Airfares are dropping like a rock this week as we head into fall and winter 

Last week we expected airfares were probably going to fall. This week we have seen large drops in airfares for travel the next 5 months (notwithstanding prices around holiday travel windows). We are seeing some prices go down $75 to $150 RT to certain destinations. Flights to Europe this winter have fallen below $1000 RT as well. Let’s Go! 

I Just returned from a short trip to Glitter Gulch. Here are some observations from my Las Vegas trip:

• Five star hotel buildings have  one star service. When I arrived at the Hilton to check in after two long flights I was greeted by a check in line 45 minutes long being serviced by 3 staff who weren’t very happy to be there   I actually would prefer to stay in a clean Best Western with no lines, clean rooms, smiley faces and soft beds. 
• You can’t speak to a real person if you use the hotel phone and press the service button. The phones are answered by a digital assistant. They answer basic questions like what time is checkout but can’t help you solve any problems. 
• Always stay at the hotel where your conference is being held. Sometimes this means you will pay $50 more a night, however, the extra hassle of taking a cab to your hotel multiple times a day will eat up the $50 saving quickly. 
• Taking a cab to and from the airport to your hotel now has a flat $30 fee. In the old days the taxi ride was by the meter and the cab drivers would take unexpected first timers the long way around almost doubling your taxi fare. Years ago you could pay for your ride using cash or a credit card. When you put in your card it asked if you wanted to leave a tip and it listed the buttons 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. This trip I paid using Apple Pay and I tapped the card reader with my phone. The cheapest tip listed was 20%, then 30%, 40%, 50%, and the top tip was 60%. Wow!
• Food in Sin City is some of the best in the West. You can find any kind of cuisine from around the world. Food prices have gone crazy high. A simple beer and cheeseburger at the Hilton, with taxes and tip was $45. A can of Sprite is $8.50. 
• Speaking of food. The portion sizes at major casino restaurants are all supersized. Every meal I had could have fed three people. There is so much wasted food I actually felt guilty. Maybe I should start ordering a kids meal. 
• Cigarette smoke in Las Vegas hotels has changed to weed. I don’t smoke so I notice the slightest amount of smoke in the air. This trip that smoke smell in the casinos had changed to wacky weed. 
• A lot of Las Vegas venues don’t take cash. Only credit cards. I got pretty good tapping my Apple Pay screen on my iPhone this week. 
• I saw fewer homeless people on the streets in Las Vegas than I do in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. 
• The giant music stars that highlight the hotel theaters appear to take the summer off as most of the giant headliners start to appear in late September, October and into the winter months. 
• Las Vegas Hotels now make their money from gambling, food and beverage instead of room rates. I was shocked to learn that the cost for food and beverage (breakfast, breaks, lunch and dinner) for a hotel meeting can easily be $200 per person a day before the hotel charges the 22% service fee. This is crazy. It is more than the cost of the hotel room. If you have two people going to a convention the hotel is making $200 on the room and $400 per day on the food.
• No one talks to you in Vegas. They all look down at their phones. Almost felt like a city of zombies.
• Sadly, I attended a conference hosted by Alibaba, the giant procurement and marketing platform and looking around the room of 1000 attendees I was one of only a dozen people with gray hair. Come on baby boomers, GET ENGAGED!

Here are the three ways I spoil myself when I travel through a hub city with a long connection. 
I have my shoes shined. The shoe shine stand in Denver is amazing. 
I have a 20 minute back massage at the airport spa. 
I grab an Auntie Annie’s cinnamon and sugar pretzel. Life is good!

Venice, Italy is planning to charge a visitor fee in 2024 – As I mentioned last week it now appears this Tourist Mecca is planning to charge a $5 fee for visitors to visit their city next year. Although this is the first city in Italy and Europe to try this you can bet it won’t be the last. 

Getting a complimentary first class upgrade is almost laughable when departing an airline hub. I travel so much on United Airlines I have earned 1K status which means I spend over $15,000 per year and $18,000 next year on flights. Because of the pandemic United is just now making it more difficult to earn their top status (Global Services is one step higher than 1K). On three recent trips I found myself on an upgrade list that was 25 passengers long. The only reason I steer all my flights to United and Star Alliance airlines is for me to earn upgrades on domestic flights. If I can’t count on this benefit I think I will look at other airlines with nonstop flights and cheaper fares. I know this won’t elicit many tears from you but these little things make travel so much easier when you fly 30 flights a year. 

“Delta’s ‘Toilet Trouble’: Passenger’s In-flight ‘Biohazard’ Causes U-Turn!” In what one traveler labeled “one of the crappiest flights of all time” a Delta flight from Atlanta to Barcelona recently was forced to return to base when a passenger suffered an explosive bout of diarrhea after take-off. When explaining to passenger that the plane had to return to base the pilot said they had a biohazard event that had to be cleaned up. After a 5 hour delay and removal of the aisle carpet the flight was back on its way  I understand all Delta flights in the future will have Imodium in their first aid kits and prohibit any passengers from eating at a Mexican restaurant in the previous 12 hours

Please watch and listen to our new video podcast! – The Weekly Travel Alert is now available with a video podcast on YouTube and other social media platforms. CLICK HERE to watch our third episode. As Paul Harvey used to say. “Now you know the rest of the story,” after watching.  I think you will really enjoy it.