Customer Reviews

The Travel Detective: How to Get the Best Service and the Best Deals from Airlines, Hotels, Cruise Ships, and Car Rental Agencies

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

As a seasoned traveler and having worked at a large hotel as Front Desk Manager I have to say most of what is given in this book is worthless. In fact if you try some of his "tactics" in a normal hotel you might get stuck with a hefty bill. I read this book to see how scammers might try to take advantage of my staff. None of my staff ever fell for any of what he suggests and many have tried.

Someone tried the double reservation game with us when we were fully booked. It ended up costing him two nights for both reservations. He tried to not pay and called his credit card to complain about it. Surprisingly the credit card company sided with us on that one. Hotels, as everyone else in the tourism industry, are onto the little scams this guy tries to put out as tips. Also reservations are a form of contract and depending on the state can be hard to break.

His advice on airlines was remedial at best even before 9/11. Now it is completely useless. I read a one page article on airline tips in a Reader's Digest and it had more practical advice.

You can be pretty sure that if you try any of these tactics you will not get an upgrade of any sort. More likely the staff will be onto you and look at you distrustfully for the duration of your travels with that company. If you want to insure bad seats, bad rooms, and bad everything else then try these tactics. Sometimes a bad customer is not worth having. On several occasions I "fired" guests. This is a good guide to making that happen. If you are a true frequent traveler then you should be getting perks already as a valued customer. You won't need this.

This author tries to paint travel industry professionals as some sort of enemy. It is this guy and his tricks that make travelers look bad and eventually cost the industry so much that they end reward programs for honest travelers. The people in this industry work exceptionally hard. They have bad hours, work holidays, and receive poor pay. The worst part of it is dealing with jerks like this and people that take out unrelated travel frustrations that people encounter. They put up with all this and are expected to say thank you and smile.

This is their job and they know it, but people like this author and his "advice" are not acceptable.

Here are a few tips on hotels that I hope you will find useful:

1. Your best general rate is going to be available via internet reservations.
2. Online discounters get a good mark up on the rooms they book for you. The hotel gets a very low rate and will give you a "run of house room" this means they will give you whatever is available. Even if you call and get a confirmed reservation for a certain type of room the hotel can change it at will as that is in the agreement with the discount broker. The discount broker is actually the contracted guest, not you.
3. Check the local area out on the web and find out what businesses frequent the area. If you have ever purchased a product of theirs you can justifiably claim you are a buyer and do business with them, the hotel may book you at their negotiated rates. I would leave out the fact that you purchase relatively small quantities.
4. Hotel room rates fluctuate on expected vacancy. The more filled the hotel the more likely they are to charge you their "rack" rate. This is their full price, every other rate is a discount off of this rate.
5. If the hotel is charging rack rate because they are expected to be fully booked then go to your travel agent. Your travel agent will be able to get you a better rate for this instance only. Otherwise avoid your travel agent at all costs.
6. Always always get confirmation numbers and if absolutely necessary get a faxed or e-mailed confirmation letter and check the dates thoroughly. A lot of people find out they were booked for the wrong days.
7. The more you call the more likely someone will screw up your reservation. Know what you want in advance and put your requests in all at one time. If you start to annoy the reservationist they may screw up your reservation. The reservationist likely won't be at the hotel when you show up and things are screwed up.
8. Requests for adjoining rooms can be exceptionally difficult. Most hotels will try to accomodate requests like this but will rarely guarantee them.
9. Most business-class rooms have special lounges or amenities available during business days only. On the weekends these services may not be offered.
10. Hotels offer a room to stay in. Unless you are paying sky high rates don't expect a palace. More likely you are paying for the location. If you are booking a downtown hotel in any medium sized city or larger expect to pay seperately for parking. Almost no hotel can afford a parking structure in a city. The property taxes alone would force you to pay an unimaginable rate. Ask how much parking will cost. Remember the hotel will most likely have no control over this so don't complain to them about it. In big cities this can be a daily rate of $20-$30. Not a good surprise.

Given the massive changes in airline policies and security since 9/11, the vast majority of the advice in this book is no longer applicable. Greenberg focuses so much on flying - almost 240 of the book's 375 or so pages of content - that you'd think there was nothing more to travel than the flight. There's also a bizarre jump from an abbreviated pet-friendly lodging section (a whopping two paragraphs) smack into the middle of a discussion on how to get the best deal on a hotel room. Clearly, whoever edited this cut a big chunk out, and deprived the reader of who-knows-how-much information. There are some useful tips and hints in here, but not enough to justify owning it.

While returning from Florida a week ago, via a major airline, I was almost driven to air rage when the passenger ahead of me fully reclined his chair. My legs were practically around my neck and my tray table lodged in my abdomen. I decided that I would NEVER again fly this airline and that I would SEARCH for a book that had the insider information that I needed to get a better seat on a plane. This book is that and soooooo much more. DETAILED seat information on specific planes was just the beginning. I advise reading with a hightlighter as there is a lot of information to digest. He also includes a great reference section at the end with web sites, phone numbers, etc. For those who like to take an active part in travel plans, this book is a must read..........otherwise, call your travel agent and hope for the best!

This is, without a doubt, the dumbest book I have ever read - on any subject.

The core of the book is based primarily on the author buying the cheapest possible tickets and hotel rooms, and then magically being upgraded to first-class and oceanfront suites at no extra charge - every time. All he does is ask for it. Apparently he has the world's greatest personality because everyone he meets can't wait to give him free upgrades. It is truly unbelievable how many people all over the world are tripping over themselves to help this guy out.

The author also stresses that his loyalty to one airline makes him a valued customer, and therefore results in frequent upgrades. I find this hard to believe since he always pays next to nothing for his tickets (something he constantly brags about). If airlines track their customer's flying histories, like he claims they do, his airline would see that he is nothing more than a freeloader who generates very little revenue for the airline compared to the amount of service he consumes. Why would an airline continually reward him for doing nothing for
them? It's not like he actually pays for anything he gets.

Every time I fly I always ask the gate agent for a complimentary upgrade to first-class, and every time I am politely denied, usually with a little chuckle from the agent. We all know that in the real world things don't work like the author claims they do. So if you believe in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy go ahead and buy this book. If not save your money.

If you would like to read Peter Greenberg's stand up act, get this book. If you are looking for clear, concise travel tips, keep looking. Reading this book, it feels like jokes outnumber useful tips 10 to 1. The first 10 pages are Jay Leno's take on traveling!?!? That's not what I call useful travel tips.

I thought I'd get more out of this book than I actually did. Some of the suggestions seem like common sense to me--watch the airline arrival times to see if your departing plane is coming in on time for example. Greenberg also sounds a little too snide and know-it-all for my taste. This may be just a personal taste 'thing'.
There is some good detail (good 'hidden' seats for example) but it seems to me that a lot of this information is already available or is easy to figure out on one's own. Try reading 'Frommer's Budget Travel Mag' regularly, for example.

There is little information that's useful in this book for a traveller who wants to get the best service and the best deals. There are some VERY interesting anecdotes that give background about why different things happen, or how things came to be--For instance, until reading the book I had not understood the idea behind the airlines that remove seats from their aircraft (as American is now doing, and TWA did a few years ago). The few new ideas I saw weren't followed up on--For instace, "Use repositioning flights to travel long distances at cheap rates" but with no information on how to search out such flights from the wealth of flight information available on the internet. Unless you are a total novice at this stuff, I don't think you'll learn much that is useful in achieving the goals listed in the title. If you ARE a novice of that type, the book is okay.

Are you a frequent traveller? Have you ever lost your luggage, your children, your pets en route? How about your self-respect in a heated moment of frustration, or better still, how about temporarily losing your sanity? Many a traveller has taken all the precautions to plan the most well-organized vacation, only to find their "holiday paradise retreat" has turned out to be a "living nightmare in the tar pits and a challenge in survival". A hot shower can mean little more than a leaky faucet with water desperately looking for a place to run. Double occupancy does not guarantee the other occupant is human, and "ammenities included" may mean you do not have to walk a mile to the nearest bathroom facilities, although you may have to share the facility with twenty other hot, frustrated, angry, discontented travellers.

If this sounds like it could be you, you need this book. It is humourous, and so true to life. This author has certainly done his homework and anyone who has spent so much time and energy learning the tips and tricks of successful travelling has written a book worth reading. From air travel to accommodations this book is filled with smart advice. I positively loved this book; the author knows how to take a lot of crinkles and frustration out of global travelling.

I have been a traveler for over 20 years, and I have seen many changes in the travel industry. What I know for certain is that this book is completely unrealistic and by following this advice you are certain to end up paying more for your travels. Today's travel environment is such that airlines and hotels are not putting up with those who try to manipulate their systems. More specifically following these TRICKS will result in losing your frequent flyer accounts, club memberships,or even air tickets-resulting in the need to pay a full fare to continue on your trip as well as, any number of sanctions that the travel industry can impose. Over, my past 20+ years of travel, I have found many great and legitimate ways to save money, never having to compromise my integrity and values. Therefore, I caution one about following the advice within this book.

I purchased this book after hearing the author speak at a Travel Show. His talk was both informative and entertaining. I expected his book to be some mix of his travel experiences and best practices the average traveller can apply.

I was quite disappointed. The book seems to be more of a diatribe against the travel industry. I do not work in that industry and I dont travel nearly as much as the author, so perhaps Im giving the travel industry too much leeway, but I dont see the need to write an entire book written in opposition of a mostly hardworking group of people.

Further, the "tips" in this book were either mostly non applicable to the general traveling public or completely common sense. I didnt need to read a book to tell me I should be courteous while traveling or I should shop around for the best fares.

The author was so much more pleasant, charming and informative in person that I hope he writes another book that focuses more on his personal experiences.