“Travel briefs: Spotting online scams, defining boutique hotels, comparing airline fees, saving the gulf, going Down ...”

Travel briefs: Spotting online scams, defining boutique hotels, comparing airline fees, saving the gulf, going Down ...

Posted: 31 Jul 2010 10:25 PM PDT

'Stranded Traveler' online scam

Debbie Laramie wasn't robbed in England.

She was hacked in Michigan — a victim of the "Stranded Traveler" scam that is sweeping cyberspace.

Last month, bad guys hacked into her Facebook and Yahoo accounts. They stole her online identity, address book, changed her passwords, then sent out a message using her e-mail address:

"I'm writing this with tears in my eyes. We came down here to England for a short vacation and we got mugged at gun point last night, at the park of the hotel where we lodged. All cash, credit cards and cell were stolen from us. The hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the hotel bills, we are freaked out at the moment."

On July 2, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center issued a warning to Americans about the "Stranded Traveler" scam. But it was too late for Laramie.

The e-mail sent in her name went on: "Lend me the sum of $1,750 so we can settle the hotel bills and get a return ticket back home. Please do me this great help and I promise to refund the money as soon as I get back home. I look forward to your positive response, so I can send you the details you need to send the money to me through Western Union."

Read the e-mail closely, and you notice the weird English phrase — "do me this great help" — but friends only noticed the plea came from Laramie's own e-mail address.

Laramie

estimates the message went to at least 270 people, including her mayor, doctor, kids' teachers and entire high school class reunion list. She found out she had been hacked when her doctor called to ask if she was OK. She then realized she was locked out of her Yahoo and Facebook accounts and somebody else was pretending to be her.

For the next week, her phone kept ringing from long-lost friends, colleagues and family asking if she really needed financial help.

It took wrangling to get Yahoo and Facebook to restore her access.

Then, she found her entire contact list had been erased, Facebook page changed and e-mails evaporated.

"I felt like somebody broke into my house," she says.

On the other hand, the outpouring of concern from friends ready to help if she actually was stranded in England made her grateful.

"The people who know me know I've never been to Europe. I am only up at my cottage. They just heard the tone of the letter and saw it came from my e-mail address," she says.

This scam is going around. Protect your passwords on e-mail and social media accounts.

If you get an e-mail like this, call your friend or message back asking a question only your real friend would know.

Scam victims should file a complaint with the FBI at ic3.gov.

And if you are ever really traveling abroad, leave at least one credit card back at your hotel when you go out.

If you are robbed at gunpoint, contact the police and the U.S. Embassy for help.

Nobody should ever send a blanket e-mail from abroad to pals back home begging for cash.

— Detroit Free Press

What exactly is a boutique hotel?

Although thousands of hotels across the U.S. are eager to title themselves "boutique," there is no industry-approved definition.

Most people in the industry agree only that a boutique hotel is small, upscale and usually independently owned.

But an industry group that recently formed in Southern California is working to define the term.

Recently, the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association announced plans to develop an industry standard for boutique and lifestyle hotels.

The group, led by Frances Kiradjian, the founder of a West Hills marketing consulting firm, hopes a definition will keep hotels from misleading customers looking for a true boutique hotel.

— Los Angeles Times

Airline fees aren't easy to compare

Since airlines began to add new fees for such extras as checked bags, pillows and food, passengers have been griping about the increased costs.

Now, some of the harshest criticism of airline fees is coming from travel managers who oversee millions of dollars in travel spending for large businesses.

The managers are frustrated that the fees are not disclosed through computer distribution systems and independent travel agencies that they use to compare airline fares and predict annual travel costs.

They have good reason for wanting detailed information on the cost of flying.

Travel managers around the world oversee more than $340 billion in spending on business travel and meetings annually. Computer giant IBM Corp. alone spends an estimated $505 million on air travel.

Though travel managers can easily compare ticket prices on travel websites and other distribution systems, they also must consider how much it costs to, say, check a bag at Delta Air Lines ($25) or buy a snack box on United Airlines ($6).

To find such information, they often have to dig endlessly through individual airlines' websites.

The growing concern over airline fees prompted an aviation subcommittee in the House of Representatives to hold hearings recently on the subject. Travel managers and consumer advocates were united in arguing that airlines should make fee information easier to find and gather.

"Helter skelter has become the rule of the day in airline pricing," Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the 300-member Business Travel Coalition, testified.

"Consumers have the right to be presented with an accurate view of the full cost of a product," said Michael McCormick, director of the National Business Travel Association. The group has affiliates around the globe with a combined membership of 17,000 travel professionals.

Even the government was critical of the airlines. The Government Accountability Office issued a report to the same subcommittee, calling for airlines to prominently display fee information. The agency also suggested that Congress consider taxing the fees.

David Castelveter, a spokes-man for the Air Transport Association, the trade group that represents the nation's biggest airlines, said most fee information can be found on the airlines' websites. It's up to others to gather that information and provide it to consumers, he said.

It may only be a matter of time before airlines are forced to change the way they disseminate fee information. The U.S. Transportation Department is considering adopting rules to require changes, and several lawmakers have proposed language to do the same in legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration this year.

— Los Angeles Times

Travel group to BP: Save the Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast stands to lose 400,000 travel industry jobs, and it's up to BP to pay to save them, the U.S. Travel Association asserted last week.

In a 10-point "Roadmap to Recovery" released July 22, the association called for BP to finance a $500 million marketing campaign to attract visitors to the region.

The association also released an economic analysis of the oil spill's impact. Based on the aftermath of 25 recent natural and man-made disasters, forecasting firm Oxford Economics projected it will take the Gulf Coast three years and $22.7 billion to recover.

"Travel is a perception business, and the impact of disasters like the BP oil spill on the industry is actually predictable," said Roger Dow, president and chief executive of U.S. Travel.

In addition to the marketing campaign, U.S. Travel recommended that the federal government create a "one stop shop" online portal where consumers can get up-to-the-minute information on affected areas; provide tax deductions to travelers who visit and do business in the region; increase access to low-interest loans for tourism-related businesses; and organize travel and tourism-specific trade missions to the Gulf Coast states.

"It's not too late to save Gulf Coast jobs and keep attracting visitors to prevent further damage to these vital American communities," Dow said.

— Washington Post

Looking up help to go Down Under

If the vacation rental sites you use fall short on options when it comes to Australia, check out Stayz.com.

What's hot: It lists more than 23,000 holiday rentals in Australia. You can even track your favorites as you browse through a luxury villa on Whitsunday or an urban tree house in the Margaret River area. If you're not familiar with the regions, use the "Accommodation by Holiday Type" box in the right sidebar. You can look for locations suited for beach outings, skiing, surfing or other travel experiences.

What's not: Prices are in Australian dollars. As with many rental sites, you must complete a form to request a booking. Availability calendars are shown, and deposits are required. Searches for specific types of properties don't always give accurate results.

— Los Angeles Times