Cruises

This blog has highlighted its fair share of travel consumer issues and in the background I have helped a lot of consumers resolve their complaints with companies. I receive 30-50 emails a week from consumers asking for advice and that’s from a one-man run blog that reaches out to only 2,000 people daily.

Big issues that need resolving

There are some huge issues like the complexity of holiday protection and increase in air passenger duty and I wonder if these types of issues could be fought with more weight behind, if the industry and consumers came together.

Creation of an authority group on travel

What about a group made up of a mixture of consumers, industry people from tour ops, independent agents, travel media, and PR etc? Am I being realistic here? I do wonder if my head is in the clouds, when I get ideas like this hit me.

Would the government and travel associations sit down with such a group and discuss issues.

So much confusion in travel

There is so much confusion about what is a package and DIY holiday nowadays, especially when travel agents are selling both. I know by the emails that I receive that booking a holiday is no longer as simplistic as it used to be.

Your thoughts appreciated

I am not suggesting that the group discusses every single issue that consumers have; I also know a lot of the issues are down to government changes. I read a lot of news feeds that tell me that companies want to simplify protection and abolish air passenger duty, but how serious are they, or is just PR talk.

So, I thought I would open this up to consumers and the industry folk to discuss.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

UK travel industry needs a travel consumer group

With going green on the rise, cities across the world are attempting to become more sustainable. That’s great news for the green traveler because it means your options are constantly expanding. But it’s not always easy to tell if a city is really cleaning up its act, or if it’s just for show.

Here are 7 things to consider when choosing a green travel destination.

1. Check Public Transportation Options

If your destination is a city that you’ll want to explore extensively, make sure there is a good public transportation system so you won’t have to take cabs or rent a car. Most cities have decent websites about their public transportation systems. You can also check travel forums and talk to other travelers who have been where you’re going. Better yet, rent a bike and use it as your primary means of transportation.

2. Look for Greener Accommodations

Choosing a low-impact place to stay is not only greener, it’s often less expensive. If the weather is nice, look for camping options. Otherwise, make sure there are hostels. If you’re looking at hotels, research the country’s hotel energy/environmental standards, then find a hotel that meets those guidelines. For more info check out Finding Environmentally Friendly Hotels through Green Accreditation Directories.

3. Scope Out the Area for Green Space

Are there nice parks in the town, or at least within walking or biking distance? What about lakes and hiking trails? There’s nothing better than waking up in the morning and walking out the hostel door onto a hiking trail. Of course, that’s not easy to do in all places. But if you love the outdoors, make sure your destination has options for green recreation.

photo credit: celesteh

4. Think About Walkability

Will you be able to walk from your hostel to restaurants and entertainment? If the town is spread out, see if there’s a concentration of places you want to see, then book a hostel near those places to make your trip more walkable. Walking is one of the easiest ways to reduce your impact.

5. Look at Chains Versus Local Business and Restaurants

Are there a number of local businesses you could visit? Or is the city overrun with McDonald’s and KFCs? Going to local grocery stores and restaurants is one of the easiest ways to immerse yourself in local culture. And part of the fun of traveling is experience new things, which is hard to do if you stick to what you know and what’s available back home.

6. Check Out the City’s Recycling Policy

With all of the plastic building up in landfills across the world, a solid recycling policy is increasingly urgent. Even some small towns and villages recycle, so pick a destination that has a policy in place. If you really want to visit a place that doesn’t recycle, avoid buying plastic and other recyclables while you’re there; stick to reusable items instead.

7. Decide if You’ll Really Get to Experience the Culture

A big part of being a green traveler is striving to understand different people, cultures, and history. On the surface, it seems that traveling inherently facilitates cultural understanding. In reality, it’s far too easy to live in a bubble, even when you’re traveling. See if your destination is one that seems to exist exclusively to cater to tourists. If it is, pass it up and look for something that will get you out of your comfort zone and into the culture of your destination.

Not sure where to start? Check out our list of Top Green Cities: Where to Travel Green.

What else do you consider when you’re deciding on a green travel destination?

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

7 Tips for Choosing a Green Travel Destination

As a solo traveller myself I get very annoyed, very quickly, when a fellow solo traveller has to pay a single person supplement and then is put into a single room, it’s should be stopped. I am sure they think because we are travelling alone we will put up with the lowest standard of accommodation.

Single room, but charged single supplement

When I travelled on my own for the first time on a package holiday to Benidorm, the same happened to me. I paid a single person supplement and then was thrown in a hotel room that you could not swing a cat in, not that I suggest you do that.

Why do tour operators think that they can get away with this? They also don’t like to call it a single person supplement anymore, it’s under occupancy. It’s the same, and like that makes it fair. I understand charging this if you are in a room for two people, but not in a single room.

Share your experiences

I was only 19 when it happened to me, and if it happened again I would demand that I was put into a standard sized room. Have you paid a single person supplement and then found yourself in a single room? Please share your solo traveller experiences in the comments.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Charged under occupancy but put into single room

This is a guest post by Brooke Lusk, who finds a great deal of joy in meeting new people and animals, enjoying good music, and traveling in her new home state of Oregon. Some of her favorite ways to stay environmentally friendly are testing homemade/natural beauty recipes, composting, and supporting local farmers and small businesses who maintain green practices.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of my trip to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, since I would be traveling with 50 teenagers. I went to Vancouver as a mentor to at-risk teens through a program of The Foundation for Global Sports Development. I’m so glad I kept an open mind because the experience was truly unforgettable.

First Impressions

As we wandered around the city on the Thursday before the Opening Ceremonies, the growing anticipation of the games was palpable in the air. The Vancouver metro area had transformed into a hub of Olympic excitement.

In less than 24 hours, the city would become an intersection of cultures, filling the streets with the sounds of different languages and dialects. However, despite all the differences, a common sense of joy, good will, and healthy competition was evident in everyone’s interactions.

Olympic Rings at 2010 Vancouver Olympics

The Cultural Experience of the Olympics

It was the cultural aspect of the Olympics that I found most appealing. We spent some time at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, which houses a fascinating collection of cultural artifacts and information. We also enjoyed Chinese New Year celebrations, and some of us were lucky enough to sit next to a group of costumed and very enthusiastic Swiss fans during the USA Men’s Hockey game against Switzerland.

One particularly exciting moment was when a bunch of the teenagers with my program, many of whom are from Mexico, got to meet the single Mexican Olympian! This friendly exchange of cultures is truly integral to the Olympic spirit.

Olympic Coffee Volunteer

How Green Were the Vancouver Olympics?

Vancouver did, in my opinion, a great job of hosting these Olympics, despite reported lack of snow (many interviewed athletes said the conditions were fine) and a few other incidents. In regards to hosting an environmentally friendly and inclusive Olympics, The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) included the first-nation tribes and metropolitan residents as they moved forward to host what has been called the “greenest” Olympic games yet.

There was busing from Vancouver to Whistler and Cypress Mountain that reduced carbon emissions, spectators and residents were strongly encouraged to use public transportation (and many did!), and a variety of recycling options were available everywhere.

I’m sure there are ways VANOC could have done even more to reach their green objectives, but this Olympics was a great step forward in environmentally-conscious thinking.

Green Vancouver and Olympics Resources

• The Sustainable Sport and Event Toolkit (SSET)
• Vancouver 2010 and Sustainability
• Vancouver’s Green Olympics: Exceptions that Change the Rules
• The Best of Us (video)
• Inuit Animation (video)

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

I Was There: Vancouver Olympics 2010

The ‘ask Mr Rants’ feature has been incredibly popular and in the last couple of months I have published a number of travel consumer guides based on the number of emails that I receive from consumers. I wanted to share a few of those guides with you so you can bookmark for future use.

Here are five of the popular guides published.

» Driving abroad advice and car hire tips
» How to protect your holiday
» How to make a travel complaint
» Travel tips for solo travellers
» Skiing holiday tips and ski safety advice

You can rate each guide so I know which ones have to be improved, and of course please leave any suggestions for other consumer’s guides that you would like me to feature. My frequently asked travel questions page includes solutions to a lot of the questions that I receive.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Bookmark my travel consumer guides

The pet food industry in the U.S. is virtually unregulated, which means that just about anything can go into your dog’s food.

Fortunately, there are dog food companies dedicated to creating organic, healthy, holistic, and wholesome pet foods. Which is the best dog food? Here are the top six, complete with price comparisons.

Prices range from .13/lb (Canidae) to almost double that at .24/lb (HALO).

Wellness Dog Food

• Uses premium meats like deboned chicken, New Zealand lamb, and white fish
• Use high quality grains such as oatmeal and barley that provide essential vitamins and nutrients
• Adds selected botanical extracts such as green tea and lycopene
• No meat by-products
• No corn
• No artificial preservatives
• No artificial flavors, colors or dyes

Cost: .97 (.97 per pound) for a 30 lb bag of Wellness Super5Mix Complete Health Chicken Dog Food

Canidae Dog Food

• Nutritionally dense meals originate from meats processed in a human grade facility
• All natural, high quality, holistic pet food
• No corn, wheat, soy, grain fractions or fillers
• Naturally preserved
• Free-range and/or antibiotic-free meats

Cost: .99 (.13 per pound) for a 30 lb bag of Canidae Chicken and Rice Formula Dry Dog Food

Natural Balance Dog Food

• Grain-free options for dogs with allergies
• No artificial preservatives, flavors, colors or bleached ingredients
• High in Omega 3, a natural source of DHA
• Natural ingredients to help rebuild a dog’s immune system

Cost: .00 (.25 per pound) for a 28 lb bag of Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food

Blue Buffalo Dog Food

• Deboned chicken, lamb or fish is the first ingredient, which means there is more real meat than any other ingredient
• Wholesome whole grains
• Garden vegetables and antioxidant-rich fruit
• No chicken or poultry by-products
• No corn, wheat, or soy proteins
• No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives

Cost: .00 (.44 per pound) for a 30 lb bag of Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown Rice Adult Dog Food

Solid Gold Dog Food

• No chemical preservatives
• Specialize in the development of “low allergen” products
• Use USDA Choice meats, USDA grade I and II grains, and healthful monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils
• Never add animal or poultry fat to our products
• Use foil “barrier” packaging for all our dry food products, which means we don’t have to use chemical preservatives or flavor enhancers

Cost: .60 (.02 per pound) for a 33 lb bag of Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken Adult Maintenance Dog Food

HALO Dog Food

• No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
• No gluten, wheat or corn
• No rendered meats, poultry or fish, animal or plant by-products
• Home-style recipe with easy to recognize and understand ingredients
• Natural sources of soluble and insoluble fiber

Cost: .49 (.24 per pound) for a 31 lb bag of Halo Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken Adult Dry Dog Food

This post is part of our Green Travelers at Home series.

This post contains affiliate links. Prices are approximate.

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

Best Dog Food: Organic Dog Food Comparison

Even the most avid travelers among us have a place they call home. That’s why we’re launching the Green Travelers at Home series with occasional posts about greening your home life.

We’ll focus on everything from the best compost bins and green home repair to healthy pet and personal care products. The series launches today with a post about natural dog food.

Are there other green home topics you’d like to see us cover? Let us know in the comments.

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

Launch of Green Travelers at Home

Today I decided I would get my act together and start to research the prices for my flight to New York in June, so I fired up the browser and started to use a number of comparison sites including Kayak, Travel Supermarket and newcomer Zugu to see what my options are.

No unique flight comparison site

What I realised as I was using these sites is that all of them use the same partners and the experience of searching for a flight is the same. Prices were different, some differences were extreme, and so it felt like I needed a comparison site to compare the comparison sites.

Book direct with the airline

This got me wondering if we have too many flight comparison sites and are consumers just best to go to the airline that they know flies from their preferred airport. I suspect most consumers start off with a search on Google and then they may come across tons of comparison sites.

Another growing problem is that the low cost airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet do not want their prices to be compared on these sites. You only have to look at insurance company Direct Line that is using the fact that they aren’t on comparison sites as a unique selling point.

As one consumer said to me today, many of the comparison sites are just baffling.

Need to take into consideration airline extras

Another thought is that these sites aren’t really comparing the exact price of a flight because they do not take into consideration the additional extras like payment and check-in fee’s that airlines now charge consumers, and for me, a site that includes this information, will get my search every time.

Your opinion on flight comparison websites

I would love to read your opinion on comparison sites, do you use them, and are they useful to you when searching for the best priced flight. Do you think that there are now too many of them or do you just stick to using one particular comparison site or book direct with the airline?

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Thoughts on flight comparison and how useful for consumers

The airlines are having a laugh at our expense. Last week I booked a flight from Leeds & Bradford airport to Paris and was charged by the airline, Jet2, a rip off free of £2.00 to check-in online. My other alternative was to pay £6.00 to check-in at the airport.

Travel light to reduce airline charges

I always travel light with just my hand luggage, but if I had decided to take one suitcase the check-in fee increased to £6.00 online and £12.00 at the airport. How can any airline justify charging passengers for check-in, it’s not like you have any alternative.

Online check-in fees are a rip off

Yes, I can understand them charging for those that want to check-in at the airport, £6.00 or £12.00 is very expensive though but why charge me to use my electricity and my internet connection to check-in online, especially when I am not checking in any bags. It’s a rip off.

Comparison with other low cost airlines

Ryanair charge £5 each way, per person to check-in online. BMI baby do not charge you if you check-in online, no matter how many bags you are taking but, if you check-in at the airport you are charged a whopping £39.98 for one bag.

EasyJet do not appear to charge for check-in and I have to say the booking experience is much more pleasant on this site than any of the others I have mentioned in this post. I just wish they flew from my local airport in Leeds.

Your opinion on check-in fees

What is annoying is that these fee’s are not included as part of their advertised rates. What is your opinion on check-in fees? Are the low cost airlines just getting greedy and are there any other airline fees which drive you nuts.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

Low cost airline check-in fees are a rip off

Every four years, I let an obsession overcome me and I watch as much as I can take — the daring spins and throws of figure skating, the jumps of snowboarding, and the thrill of speed skating at the Winter Olympic Games.

This year my obsession is even worse because the 2010 Olympics are in Vancouver, an eco-friendly city that I happen to love. In honor of the Olympics, here is our complete guide to Vancouver 2010 — from restaurants and things to do to green Vancouver and the Olympics.

Restaurants

Vancouver is home to a diverse population and its array of restaurant choices reflects that diversity. Don’t be overwhelmed by the endless dining choices — read these guides to find the best eats in Vancouver.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games – Where to Eat?

Urban Diner: A Fine Guide to Eating and Drinking in BC

The New York Times: Eating Vancouver (read the comments)

Brian’s Favorite Eats: Vancouver 2010 Olympic Edition

Sightseeing

No matter where your interests lie, Vancouver will have something to entertain you. Check out these lists of things to do in Vancouver for ideas.

The Encyclopedia Britannica Blog’s Vancouver: A Travelers’ Guide to the Olympic Host City

Biking in Stanley Park: Vancouver, BC

Conde Nast Traveler’s Video: Vancouver, What To Do When You’re Not On the Slopes

The Calgary Beacon: Things to do in Vancouver

Culture and Arts at Vancouver 2010

photo credit: adrian8_8

Accommodations

It may be too late to find affordable accommodations during the Olympics, but if you’re visiting Vancouver after the games, you’re in luck. Vancouver has it all from hotels to hostels to bed and breakfasts.

Best Rated Hostels in Vancouver

Vancouver’s Sustainable Stays

Pacific Palisades Hotel in Vancouver (a Kimpton Hotel): Review

Finding Last-Minute Olympic Accommodations in Vancouver

Dog Friendly Hotels and B&B in Vancouver BC

2010 Winter Olympic Games

If you can’t make it to the Olympics, these posts will make you feel like you’re there — almost.

Vancouver Olympics 2010: Stunning Moments From February 15 (PHOTOS)

Google Sightseeing’s Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics: City Venues

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Best Sites for Kids

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Blog: Travel Tips on Accommodations, Event Tickets and Lessons Learned

Last-minute guide to attending the Vancouver 2010 Games

Are the Vancouver Olympics really green?

Green Vancouver

With the array of local businesses, public transportation, and outdoor activities Vancouver offers, the green traveler should have no trouble staying busy in the city.

Vancouver in 2 (Eco-Friendly) Days

Grist: The 10 greenest and brownest things about Vancouver

Vancouver Olympics Get Green Transport: Electric Streetcars

LEED Platinum Vancouver Convention Center has North America’s Largest Green Roof

Rabble.ca’s Olympic guide to Vancouver’s tap water

Local Culture

Vancouver was already a culturally diverse city and the 2010 Olympic Games have taken that diversity to a whole new level.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Events: Aboriginal BC Culture

Vancouver a multicultural population, but is it all connected to Winter Games

PHOTO ESSAY: Canada Welcomes The World to The Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Whether you’re in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics or just visiting for the weekend, the city offers low-impact activities, accommodations, and dining options for every traveler’s taste.

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

Guide to Vancouver 2010: Winter Olympics, Restaurants, Sightseeing, Hotels & Culture