Things to Remember!

So, you’ve booked your trip, excellent! Now what? Well here’s a few things to remember.

Splurge on your travel!

Don’t be cheap. Learn that travel, especially value travel, is worth every penny to add true value to your experience. Here’s 3 aspects of value travel that you, as a traveler, should never cheap out on. 

1. Book A private guide

for a new city or complex ancient historical site or even a given city’s neighborhood. 

2. Direct flight vs. Nonstop:

This is a point of confusion for many; a nonstop flight is just as it implies, nonstop from A to B without landing, while a direct flight stays on the same flight number and aircraft but makes at least one stop, letting some passengers off and picking others up without you changing planes, making it longer but potentially cheaper than a true non-stop. Some cities such as Singapore, Dubai, and Doha, have layover excursion packages, which encourage direct flights with a layover so you can stop and see the city before continuing on to your final destination. Remember, all non-stop flights are direct, but not all direct flights are non-stop. Keep this in mind especially when booking your desired fare class. 

3. Eat Local.

Always, and I mean always, eat the local street food or vendors when in a foreign city. These are often tastier, cheaper, and more authentic than 1-5 star Michelin restaurants. Exceptions, as always, apply.  “Eating the local cuisine teaches you more about the culture and a people than anything else ever could.” - Anthony Bourdain

4. The Rookie Move that is Costing you Thousands on True Value

I see this everyday; otherwise intelligent people who use their hard-earned airline miles to comp for hotel stays. Stop this nonsense. Airline miles can indeed be used for hotel stays instead of flights but this is an error and wrong move. Miles transfer to “hotel points” (you can think of this as monopoly money used to book hotel stays) at a very poor rate. The math is complicated so I won’t repeat the equation here. Suffice it to say, you can wipe out over 150,000 air miles on a short stay while the hotel makes you think you received a good deal. Pay in cash and pay later (at check-in) and you end up saving your miles and receiving a great experience in return.

Don’t travel like a tourist, travel like a citizen of the world. A true traveler.

~ Brooke In The Air Travel

Here’s an exclusive Hot (and harsh) Take:

Hotel vs. Luxury Hotel vs. Airbnb: A Harsh Take

I have a harsh and often cold take on the Airbnb mentality.

Hotels are reasonably reliable and still abide by a code of guidance and business ethics. Luxury hotels abide by the same code and often have enhanced services such as a concierge or personal assistant assigned to you upon check-in. All hotels provide amenities, are reasonably respectful of the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door, and provide either daily or quasi-weekly (depending on your stay), and all hotels indemnify you upon check-in. 

Once you sign that paperwork at check-in, you are legally insured and the hotel is responsible for your well-being for the duration of your stay. This is why hotels often have multi-million or billion dollar riders and partly why they cost so much at booking. Airbnb’s have none of these. Oftentimes (90%+) Airbnbs are simply a homeowner (at best) with a spare room or house, or they are renting out their home while they stay in a comfortable hotel. You are often responsible for cleaning the property, have a chore-list, there is no insurance policy at all, no protections, no amenities (although you might get certain amenities if you’re lucky); this is why they are often so cheap, because they offer nothing. Airbnb’s are also responsible for driving up rent prices in select neighborhoods, my own San Francisco is one example. There are additional factors, but the Airbnb Factor is huge.

~ A Brooke In The Air Travel hot take.