Customer Reviews

Frequent Traveler's Guide: What Smart Travelers and Travel Agents Know

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What makes a smart traveler is quite often information gained the hard way: through much experience. Now you can be smart without the headaches: simply consult the experiences of travel agents and other savvy travelers in The Frequent Traveler's Guide: What Smart Travelers And Travel Agents Know. Chapters cover everything from airlines and car rentals to group tours, providing the inside details on how to streamline arrangements, receive free upgrades, and avoid common travel problems such as getting sick or bumped. A 'must' for any who would travel savvy, if not more frequently.

This is not a book for the frequent traveler. Just about everything in it, you know already. Some of the things seem quite outdated, such as open-ended round-trip tickets...
This might be an OK book for a family just starting to do some real travelling. Otherwise, pass.

This book did not provide any real news for a genuine frequent traveller. It might be suitable for some young people starting their travel life....................................................................

If you travel a lot you'll already know most of the content of this book. However, it's cheap travel insurance to pay $14.95 to have it in your bags to refer to when those infrequent situations come up to surprise you. Such as, you ask? Well, what do you say to the manager when you show up at a hotel with a confirmed reservation and it's full? With hotels now contesting traveler's claims to credit card companies when they're overcharged for incidentals, what do you need to beat them? If you cancel a trip due to a hurricane or other severe weather, can you get you money back? You get the idea.

The authors know the field -- Alexander Anolik is a prominent attorney whose firm specializes in travel law and serves as general counsel for the Assn of Retail Travel Agents and wrote the first travel law textbook, "The Law and the Travel Industry" now in it's 5th edition. And, his coauthor, John K. Hawks, Executive Director of the Consumer Travel Rights Center is President of the Assn of Retail Travel Agents. Hawks is a noted author, too -- having previously published "Career Opportunities in Travel and Tourism" and "The Complete Guide to the Homestay Experience Abroad."

Here's the chapter-by-chapter coverage: (1) Air Travel; (2) Car Rentals; (3) Lodging; (4) Cruises; (5) Tours (6) International Travel; (7) Travel Agents, Consolidators and Websites; (8) Travel Finance and Insurance; (9) Travel Crimes and Scams; (1) Discrimination in Travel; (Appendix A) Filing Effective Complaint Letters; and, (Appendix B) Travel Magazines and Guidebooks.

Here are some of the tips discussed by the authors: "When you inspect a rental car before driving off the lot, make sure the trunk contains an inflated spare tire, a lug wrench and a jack..."; when you check into a hotel, "make sure no strangers hear your name and room number: always use the hotel's main entrance; never leave your room door open when carrying luggage or using vending machine"; "be aware that a state can rarely prosecute a crime that occurs in international waters"; and, when going for travel insurance, ask your travel agent if your minor children traveling with you can be added at no extra charge. Good tips, all typical of others found throughout the book.

Recommended for those in the industry, frequent travelers and public libary collections.

R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University