The rest of Q&A

Q – We’ve booked a hotel in London  for five nights and are currently in penalty. There is no agent involved and I did not take out insurance for this trip. We’re due to leave in 11 days. Is there any way to sell the room in London or to re-sell it in the States so I can recover some of what I paid (I booked a top suite at well over $1,000 USD per night) Not looking for anything illegal – just a secret strategy to get some of my money back. 

A – There are now two web sites that resell booked hotel space. Try RoomerTravel.com and Cancelon.com Your listings will immediately appear on sites such as Kayak and Trivago. The average fee to these sites is 10-15% and you should expect to recoup about 50% of what you paid for the room. Do be careful when transferring confirmation numbers. And don’t change your mind and just show up as the bed may feel crowded – unless you are from Marin County.

Q –  You probably get this question quite often but we’re rather new to the idea of international travel as my husband is about to take a comfortable retirement next month. Although we live outside of Charleston and could just enjoy the city we love so much, the world seems to be calling. At your suggestion to previous writers, we’ve established a relationship with a travel agent we think will take good care of us. But we keep hearing about hotel upgrades and we would appreciate it so much if you would just list a few steps we might take to be in the best position for these hotel upgrades when we travel. We certainly will be staying at the very finest hotels. Thanks so much for all your kind advice.

A – Well thank you. A case of your best sweet tea from time to time is all we ask in return.

Here is our quick list to secure the best upgrades:

01 – Become a Rewards Club Member with all the top chains and particularly Starwood through Marriott and the Ritz Carlton.

02 – Make certain that your travel consultant is a member of Travel Leaders, Signature, Virtuoso, Ensemble, or American Express to receive complimentary upgrades not available to those who book directly with the hotel or online. This is your single best strategy.

03 – Guests who arrive later in the day and who are only staying for one or two nights are often upgraded. Let the hotel know you are in their loyalty club.

04 – When you are upgraded always send a thank you note to the General Manager and, possibly, the reservations room manager. Very few guests do this and it means a lot.

05 – Never loudly complain about any issue or try to make the problem seem more than it is to get an upgrade (I know your southern temperament would never allow that) Hotels can easily mark your profile. Most guests do not realize that hotels write behavioral comments about their guests and that information can be viewed the next time you check in.

Q – I lived in San Francisco for may years where I was a modest collector of watercolors I would buy at street fairs. I was particularly struck by these incredible mountain scenes, always covered by fog in the paintings and seeming quite mystical. Now, my wife and I are in a financial position where we can go in search of these mountains. I realize the tourist board will help me but thought I would check to see if this might ring a bell in terms of the destination I need to visit?

A – We can’t be sure but we are betting that the scenes you remember were of the Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve in Wulingyuan, China. See if this photo brings back the right kind of memories.

Q – I am a frequent flyer in the front of the plane who loves your site(s). The problem is I read traveltruth whenever I fly and sometimes the conversation about cleanliness makes me itchy. I know I’m a germaphobe and I don’t have any problem coming out of the closet. So I would ask one favor – if I’m going to be cleaning anyway, and I am, what are the five things I should clean first and foremost?

A –  Sorry for the delay. We had to take a shower after reading your question. OK – here is the list based on the latest research we’ve seen:

The Filthiest Piece of Aircraft Equipment Award goes to the tray table. The fact that it is so darn close to your body must not be comforting. Clean it immediately after being seated.

The Second Filthiest Piece of Aircraft Equipment Award  goes to the water fountain – although they are being phased out. Only flyers with a death wish should avoid touching one of these. Even terrorists in the midst of a hijacking avoid using the on-board water fountain.

The Most Surprising Germ-Infested Piece of Equipment with an amazingly high “colong forming units of bacteria” rating is the overhead air vent. They are never cleaned and have a higher bactyeria count than the bathroom flush button which is the Fourth Filthiest item on your plane.

Finally, the really filthy 5th place winner is your seat belt buckle. The pros clean this first after boarding.

Hope this helps. Happy Flying!

Q –  I’ve been keeping track – in the last three months, I’ve found four low airfares, tried to sell it to my husband, and each time when I got back the price was gone. Do these fares really change like that every  fifteen or twenty minutes?

A – We are thinking that you have been victimized by a little known but frequent online practice involving internet air searches. As you are searching specific flight combinations, these web sites can quickly raise the price once you return to the screen to make your purchase. This is highly unethical but it is not yet, illegal. You can fight the practice by going in and deleting your search history, and your cookies (we hope you know what cookies are or you will think we’re insane). You can then go on the site with a fresh search and the original fares will reappear. Airlines do not change their fares every fifteen minutes although the software will automatically raise the fare once a pre-determined number of seats  are sold at the lower price. That is why families booking online are often shocked to discover that the entire family is not traveling at the same price despite booking the same seats at the same time.

Q – We have been once – 25 years ago – to the Caribbean (friends house on Antigua) and fell totally in love with the island’s quietness, the vibrant and friendly people, the sound of the sea, and especially the steel drum music.

We are now approaching retirement age (58 and 53) and we want to re-discover the Caribbean and perhaps even scout out a place we might consider moving to when we are done working. But we sense that the “old Caribbean” that we visited many years ago, may have given way to crowds and cruise ships. We want to get away from the getaways …….would you have any suggestions? We have read wonderful things about Bequia (Grenadines) but have not yet visited. Is the Zika fear creating any notable bargains for travel and real estate? Many thanks. We have really enjoyed reading this site and listening to you on the Financial Sense show.

A –  Generally speaking, purchasing before you retire is a good idea as you can build up equity while you are still working. We would suggest that you skip entirely any Caribbean island with a strong budget cruise ship presence.

You should be subscribing to International Living – a newsletter for future ex-pats. Be careful about books on the subject – they are notoriously out-of-date.

Look over the CIA Country Report for any island you are considering. It will give you a breakdown of the population as well as crime and cost of living statistics. Also read the British government foreign office reports on each island.

Some of the better retirement islands are St. John, Anguilla, The Turks & Caicos, and out islands in the Bahamas. We would suggest that you go for a month and spend a week on four islands with the best real estate agent on each island. Have a visitation schedule sent to you in advance with photos and pricing so you can rule out clunkers.

Buying commercial real estate can get very tricky, if you are not well versed in the real estate business. Do no t attempt to do it by yourself – seek the help of professionals who can help you through the process of finding the perfect property, taking care of the paperwork and closing the deal.

A professional commercial real estate brokers are specially trained to handle commercial real estate transactions that are very different from regular real estate deals. A professional commercial real estate broker can also inform you of prime commercial real estate that are for sale. Institutional and private investors often ‘secretly’ sell off parts of their commercial property portfolios, and a commercial property broker can let you in on this insider information. Click here if you want to get more about the commercial space for rent.

Because real estate prices have dropped quite a bit, the potential commissions that real estate agents and brokers could earn have also dropped. But the drop in commissions can be more than offset by the amount of properties that can be sold.

And getting quality real estate leads is one of the keys to making this a reality for real estate professionals. This is because there are so many more properties on the market now than there were before the bubble burst.

Thе rise іn thе number оf homeowners whо аrе underwater оn thеіr mortgages hаѕ increased ѕо muсh thаt a vеrу large number оf thеm hаvе decided thаt thеу саnnоt afford tо stay іn thеіr homes. Thе lender оf a mortgage wіll receive monthly іntеrеѕt payments аnd wіll kеер a lien оn thе property аѕ security thаt thе loan wіll bе repaid. Well this site will provide you better guidance for mortgage. Thе borrower wіll receive thе mortgage loan аnd uѕе thе money tо purchase thе property аnd receive ownership rights tо thе property. Whеn thе mortgage іѕ paid іn full, thе lien іѕ removed. If thе borrower fails tо repay thе mortgage thе lender mау tаkе possession оf thе property. we have a great selection of lending options for your home loan.

They would rather sell their home and buy a comparable home for a much lower price, and take the loss so that they can improve their cash flow situation by having a lower mortgage payment each month. And since there is no shortage of properties to buy, these people had no problem finding a suitable home for a good price.

And another result of the rise in available properties is that more and more people are becoming first-time homeowners. Since prices on homes are falling, more and more people are able to afford a home for the same amount they are currently paying in rent. So the logical choice for these people is to buy a house rather than continuing to rent.

Skip the guidebooks and get in on ex-pat chat rooms. Do detective work and keep a binder of the issues/problems on each island under consideration. Don’t be naive. On many of the islands there is resentment toward Americans who drive up real estate prices. Many Americans commit only to discover they have made a terrible mistake.

Generally speaking, you will get far more for your money in Central America than you will in the Caribbean. Try looking at both Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Oh, and one more thing. If you have to worry about finding a cheap airfare to the Caribbean, you may  not have the income to retire there.

Finally, do choose your island carefully. The Caribbean is home to some of the highest overall crime rates in the world.

Q – I received an e-mail from Travel Zoo. I have never traveled with them. There were two bargains that would enable me to take my three daughters with me:

01 – Portugal, which includes airfare, well under #1,000 per person.

02 – Tuscany, about the same as above. How do I get an answer on the legitimacy of this company and some information for me to have a comfort level? Thank you.

A – TravelZoo is a global media company that accepts paid advertising from tour operators to put their deals on its site. They claim to investigate the deals to assure they are real. Since Travelzoo is providing information on so-called deals, rather than operating the tours themselves, there is not a great deal of information about the company. They are large and they have been around for years. They appeal to bottom-feeding deal seekers who aren’t particularly interested in the financial history of the company they are working with, the safety record of the airlines used in some of the shadier package deals, or the quality of the hotels. And there are almost always additional costs.

Since a round-trip flight to Lisbon from the United States on a reputable carrier is, all by itself, more than the cost of the entire trip you are quoting, we have to assume there might be some concerns about quality. You should check out the company operating the tour packages carefully and to look at anything posted on the Better Business Bureau site. Unfortunately, there is no proper source within the travel industry that honestly rates and evaluates the quality of top-tier tour operators. Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure do list the top tour companies annually. We do suggest you utilize companies on these lists.

Here’s a secret. The best way to determine the quality of a tour operator is to find out if they belong to any of the major travel agent consortium groups as a preferred supplier. If they don’t, we would advise you to walk away.

Finally, don’t try to figure this all out yourself. See if you can find a struggling travel agent with few clients who is willing to take you on.

Q – We have been planning a trip to England and Wales next May, hoping to be gone for two weeks. We’re thinking we may rent a car but driving on the wrong side of the road might do us in so we are considering a tour or even private guides. Our question has to do with taking advantage of the drop in the value of the Pound. For travel next year, how do we lock in the best rate. Any strategical advice would be appreciated. There is lots of talk about this on the news but no one tells Americans the best way to play this in terms of  getting the best rates. 

A – We have received a wide range of questions on this topic. Since no one knows where England’s exit strategy will lead them, it is a bit premature to predict pricing for next year. But we would be shocked if prices didn’t reflect a British pound that was severely devalued against the dollar. Here are a few suggestions:

Don’t buy a brochure program. Anything out in print will be using last year’s exchange rate.

Do not book online. It is too soon for recalibrated rates to show up on web sites.

Do book everything in British pounds whenever possible. Leave it to your credit card company to use the conversion rate that reflects current valuations.

Do book directly with hotels and pay in British Pounds.

Do book with a consultant who is a member of one of the larger consortiums. They will have overseas affiliated offices in the U.K. that will quote arrangements on a net basis in BP. This is what the savvy players will be doing during financial chaos of the next several months – or years.

If you are booking an escorted tour, ask your consultant if the operator has a track record of adjusting pricing, after deposit, downward when there is a major shift in the value of the local currency. Some do – many don’t.

For now, we are targeting travel within Great Britain next year at a price reduction in the range of 30%.

But do be aware that some analysts are predicting that the exit will bring a surge of tourism to Great Britain  from China, Europe, and Russia . The demand could actually slow the kinds of pricing discounts we are anticipating.

Q –  As an early adapter and technical Millennial, I like to think of myself as tuned in. But travel on the internet seems to be a blur of contradictory advice and I keep getting the feeling that I am being set up and fed large amounts of really crappy, biased information. This seems particularly true on travel so-called “review” sites. I just heard that 60% of travelers my age will check a review before deciding to travel anywhere. Is there anyway to even know of the person writing the review has even been to the hotel or destination being described? 

I know you will probably say that I should use a consultant – but I don’t have time for that process and you’re not going to change my mind about taking full advantage of the high-powered computer in my back pocket. Quite frankly, I don’t see how you can work in a business that is so based on distortion and lies. 

A – No worries – we won’t try to talk you into using a consultant. There are “Travel Do-It-Yourselfers” and you are likely one of them. Your point is well taken and there is no easy solution as you know. We try to follow this subject closely and the percentage of fake reviews seems to be increasing rather rapidly. There are any number of businesses that curate favorable reviews for a travel entity like a hotel or airline and they also use buzz marketing techniques to do as much damage to the competition as is legally possible. We believe very little we read in the way of reviews on the internet. In fact, if we challenged you to find a truly objective review of the Townhouse at the Galleria in Milan, you would, we will bet, be unable to find one. It exists but only in the form of an actual hotel inspection report from trained inspectors – reports that are not available online.

You are absolutely correct in your assumption that you do not have to have been a guest at a hotel to review it on major sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. Most travel marketers now have thirty or more e-mail alias addresses which they use to post reviews in support of their benefactors. There is one ray of hope in all of this. Cornell University has developed an app called “Review Skeptic” that it claims can detect a fake review with 90% accuracy. Cornell has designed key word algorithms that react to submitted review copy with a likely “deceptive” or “truthful” recommendation.The content of the algorithms is, of course, confidential, but it depends largely on the kind of emotion and language someone who is deceptive might use.

So we’re finished with our response and you will notice that we did not, once, encourage you to use a travel consultant. Of course, you will be paying to use one as virtually all travel product pricing includes agent fees, but doing it all yourself is likely worth it. That way, if you screw up, you can sue yourself.

Q – This is a lovely web sight and we’d love to know who sponsors it. Is it the tourist boards or the hotels? Our question concerns a desire to see Machu Picchu but to combine it with train travel which my husband just loves. He has a magnificent train set up in our basement and loves anything on tracks. Our travel agent feels we may find sightseeing a bit challenging in Machu Picchu and is suggesting we not do the trip. But if we could do it all by train that be be a possible option for my husband. We are 79 and 81 and the legs are not what they used to be. Thanks so much.

A – Yes, we are sponsored by all of the world’s tourist boards and most of the world’s hotels. They love the kind things we always say about them and they keeping throwing money at us.

You can’t do the entire trip by train. But we’re not sure you absolutely need to rule this destination off your list. You can take the deluxe Hiram Bingham train from Cuzco up to the border of Machu  Picchu.

Here is the itinerary:

9:05am Departure from Poroy train station (20 minutes drive from Cusco)
12:25pm Arrival at Machu Picchu station. Transfer by bus to the Sanctuary
1:00pm Tour of the ruins
4:00pm Afternoon Tea at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge
4:45pm Transfer to Machu Picchu train station
5:50pm Train departs for Cusco
9:15pm Arrival at Poroy train station

There is another train you need to consider, the new Belmond Andean Explorer that will travel from Cuzco and Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca and then on to Arequipa. We suggest you ask your agent to construct a trip using these two trains with van assistance between points on your itinerary. The Explorer will begin its three-day journeys in May of 2017.

Your travel agent knows you much better than we do. We would urge you to consider her counsel carefully regarding your ability to handle the inevitable challenges of travel within South America.