World Traveler

Preston Smith, Editor, Psiloc

Just when you thought big government was useless, the men in black step in to surprise you.

Well, make that the men in gray. At any rate,  in what should be considered great news for travelers the U.S. Transportation Department has finally begun fining airlines—and more fines are likely to come—for “arbitrarily” reimbursing or failing to reimburse passengers for lost baggage, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The move comes in lieu of the now widespread practice of basically ignoring a passenger’s complaints once his baggage disappears—especially if lost items have been purchased less than 24 hours before a trip. Thankfully, the U.S. Transportation Department has finally stepped in to say enough is enough.  Passengers will now be compensated up to USD 3,300 for lost baggage—or the fines will come.

Well, to put this very directly, it’s about freakin’ time.

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Just about any time that you still have money when others don’t.

As brutal as this sounds, it could not be more true than in the big, wide world of travel where the global recession has emptied hotels and forced travel suppliers of all kinds to adapt to a world with much less available cash than anyone would have predicted a year ago. Simply put, in a down economy—if you’ve still got even a little disposable income—the world of travel is in the palm of your hand.

But first let’s take a closer look at the bad news: Put simply, the hotel industry took a huge hit in 2009, with some experts stating that the fall equaled to or surpassed that seen following 9/11. Worse, it is clear that the slide will continue. The global hotel forecast, according to American Express Business Travel sees prices falling in 2010 in North American mid-range hotels by 1 to 4 percent, with upper range hotels looking to see a dip of 3 to 5 percent. Europe looks to be slightly less volatile, with prices sliding by 2 percent in mid-range hotels—although with a best-case scenario of a 2 percent upswing in prices.

Even gambling has been hit hard by the recession. Photo courtesty of Wikipedia Commons/Palmtree3000.

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Bulent Akman, Marketing Coordinator, Psiloc

Short of violence, a traveler’s worst nightmare may be theft. Whether we are talking about teams of pickpockets or unscrupulous hotel employees, the sense of violation when valuables are stolen is devastating. Then there are the endless phone calls to cancel credit cards, the panicked scrambles for cash, the trips to the embassy and the police to report the crime/replace the passport, etc.

You probably get the picture.

Even so, I’d say that relatively few world travelers put much thought into strategies that combat theft. After all, vacations are about fun, not worries and paranoia. That said, precautionary measures go a long way toward ensuring a stress-free trip. Moreover, the age-old security adage  applies: there is no patch for human stupidity.

Here are a few security tips well worth considering before your next trip.

1. “Make two photocopies of valuables such as your passport, tickets, visas, travelers’ cheques, credit card numbers, insurance policy, itinerary and phone card details,” the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade writes. “Keep one copy with you in a separate place to the original and leave another copy with someone at home.”

On this note, here’s a checklist of travel documents to copy:

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Bulent Akman, Marketing Coordinator, Psiloc

A traveler was waiting patiently in line at the check–in desk of a major airline. The line was quite long and he noticed the executive in front of him growing angrier by the minute. By the time the executive made it to the desk, he was in a rage and shouting complaints at the attendant as if she were personally responsible for the long line (but of course, she wasn’t).

The attendant smiled kindly throughout the tirade and calmly proceeded to check in her most recent victim of “flight rage”—and when all was said and done, the executive was admittedly amazed by how professionally she had behaved. But when a second traveler began to compliment her on her performance, she just smiled and said:

“It was nothing at all, sir. That gentleman is flying to London but his luggage is flying to Manila.”

I hope the previous story is only that, a story. As a frequent flier, I would prefer to believe such things are possible—only how many times have you personally witnessed travelers behaving badly? “Too many” is probably your answer, but in my opinion most such problems are due to lack of information. (more…)