Five stupid rules that tax travelers

Five stupid rules that tax travelers
By Christopher Elliott -
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, September 2, 2007
Story appeared in TRAVEL section, Page M

http://www.sacbee.com/643/story/352380.html

You don't have to be a card-carrying frequent flier to know that the
travel business is littered with silly rules that make no sense.

Actually, it helps that you're not a grizzled veteran of the skies,
because most hard-core business travelers have come to accept these
absurd policies, even though they know how wrong, wrong, wrong they
are.

From time to time, you might even catch one of these old road warriors
in the act of defending the rules when a less- experienced leisure
traveler has the impertinence to wonder why things are the way they
are.

"Don't you know?" they'll sniff, "You can't transfer your airline
ticket to a friend."

Oh, but why not? Start asking questions like that, and you're bound to
make folks in the travel industry squirm. That's because there are no
valid reasons for having these policies. I've been collecting and
documenting ridiculous travel rules my entire career in my nationally
syndicated column, "The Travel Troubleshooter" (see Page M6), and I
specialize in asking these questions.

Here, then, are five things the travel industry won't let you do --
but should.

1. Change the name on your airline ticket.

Let's say you buy a set of plane tickets to vacation somewhere with
your sweetie. But just before your trip, the relationship turns sour.

Your airline may sympathize, but it won't let you transfer the ticket
to another friend -- even if you paid for it. The reason? Well, air
carriers disingenuously claim they prohibit name changes because
they're worried about security and potential fraud.

But what they won't tell you is they're also worried about their
earnings. Making airline tickets transferable could cost the domestic
airline industry more than $1 billion in monthly revenues, according
to an estimate by San Diego-based Innovation Analysis Group.

OK, that may be a tall order, even for an industry that's currently
wallowing in profits. But perhaps a good start would be to allow
people who have made honest mistakes -- like making a reservation
under their nickname or maiden name -- to fix their tickets. Those
passengers now pay hefty change fees, and in many cases have to buy
brand-new tickets. How about giving those passengers a break?

2. Carry a bottle of water through a TSA screening area.

The Transportation Security Administration's prohibition of carry-on
liquids and gels should have been stricken from the books months ago,
when the government agency decided to replace its outright ban on
liquids with one that's difficult to understand -- and enforce.

(If you're still a little confused about what "toiletries of 3 ounces
or less that fit comfortably in one quart-size, clear plastic, zip-top
bag" are, you're not alone.)

Now, instead of looking for terrorists or hijackers, our federalized
airport screeners are busy confiscating toothpaste, perfume and
bottled water. I haven't seen any conclusive evidence that the liquid
and gel ban is protecting us from the bad guys. What I have seen are a
lot of needless confrontations between TSA agents and frustrated air
travelers, including the highly publicized sippy-cup incident that got
Monica Emmerson and her toddler in hot water recently
(www.elliott.org/ archives/2007/06/ tsa--protects--na.php).

Maybe the government needs to realize that the villains have moved on
to some other way of blowing up a plane. It's time for it to move on,
too.

3. Use any part of an airline ticket you want.

Most carriers require their passengers to use every segment of their
ticket. If you don't, they can cancel the remaining portion of your
ticket or, in extreme cases, bill you or your travel agent for the
fare difference.

These tariff rules make perfect sense for airlines. They use a complex
and counterintuitive pricing system called "yield management" that
often churns out some truly bizarre fares. A one-way ticket, for
example, can cost more than a round-trip fare. A cross-country flight
is sometimes cheaper than a short commuter flight. In order to make
sure everyone pays these crazy prices, airlines say you must use every
flight segment on your ticket exactly as you booked it. (One of my
favorite examples is Northwest Airlines -- check out Rule 70, part C
of its General Rules (www.nwa.com/plan/contract2.pdf) -- which warns
that circumventing its tariff rules could result in having your
frequent flier miles confiscated or being denied boarding. Ouch!) But
the rule makes absolutely no sense for passengers. I can think of no
other business that tries to control how its product is used the way
airlines do. It's about time to jettison this customer-hostile rule.

4. Return your rental car early without being charged more.

Common sense tells you that if you return a rental car early, you
should get a partial refund on your bill. But common sense doesn't
necessarily apply to the travel industry. For example, Alamo Rent A
Car not only charges a $15-per-day early- return fee, but it also
recalculates your rate, charging you the same price that walk-up
customers pay to rent a car without prior reservation. (In one case I
wrote about, that added $361 to one customer's bill.)

Now, I can understand charging a nominal early-return fee and likening
it to a restocking fee charged by stores. But asking for more money
for less of a product? That's travel industry logic, but it doesn't
fly with travelers. Time to junk that rule.

5. Not pay a hotel's resort fee.

I've never met a hotel guest who likes paying a mandatory resort fee,
which is a surcharge that covers little extras like beach towels, in-
room coffeemakers and exercise equipment. The fees can add anywhere
from 10 percent to 20 percent to the cost of your room.

Hotels are not always up-front about the surcharges. Instead of
quoting them as part of the room rate, they wait until after you've
asked for a price, and then say, "Oh, by the way ... there's a $15 a
day resort fee. Here's the real room rate." In some cases, they wait
until you've checked in to tell you about it. Not very sporting of
them.

Charging extra for amenities that should be included in the hotel room
is ludicrous. But not nearly as ludicrous as forcing every guest to
pay for these amenities, whether they use them or not. The most
forward-looking hotels already have scrapped their resort fees or made
them optional. Call me old-fashioned, but I think resort fees should
take a permanent vacation.

This is just the top of a very long list of senseless, anti- customer
rules imposed by the travel industry. You probably have a few of your
own. (I'll admit, I found picking just five wasn't easy.) Next time
you run into a rule that doesn't make sense, don't be afraid to ask
why. If enough people do, the travel industry might actually start
listening.

On Sep 4, 2:32 pm, Ablang wrote:
Five stupid rules that tax travelers
By Christopher Elliott -
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, September 2, 2007
Story appeared in TRAVEL section, Page M

http://www.sacbee.com/643/story/352380.html

You don't have to be a card-carrying frequent flier to know that the
travel business is littered with silly rules that make no sense.

Actually, it helps that you're not a grizzled veteran of the skies,
because most hard-core business travelers have come to accept these
absurd policies, even though they know how wrong, wrong, wrong they
are.

From time to time, you might even catch one of these old road warriors

in the act of defending the rules when a less- experienced leisure
traveler has the impertinence to wonder why things are the way they
are.

"Don't you know?" they'll sniff, "You can't transfer your airline
ticket to a friend."

Oh, but why not? Start asking questions like that, and you're bound to
make folks in the travel industry squirm. That's because there are no
valid reasons for having these policies. I've been collecting and
documenting ridiculous travel rules my entire career in my nationally
syndicated column, "The Travel Troubleshooter" (see Page M6), and I
specialize in asking these questions.

Here, then, are five things the travel industry won't let you do --
but should.

1. Change the name on your airline ticket.

Let's say you buy a set of plane tickets to vacation somewhere with
your sweetie. But just before your trip, the relationship turns sour.

Your airline may sympathize, but it won't let you transfer the ticket
to another friend -- even if you paid for it. The reason? Well, air
carriers disingenuously claim they prohibit name changes because
they're worried about security and potential fraud.

But what they won't tell you is they're also worried about their
earnings. Making airline tickets transferable could cost the domestic
airline industry more than $1 billion in monthly revenues, according
to an estimate by San Diego-based Innovation Analysis Group.

OK, that may be a tall order, even for an industry that's currently
wallowing in profits. But perhaps a good start would be to allow
people who have made honest mistakes -- like making a reservation
under their nickname or maiden name -- to fix their tickets. Those
passengers now pay hefty change fees, and in many cases have to buy
brand-new tickets. How about giving those passengers a break?

2. Carry a bottle of water through a TSA screening area.

The Transportation Security Administration's prohibition of carry-on
liquids and gels should have been stricken from the books months ago,
when the government agency decided to replace its outright ban on
liquids with one that's difficult to understand -- and enforce.

(If you're still a little confused about what "toiletries of 3 ounces
or less that fit comfortably in one quart-size, clear plastic, zip-top
bag" are, you're not alone.)

Now, instead of looking for terrorists or hijackers, our federalized
airport screeners are busy confiscating toothpaste, perfume and
bottled water. I haven't seen any conclusive evidence that the liquid
and gel ban is protecting us from the bad guys. What I have seen are a
lot of needless confrontations between TSA agents and frustrated air
travelers, including the highly publicized sippy-cup incident that got
Monica Emmerson and her toddler in hot water recently
(www.elliott.org/archives/2007/06/ tsa--protects--na.php).

Maybe the government needs to realize that the villains have moved on
to some other way of blowing up a plane. It's time for it to move on,
too.

3. Use any part of an airline ticket you want.

Most carriers require their passengers to use every segment of their
ticket. If you don't, they can cancel the remaining portion of your
ticket or, in extreme cases, bill you or your travel agent for the
fare difference.

These tariff rules make perfect sense for airlines. They use a complex
and counterintuitive pricing system called "yield management" that
often churns out some truly bizarre fares. A one-way ticket, for
example, can cost more than a round-trip fare. A cross-country flight
is sometimes cheaper than a short commuter flight. In order to make
sure everyone pays these crazy prices, airlines say you must use every
flight segment on your ticket exactly as you booked it. (One of my
favorite examples is Northwest Airlines -- check out Rule 70, part C
of its General Rules (www.nwa.com/plan/contract2.pdf) -- which warns
that circumventing its tariff rules could result in having your
frequent flier miles confiscated or being denied boarding. Ouch!) But
the rule makes absolutely no sense for passengers. I can think of no
other business that tries to control how its product is used the way
airlines do. It's about time to jettison this customer-hostile rule.

4. Return your rental car early without being charged more.

Common sense tells you that if you return a rental car early, you
should get a partial refund on your bill. But common sense doesn't
necessarily apply to the travel industry. For example, Alamo Rent A
Car not only charges a $15-per-day early- return fee, but it also
recalculates your rate, charging you the same price that walk-up
customers pay to rent a car without prior reservation. (In one case I
wrote about, that added $361 to one customer's bill.)

Now, I can understand charging a nominal early-return fee and likening
it to a restocking fee charged by stores. But asking for more money
for less of a product? That's travel industry logic, but it doesn't
fly with travelers. Time to junk that rule.

5. Not pay a hotel's resort fee.

I've never met a hotel guest who likes paying a mandatory resort fee,
which is a surcharge that covers little extras like beach towels, in-
room coffeemakers and exercise equipment. The fees can add anywhere
from 10 percent to 20 percent to the cost of your room.

Hotels are not always up-front about the surcharges. Instead of
quoting them as part of the room rate, they wait until after you've
asked for a price, and then say, "Oh, by the way ... there's a $15 a
day resort fee. Here's the real room rate." In some cases, they wait
until you've checked in to tell you about it. Not very sporting of
them.

Charging extra for amenities that should be included in the hotel room
is ludicrous. But not nearly as ludicrous as forcing every guest to
pay for these amenities, whether they use them or not. The most
forward-looking hotels already have scrapped their resort fees or made
them optional. Call me old-fashioned, but I think resort fees should
take a permanent vacation.

This is just the top of a very long list of senseless, anti- customer
rules imposed by the travel industry. You probably have a few of your
own. (I'll admit, I found picking just five wasn't easy.) Next time
you run into a rule that doesn't make sense, don't be afraid to ask
why. If enough people do, the travel industry might actually start
listening.


I once checked into a hotel that was barely 2.5 stars. A sign on the
check-in desk informed of a five dollar daily fee for the in-room
safe,whether used or not.
I simply said I was not paying it, and you can send someone up to take
it out of the closet wall so you can rent it to someone who needs it.
WIthout blinking they took the charge off, but still handed me a key
to the safe. When I protested this, they said, "PLease sir, just
return it when you check out. Otherwise we might lose the
key." (!!)