Jaunted

Airline News / Airfares / Recession Travel / Travel News / AIrlines / LCCs / → All Tags

Airfares Plummeting, Airlines Sinking Faster Than Ever

If you're trying to figure out why airlines like American keep reporting mindblowing revenue declines over 2008, the airfare figures for last quarter are out. How desperate were airlines to get any kind of passenger at any kind of price? Desperate enough to drop their prices to 1998 levels.

That means that airlines are more skittish about their current market position than they were after 9/11. As a reminder, that was a terrorist act which involved airplanes and therefore shook people's confidence in airplanes which are the things that airline companies fly. The price dip over the last few months has been worse than that, pointing to an industry that's out of options to get people buying tickets.

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Laid-Off Travel / Priceline / Travel Insurance / Recession Travel / → All Tags

Priceline Will Offer Refunds If You Lose Your Job (But Only If You Buy Trip Protection)

No need to hold a bikini car wash to pay for your vacation with the new Priceline trip protection.

What was very en vogue in the last quarter of 2008 and at the start of 2009 has suddenly become en vogue again. But we won't complain because it's actually a good thing. Priceline.com has announced it will offer a full cancellation and refund for anyone who books a trip on their site and then loses their job. From the press release:

The expanded trip protection is available for priceline.com’s vacation packages, Name Your Own Price® hotel rooms, published-price and Name Your Own Price® airline tickets, and rental cars booked as an add-on to any priceline.com travel reservation.

However, as this is part of Priceline's optional travel insurance you need to select this option in order to get a refund. But um, we hope that won't happen because we want you to keep your job! Trip protection costs as little as $16 for a flight and $5 a night for a hotel reservation.

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Recession Travel / Tourism / Travel News / Timeshares / → All Tags

Timeshare Pitches About To Get Hardcore As Industry Hurts

We’ve always been tempted to sit through a timeshare presentation to score some freebies, but we usually realize that having a good time and a relaxing evening is better than a stressful 90-minute hard sell. However, if you want some free stuff, or are really interested in vacation ownership, now is a good time. Timeshare sales are down big time, and some experts are thinking that things will drop 30 percent from 2008 numbers.

Marriott’s timeshare group, for instance, is cutting prices and slowing down their plans to expand. They are even thinking about selling some of their prime land—might be worth taking a look if you’re looking to build your own vacation home. Wyndham is doing the same thing, despite being the largest seller of timeshares in the country; they are cutting 40 percent of their sales. The salespeople trying to get rid of these properties might be getting desperate, so beware their hardcore pitches.

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Dubai Travel / Landmarks / Travel News / Recession Travel / → All Tags

In Dubai, It's The End Of 'The World'

In order for Dubai to survive the worldwide recession and nurture their burgeoning reputation as a must-visit destination, the weak and frivolous projects must suffer in favor of things that actually contribute to the city. Thus, we are only somewhat surprised to learn of the failure of the multi-billion-dollar project of man-made islands called "The World."

After all, the islands were only due to be accessibly by the richest of the rich, with no dynamic plans for the future after the many moneyed residents built their homes on the islands. The Burj Dubai and Dubai metro system will however positively impact both locals and tourists—that's why they get the go-ahead during these rough times while The World ends.

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Recession Travel / Travel News / San Francisco Travel / Brooklyn Travel / → All Tags

Most Frugal US Cities List Calls Out Brooklyn, San Francisco

Financial site Mint.com has just released their 2009 list of "The Most Frugal Cities In America," charting the drop in discretionary spending for major American cities over the last 12 months. The data has all kinds of obscure and interesting information, from who spends the most on books to where residents are likely to drop cash on sporting goods.

We picked the weirdest data point from that last category and discovered that San Francisco ranks fourth on sporting goods, beating out a bunch of places where people buy boats, hunting gear, and camping equipment. Apparently whoever's selling cross-trainers to yuppies is making a killing.

The national drop in spending was an eye-popping 13%, which should provide our nation's totally hosed airlines a little bit of miserable company. Brooklyn led the way with a 28% decrease in total discretionary spending, a dip that future historians will undoubtedly refer to as "The Great Trust Fund Bust of 2009."

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Music Travel / Recession Travel / New York City / Cheap NYC / Central Park / Los Angeles Travel / Seattle Travel / Events / Baton Rouge Travel / → All Tags

Jaunted's Nationwide Guide To Free Music Events

'Tis the season for stadium shows, reunion tours, and outdoor festivals, but with ticket prices sometimes looming in the hundred-dollar range, even the prospect our seeing some of our all-time favorite acts isn't enough to coax out our credit cards. In these lean times, we're in search of the best deals, not the best laser light extravaganzas, so it's that splendid word—"free"—that chimes like music to our ears.

Zero-dollar entertainment can be found from coast-to-coast, from classy classical to celebrated jazz and blues artists. Below, we take you from West to East in search of worthwhile free music experiences. We can't promise synchronized dancing, but you will get a heavy dose of culture.

Jaunted's Nationwide Guide to Free Music Events:

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Shopping Travel / Los Angeles Travel / Fashion Travel / Recession Travel / Lists / → All Tags

Jaunted's Three Favorite Vintage Shops In Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the epicenter of all things trendy and Californian. You need not look any further than Robertson Boulevard—a street reviled by some fashion lovers, but embraced by a sect of label-centric shoppers—for proof positive. Yet the city breeds vastly different identities, and by extension, expressions of what is en vogue.

Balenciaga and Balmain may rule in Beverly Hills, but down Melrose Avenue and further eastbound you'll find that style is influenced by throwbacks to decades long gone, and some still fresh in recent memory. (Hello, '90s grunge revival in Echo Park.) If, like us, you have a penchant for '70s boho-wear and clothing that comes at a price point that won't afflict you with sticker shock, then vintage shopping is where your well-earned money should go.

Jaunted's Top Vintage Shops In Los Angeles:

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Tourism Marketing / Tourism Boards / Tourism Board Travel / Recession Travel / → All Tags

So How are they Selling Caribbean Island Vacations These Days?

Fresh from the inbox, the United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism is launching a new advertising blitz aimed at luring potential visitors from the U.S. with a message of freedom and reinvention. The idea of the "You, Unscripted" campaign - which includes TV, magazine, and Web spots - is that visitors to the USVI can have unique experiences that help them establish a new identity while on vacation, casting off old demons and rising like a phoenix from the ashes of the quotidian, or something. It's an updated version of a familiar message, but it could be especially resonant these days now that most Americans are stressed out and on the brink of unemployment. And as for the "unscripted" part, that might be a subtle way of saying that there's more to do in St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix than drink yourself into a stupor in some all-inclusive resort. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Bars / Recession Travel / Beer / Spain Travel / → All Tags

Abuse the Barman, Get Free Beer

Economic crisis time has brought us plenty, really: cheap airline tickets or staycations, just to name a couple. A surprising bonus out of the global recession is the fact that you can now abuse bar staff in a pub in Spain and get a free beer out of it.

The Casa Pocho bar in Cullera, near Valencia, offers free drinks for "original or hilarious abuse". The owner Bernard Mariusz figured that in these difficult times, people need an outlet for their frustrations and his bar was as good a place as any for it.

Mariusz also says that the Spanish language is full of fantastic abusive phrases, so the challenge to come up with drink-worthy slander shouldn't be too hard. Our limited Spanish doesn't yet extend to too much abuse, but for a free drink, we'll learn anything.

Related Stories:
· Gimme A Beer, Imbecile [Reuters]
· Beer Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: IanKershaw]

Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / Six Flags / Theme Park Travel / Roller Coasters / Recession Travel / Recession / → All Tags

Six Flags Doing Great, Declares Bankruptcy

As we discussed back in March, the Six Flags amusement park chain has been in dire financial straits for a while, straining under more than $2 billion in debt. Efforts to restructure that debt proved fruitless, so the company is now seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As the AP points out, operations at the company's 20 parks in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico won't be affected by the filing, but one has to wonder what kind of entity will emerge on the other side.

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National Parks / Recession Travel / Travel News / California Travel / → All Tags

California Can't Pay For Its Parks, Meaning You Can't Visit Them

Were you planning on some recession vacationing this summer in California's vast network of state parks? Too bad:

Desperate for revenues, Schwarzenegger has taken the unprecedented step of proposing the closure of 220 of the 279 state parks and beaches – from Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay to the deserts of Anza-Borrego – to save about $213 million over the next two years. Administration officials said the list of targets came down to which parks generate more revenues from fees and concessions than they cost to operate.

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Business Travel / Mixed Messages / Travelocity / Disney / Recession Travel / → All Tags

Clear as Mud: Business Travel is Totally Cool, Except for When it Isn't

After laying low for a while, the business travel industry is pushing back against critics who claim that first-class seats and lavish retreats aren't appropriate in the current economic environment. Insurance company AIG came under fire last October for sending executives on a week-long retreat at a luxury resort and spa shortly after receiving relief funds, while auto executives were ridiculed for flying their private jets to Washington for the bailout hearings. With so many people in dire economic straits, it seems tacky for companies to flaunt their wealth these days, but is it fair to single out business travel as an unjustifiable expense? Or is it a cost of doing business that helps the economy as well?

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