Travelers United

Travelers need to think about what they will face when vacations go awry if in a rental vacation home as compared to staying at a hotel. Insurance coverage, needs, and the service for these may be dramatically different. Learn more.

Where you stay when you travel can add so much to your trip as this "Rooms to Explore" story reveals. A big part of these classic accommodations are their history, especially hotels that started out centuries ago as homes, and then there is the uniqueness of the food and ambiance.

How to decide when to leave for the airport and how early you need to get there. One of the big things to consider is how do you deal with stress. If you want to avoid stress, it's always a good idea to get to the airport very early. Learn more.

Much as we want to be done with COVID, it appears to be not done with us, especially those of us who travel. Since June, the number of cases of COVID-19 has been rising rapidly in the U.S. and worldwide. Get the updated vaccination and wear your mask if traveling. Learn more.

Airline taxes are confusing -- who pays what? Take the transportation federal excise tax--the uninformed might think it is paid by the airlines. In reality, it is a tax completely paid by passengers that is tacked onto the final airfare portion of air transportation. Learn more.

Airlines, hotels, rental cars, tour operators, cruise lines, and other facets of the travel industry all operate via giant information technology (IT) networks. This is an IT world that needs travel privacy protection as information includes forms of payment, passport information, and much more.

Those flying on an European airline this year need to know about EC 261, the European consumer regulation which gives broad protection for passengers. It provides for assistance and monetary compensation to airline passengers in situations of overbooking, cancellation or delay of a flight. Learn more.

Many farms and ranches welcome guests to enjoy an immersion in a way of life which otherwise they may never experience. They immerse themselves in history or learn about ecofriendly practices -- the idea is to relax and get back to the basics on a farm or ranch vacation.

When there are big problems at the airport, it pays to have a travel agent’s help. If you don’t have a travel agent, look for the shortest line possible, and if that line is more than a few people long, get on the phone as soon as you can. When things get difficult, get a human involved.

Too many AA passengers miss connecting flights based on a premature AURA program that can reassign connecting flights. AURA stands for Automated ReAccommodation. One would think it would be great, but it often miscalculates. Learn more.