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5 worst things that can happen to a traveler
Globe-trotting can be risky — here’s how to sidestep problems
 | Stuck in a bad hotel room in between the ice machine and the elevators? It could have been avoided. Read on to find out how. |
Guillermo Arias / AP file |
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A traffic accident? Terrorist hijacking? Hotel fire?
Travel is risky, of course. But there’s just no way of knowing when your number will be up, and your plane will go down.
There are other worst-case scenarios that aren’t as random. I’m talking about preventable incidents that might — and probably will — happen to you on your next trip. Things you can anticipate. Things you should anticipate.
Here are the five worst, along with my suggestions for sidestepping them:
1. In the air: a creeping delay
Have you ever sat in a terminal — or worse, on a plane — and been assured by a bored voice on the public address system that your flight will leave “any minute”? Then, half an hour later, there’s another announcement promising “just ten more minutes” until wheels-up. Followed by an update half an hour later that you’ll depart in a few moments?
It’s called a creeping delay. Airlines used to do their best to prevent them because they drove passengers quietly mad. But this year, strangely, creeping delays have been re-imagined as a tool to deflect the anger of air travelers and divert attention from the incompetence of air carriers. With each update, another party is blamed for the delay: air traffic controllers, the weather, lack of available gates. By the time the flight actually departs, passengers are so confused that they don’t know where to direct their wrath. Mission accomplished!
No one tracks creeping delays, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that they’re being used with greater frequency. In extreme cases, customers can be strung along for many hours.
You can avoid a creeping delay by refusing to play along. If you’re waiting for a flight to board, be aware of the rules about delays — which is to say, at some point during a mechanical delay, the airline owes you a meal and hotel — and don’t be shy about calling an airline’s bluff. The airline rules, also known as the contract of carriage, can be found on your carrier’s Web site.
2. At the hotel: a bad room at a bogus price
Imagine the worst possible room at a hotel. You know, the one between the elevator and ice machine, under the disco and above the kitchen. Who gets the keys to these coveted quarters? Why, you do — if you booked the room from the wrong site. Even the best properties routinely send guests who made reservations through a discount Web site to these hotel rooms from hell. The practice has been around for years, but with soaring hotel occupancy levels, anyone stuck in these undesirable accommodations are being given two choices: either accept the room or check out — and lose the money you prepaid for the room.
Worse than that — as if that isn’t bad enough — is that the rate you thought you were going to pay isn’t the real price. No, there are lodging taxes that are added to your bill, and they’re used to fund everything from new basketball arenas to wildlife museums. Add to that resort fees and plenty of unexpected little extras, such as surcharges for the delivery of faxes and parcels to your room.
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Is there a way around it? Yes. Call ahead and tell them you’re a light sleeper or have mobility issues or have a pathological fear of ice machines. Anything to get you away from the worst room in the house. And while you’re at it, ask for a total price for your accommodations, so that you won’t be surprised when the bill is slipped under your door the morning before you check out.
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