotels do it too. And unlike with airlines, travelers overbooked by a hotel do not enjoy specific protection under federal law. Hotels overbook for the same reason airlines do: to compensate for the inevitable number of travelers who fail to show up for one reason or another, or those who check out early. The problem arises when a hotel miscalculates the availability of rooms for the time of your reservation. Normally, in an overbooking, the hotel tries to fix the problem on the spot: If a hotel has rooms but in a different price or location category than specified in your reservation, normal practice is to upgrade you to a bigger and/or better room, where available.

If only a lesser room is available, the hotel should offer you the lesser room plus some sort of price adjustment or other compensation and agree to move you to the original category of room as quickly as possible. If a hotel is totally sold out in all room categories, normal practice is to "walk" you to another hotel of "equal or better" quality and pick up the cost of your first night there. San Francisco Chronicle

7. New Growth Sector

Tourists seeking a different kind of travel experience are turning to farms and ranches. Agriculture tourism is becoming big business in states such as Colorado where visitors come to experience a cattle round-up or sample local wines and food. ASTA/Denver Rocky Mountain News

Rich’s Weekend Reader is published by AndTyler222 Communications. All rights reserved. Information from various sources and mostly rewritten. andtyler222@verizon.net