Sure, you know to tip at a sit-down restaurant, but what do you do when the barista flips around that iPad screen and you need to decide how much to tip on a latte she hasn’t even made for you yet? Counter-service tipping via tablet is now mainstream, but do you really need to give? I found data on how many people really tip. [Click headline to read article.]
Category Archives: Technology and Advice
NYT Sunday Review: How Guilty Should You Feel about Your Vacation?
Airplanes are responsible for a significant greenhouse gas emissions. Overtourism is threatening our cultural heritage. Airbnb and other vacation rentals are destroying neighborhoods. Should you really be traveling? [Click headline to read story.]
Life & Money: Six Great Destinations You’ve Never Heard Of
I’ll do pretty much anything to promote my new book on travel. Like, for example, link to it in this very sentence. But I draw the line when a TV or podcast interviewer asks me on to discuss, say, “the hottest new destinations for 2019.” Even considering such a list is travel writer malpractice. Why would you recommend a place bound to be overpriced and packed with tourists? Instead, I’d rather be invited to recommend places that are not hot this year, or next year…and may never be. [Click headline to read full piece.]
New York Times: Five Ways To Up Your Spontaneity Game
The best travel moments happen through serendipity. And serendipity isn’t dumb luck. You can make it happen. Click here to read the article.
When Your Child Is the Travel Agent
As the guest Getaway columnist, I write about when children (like my nephew Leo) take over family trip-planning. (Disaster does not ensue.)
An Informed Traveler Is a Safe Traveler
Why travelers are generally so terrible about assessing risk when they travel. Or, why non-pregnant Olympics fans who fear zika more than dengue have already been infected – by the media.
7 Travel Inventions I’d Love To See (But Probably Never Will)
It’s a banner day for me – my first “artwork” published in The New York Times (or, really, anywhere but the now-defunct 1970s-era refrigerator at 25 Ridge Road, Newton, Massachusetts).
Frugal Traveler: Readers Respond to Hotel Saving Tips
In a recent column, the Frugal Traveler outlined seven steps for finding good deals on hotels. Here’s a sample of reader reaction, from the creative to the critical.
Frugal Traveler on CBS This Morning
I was on CBS This Morning with…Charlie Rose and Jane Pauley??? That’s totally cool. Talked about finding cheaper hotel rooms.
Frugal Traveler: 7 Steps to a Cheaper Hotel Room
Confused about how to find a good deal on a place to stay? The Frugal Traveler put together this guide to help you land the right room at the right price.