Articles

Jason Cochran

Article / Passportable

Guy Builds NYC Igloo, Charges $200 on Airbnb

It's chilling proof that not every listing on Airbnb is high-quality: After last weekend's snowstorm, which laid more than two feet of snow on New York City, a Brooklyn man built an…

Article / Passportable

Reunion of the Fabled Pan Am Stewardesses

We don't need to be reminded of how miserable the flying experience is today, but it does help us as educated consumers to know what it used to be.In the first decades of air…

Article / Passportable

Meet Hilton's New Affordable Hotel Brand

Hilton has launched yet another hotel brand—the 12th in its current portfolio— by announcing that it intends to push this one to being its largest in terms of nationwide room…

Article / Passportable

The True Numbers on Cruise Ship Outbreaks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States has put out some sobering new numbers on cruise ship norovirus outbreaks.It looked at all data between 2008…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Yosemite's Iconic Ahwahnee Hotel is Soon to Be No More—A Sad Case of Privatization Gone Haywire

Pillaged on our watch: The iconic Ahwahnee HotelThis has got to be among the more asinine results of government privatization in the travel universe.After nearly 90 years,…

Article / Passportable

Apple Vacations Expands Westward

Apple Vacations, a giant vacation outfit beloved by deal-seekers but unknown to many, is making a big move into California by adding charter-flight vacations to three major airports…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Record Low Exchange Rates Suddenly Make These Five Places Record Super-Bargains

Clifton, Cape Town, South AfricaGoing where the bargains are can feel a bit like surfing, metaphorically speaking. You hang out nowhere in particular for a while, keeping an…

Article / Passportable

Watch: Hotel Guest Films Skin-Crawling Bedbug Infestation

Social media has clouded our heads with a lot of useless, anxiety-inducing information, but for the traveler, it has its uses.This week, a budget traveler in New York City decided…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Are Cruise Ships Easy Targets for Terrorists?

There's no need to be complicated about this answer.Yes.This week, Disney Cruise Line announced that it will no longer stop in Greece, Turkey, or Malta on its upcoming…

Article / Passportable

Hilton's New Mandatory $50 Cancellation Fee

The giant Hilton hotel brand is piloting a new way to make life miserable for travelers: It has started charging $50 for cancellations, no matter when they're made.Under the new…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The TSA May Now Deny You the Right to a Pat-Down

Until this month, anyone undergoing a TSA search at airports has had the right to bypass the "Advanced Imaging Technology" screening booths—the ones in which passengers hold their…

Article / Passportable

Two New Passport Rules Elicit Anger

The U.S. State Department has changed the rules for passports in two ways.First, as of January 1, 2016, it will no longer allow you to add pages to your passport if you fill up…

Article / Passportable

Coming Soon: Planes with Skylights?

In the never-ending quest to figure out new enticements to squeeze cash out of passengers, airline operators in a corner: There's not much space to add more stuff.According to The…

Article / Passportable

Manhattan's New Tourist Sight: Jerry Seinfeld

The modern tourist landscape New York City continues to co-opt some of Las Vegas' best ideas: In 2013, Billy Joel announced his once-a-month residency at Madison Square Garden,…

Article / Passportable

'70s Heartthrob is Now Upscale Cruise Director

If you were a North American teenager in the 1970s, you certainly remember Willie Aames. He became a teen magazine cover boy and Battle of the Network Stars fixture by appearing on…

Article / Passportable

Airfare to New Zealand Has Been Slashed: $328!

American Airlines may be dumbing down some of its product inside the United States (click here for that story), but overseas, it's making a big move that should bring down the price…

Article / Passportable

Congrats, Philly, the US's First World Heritage City

Congratulations to Philadelphia, which has just become the first American city to earn the distinction of World Heritage City.Like World Heritage Sites, which are named by UNESCO,…

Article / Money and Fees

How to Beat the High Prices of Best Buy's Airport Kiosks

When you learn how easy it is to slash the high prices of Best Buy's electronics vending machines at airports, you may not be afraid to use them anymore.

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

French Polynesia's Fun New "Passenger Freighter" Tours the Spectacular South Pacific Islands

There was a time when it was relatively easy to take an around-the-world trip using nothing but freighter ships. Accommodations were never plush, but at least they took…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Airfares to Hawaii are Dropping Fast Thanks to New Competition in the Skies

Black Rock, Ka'anapali Beach, MauiIt used to be that getting to Hawaii from the United States' West Coat required a major cash outlay. Even earlier this year, round-trip fares…

Article / Passportable

What Motel 6's Fancy New Rooms Look Like

You're about to hear a lot more about Motel 6 in the coming weeks. By the end of this year, it hopes to have renovated 75% of its 1,200-plus properties.The motel chain knows it…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

American Airlines to Sell An Even More Basic Ticket Than it Does Now

Call it the Spirit Effect: American Airlines will be the latest major carrier to offer a no-frills, stripped-down, bare-bones version of its ticket.Starting next year,…

Article / Passportable

Innovative New In-flight Safety Video Animated with 1,000 Delft Tiles

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is the latest entrant in the battle to come up with the least boring in-flight safety video. The novel concept: Create an animated version of the pre-flight…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In an Unusual Move, Princess Cruises Develops New Musicals with the Writer of "Wicked" and "Godspell"

There's a Broadway arms race raging in cruise ship entertainment. It started nearly a decade ago when Norwegian mounted a chopped-down version of the lesser-known musical Smokey…

Article / Passportable

New App Deletes Photobombers From Snapshots

Software giant Adobe recently unveiled a new smartphone application that should appeal to amateur photographers on vacation. Called Monument Mode, it eliminates photobombers and…