Do you hate paying good money for bad food on an airplane? Do you hate having to make repeated purchases of 3 oz. bottles of hair gel because a full-sized bottle results in a $35 checked luggage fee each way? Do you resent your own knees for convincing you to fork over $50 for an extra inch of legroom? I do too.

You know what we can do to Fight the Fees? Stop paying them!

Travel Boyfriend Demos How To Fight the Fees

What? How can that be? Companies have instituted these fees, they are the cost of doing business in these tough times (SFX: melodramatic piano chord) and therefore, we must pay.

“My paying additional fees for things that have already been included in the operational costs of the base fare stimulates the economy.”

“Increased profit at my expense saves jobs.”

“Really I deserve to pay more for a stale tortilla wrap to quiet my stomach on a 6-hour flight. Especially since I failed to factor in that we’d be stuck on the tarmac for 9 hours before takeoff. Stale tortilla wraps are a privilege, not a right, right?”

Ah, yes, the indoctrination has been successful. Perhaps we asked for it. Our wallets bulging seductively, dollar bills (or more likely, overdrawn credit cards) peeking out between the folds of too-tight leather. How could these companies help themselves? Really, these fees, this poor service, it’s all punishment for our own bad behavior. We should have known better. Expecting to pay fair prices for products and services instead of subsidizing poor business decisions like we should be.

Granted, failing to pay these greedy, fear-induced fees may mean a few of the airlines and hotel chains we put up with may fail too. But what’s brilliant is that where there is demand, there are enterprising companies poised to take their places. Gardeners know that pruning results in more robust plant life. Cut the old, wasted foliage to birth the new. It’s the circle of life, but in today’s economic climate (SFX: melodramatic piano chord again), we are afraid to prune. The old foliage, although unproductive, is familiar!

Too big to fail is a phrase that this Travel Betty hopes goes the way of staycation (SFX: toilet flush). It’s not that many of these legacy companies are too big to fail, it’s that they have proven they are too big to innovate. Having worked at and with a fair share of America’s behemoths, I’ve seen this pattern repeated ad nauseum. It’s difficult to gain momentum on even the simplest of innovations because the gravitational pull of the masses demands stasis. That’s how you get those steady, barely perceptible upticks in the quarterly stock returns. And who doesn’t like those?

Companies that are too big to innovate deserve to fail. When you’re business model requires squeezing your customers at every turn with you repeatedly finding yourself a hair’s breath from the licking flames of bankruptcy, you have an untenable business model. That’s when successful, forward-thinking legacy companies and scrappy upstarts should be able to come in and steal your market share. Is that fair? It is if you’re relying solely on your good looks and charm long after both have faded.

Attracting customers vs. trying to relentlessly extract from them means offering more not less. Take Virgin America, Southwest, or Jet Blue for example. These are companies with the ability to inspire fanatic obsession. They are the budget airlines of our day, but they offer premium experiences. The key to their success is setting expectations (“we are a budget airline”) and exceeding them (“mood lighting, anyone?”). What these airlines didn’t do was set the expectation that they are a full-service, full-fare airline and then whine, manipulate, extort and go beg big daddy Congress for bailouts when the business climate changed, but they didn’t (although some did adopt the baggage fee policy and boooo to them!)

Delta, American, United, US Airways, Continental—airlines people have resigned themselves to doing business with against their better judgment. We don’t like ‘em, don’t trust ‘em and don’t want to fly ‘em. But what choice does a Travel Betty have? Due to their legacy, these airlines fly the most routes and have the global partnerships. But if what we’ve seen over the last few years is any indication, maybe we’d be better off with more airlines each flying fewer routes. If the no-bloat airlines were freed from the fight against out of touch legacies and could instead create strategic partnerships of their own to provide seamless point to point travel for passengers, maybe the entire landscape of air travel would have the breathing room to change for the better.

Certainly there are companies that are big, bold and old that are doing it well, like the Four Seasons. These companies are successful, even in dire economic times (SFX: cue piano…oh, you get the point) because they know better than to take their customers, real live people with value beyond our wallets, for granted. They work hard to build a strong brand, protect it fiercely and use it to direct their vision. Employees believe in that vision and are encouraged to develop new ways to build towards it. These companies understand that there are no guarantees in business, no entitlements. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance, as investment statements like to trumpet. Whatever passion, drive and vision you had to begin with must remain whether you have a direct competitor or not. Because even without corporate competition, people always have the choice to disengage completely. Just ask the millions of Americans who are now willing to drive 15 hours in their (imported) cars simply to avoid the rape and pillage at the airport.

True, in some instances, these giants attempt innovation. Consulting firms like the one I work for are more than happy to help in this regard and happen to be extremely good at it. The problem is that once the innovations have been conceived, it can be painfully difficult to adopt them if the culture is resistant. And there’s nothing like a huge lumbering corporate environment to off-gas resistance. It’s like sending a drug addict to the best treatment facility in the country only to deliver him back to the doorstep of his dealer and crack-loving girlfriend. Be sure, the people who work at these companies are incredibly smart, and understand that failing to innovate means almost certain failure to exist. But there has to be an assimilation process, a plan, with buy-in not only from the “treatment facility” and “patient” but also from the community as a whole. And that’s where the size of the monster often scares away even the most brave among us.

So is there no hope for the legacies? Not if they insist on business as usual.

It’s time to shake up the old guard and take an industry-wide innovative approach to travel. Let’s update our air traffic control system for god’s sake. Let’s renovate airports to make passenger-flow not only efficient, but intuitive and pleasurable. There are millions of us trapped for hours at a time looking for something, anything to do and the best they can offer is a sea of shrieking TV monitors and easy-wipe seating? Not good enough.

This time it’s going to require focusing on inner beauty instead of just phoning it in with another logo makeover. And these companies need to stop looking to us to subsidize the efforts with short-term solutions like reserved seating fees. We’ll be happy to pay a fair price when they start offering something of value.

The Move Your Money banking industry campaign has been inspirational in reminding us that, oh yeah, WE’RE in charge. Let’s continue the momentum and show the airline industry (and hotels with those unconscionable resort fees) we’re ready to Fight the Fees.

Who’s with me, Betties?

I hope each of them—and all the others I’ve met, too numerable to mention in one post—are ringing in 2010 surrounded by the people they care about most with a feeling of optimism for the next decade to come (Travel Boyfriend wants me to point out that the next decade doesn’t actually start until 2011…Forest through the trees…Forest through the trees, my dear TB).

What I love most about the new year is remembering that no matter what race, culture, religion, sexual orientation or level of spiciness you prefer your food to be seasoned, we all share in the passage of time. And even though for 364 days of the year (not counting leap year), we seem to be inundated with messages pointing out our differences as though they were pet soilings on an antique oriental rug, it’s quite nice actually that once a year we all pause for a moment to reflect on the year that has been and look forward to what is to come. We’re all open to the possibility of something even better. Imagine!

This year Travel Boyfriend and I were lucky enough to visit many equisite places together, some old favorites, some new: Montreal, Olympia, Seattle, LA, Memphis, Las Vegas, Missouri, Fort Meyers and most memorably Greece. In addition, I had a couple of short business trips to DC and Phoenix just to keep things interesting (hopefully next year will be a little more interesting in that regard).

2010 is a toss-up between India (TB’s choice) and Thailand (mine). Which one should we choose? Or are we overlooking somewhere even better? We’re definitely open to suggestions!

So yes, here it is, December 31st again. The new year is upon us. What possibilities are you excited about? Who in the world will you meet on your own travels near or far? Will you stick to your resolutions this time?

Nah, me neither. Oh, except the one to blog more.

Happy New Year, Travel Betties! May 2010 be the best year yet.

I have often considered myself an introvert. Others would disagree vehemently, but they don’t know how hard I’ve worked to overcome my shyness (which still lurks inside). I am a girl who once spent an entire gorgeous Ohio summer barricaded inside the house watching “Get Smart” and the “I Love Lucy” instead of hanging out with the other kids on the block for fear of generalized humiliation. I don’t know what caused my irrational fear, but it was felt deeply and without question.

So, to flash forward 20+ years to a woman traveling for 3 weeks out of 4 on her own in a country whose language she doesn’t speak, in a culture planets away from anything she knows, and attempting to contact a perfect stranger she met on the internet is to tell that little shy girl a story of an absolute mythical creature she could never understand. Perhaps, a narwhal.

But that’s how life works. Sometimes you find yourself seeking camaraderie in the laugh track underpinning the screwball antics of Agents 86 and 99. And sometimes you find yourself sitting across the table from the delightful German ex-pat named Christian of Nomad4Ever fame. Without a doubt, the latter is a much more enjoyable experience.

I ‘met’ Chris during the research phase of my Bali trip. Always on the hunt for provocative and useful insight into the places I intend to visit, his site easily topped my list for best Bali blog. Although, to be fair, his blog isn’t all just about Bali. It’s about living a life of intention and passion. Chris quit his lucrative IT career a few years back, scaled back his life to the bare essentials and now lives comfortably and vibrantly in Bali, Indonesia. Not bad.

Unfortunately, due to parental visits on his end and wedding planning on mine, we weren’t able to get together in person until 2 days before I was set to fly back to the States. Of course, once we did meet, I was kicking myself for not getting together with him and his lovely fiancé sooner because they were both a treasure trove of Bali knowledge, as well as a completely lovely and charming couple to boot. We literally spent 3 hours each nursing a single drink at Café Mokka, catching up and sharing our thoughts on travel, politics, and life in general.

I went home that night feeling enriched by the experience and encouraged by the knowledge that while it might be the easier route to befriend your television and shut out the world, truly meaningful connections occur when we take the risk to reach out to others and just be ourselves. 

So, without further ado, here are my 2 cents for Wanderlust and Lipstick:

What woman hasn’t dreamed of scrapping it all and hitting the open road? I mean, even that Bridges of Madison County woman was willing to let herself imagine trading in the apron for a chance to follow around a National Geographic photographer. Ultimately she decided gingham was indeed her color and stayed behind, but at least she dared to dream! Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo is the book you should read when you’re ready to give that dream a swift kick into the planning stage.Yes, there is the typical ‘is it safe for a woman to travel alone?’ and the ‘oh, woe is me, won’t I be lonely?’ talk, but it’s all handled in an evolved and inspirational manner and there’s no dwelling. The chapter called “Getting Beyond the Excuses” is especially helpful for allowing us to recognize that just because our fears sometimes have a louder mouth than our heart, we shouldn’t let them stop us.Much more of the book is focused on providing resources and anecdotes to actually get your butt out of the armchair and into the rickshaw, tuk tuk or gondola. Do you want to hike across Europe? Brush up on your botany skills? Learn how perfectly prepare a whole baby turtle? (Hey, you better not!) Wanderlust and Lipstick will point you in the right direction.Will you be able to plan your whole trip from start to finish using only this book? No, but that’s not the point. It’s the book you should read when you’re first mulling it over.“Can I do this?” Yes!“Should I?” Yes! Yes!“Now what?”Beth will give you the whats and where-to-gos so you can find what you need to create a truly unique journey for yourself. Half the fun is in the preparation and anticipation of what will be. Wanderlust and Lipstick makes sure that you’ve got realistic expectations and the resources you need to make it be something truly life-altering.In addition to her resourceful book, Beth also maintains a really rich and fantastic site called, what else? Wanderlustandlipstick.com of course! Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling SoloOther Betties Blogging About Beth Whitman Go NomadGadlingEurope a la CarteFull disclosure: Beth sent me a complimentary copy of this book. Because I have deep respect for my readers and strive to maintain a high quality blog above all else, my review is based upon my own opinions. If I didn’t like it, you’d know.

This week, I was charged with reading all of the submissions to the carnival and choosing my 3 favorites. As always when you’re asked to judge something, it was a hard decision, but these three stood out to me. I hope you find them as insightful as I did.

Go Visit Hawaii: Why Staying in a Condo on a Hawaii Vacation is a Savvy Choice

People always assume travel is expensive or if you are on a budget that you’ve got to give up all the perkier amenities. This post from GoVisitHawaii.com presents a compelling argument for renting condos on your next trip to the islands. Not only do you get more value for your buck, you also sometimes receive perks unheard of in a hotel (like a telescope or Japanese soaking tub!) Plus, as I noted in my October post about renting apartments in New Orleans, steering clear of chain hotels makes it feel a bit more like you’re living as a local. And who doesn’t like that?

Kango Blog: 48 Hours Family Trip to New Mexico

It’s always good to pre-plan where to go and what to do when you only have a short time in a new city. Since Travel Boyfriend and I desire to visit New Mexico sometime in the not-too-distant future, I found this article about 48 hours in Albuquerque from Kango Blog to be a good quick hit. It definitely got me salivating for sopapillas! If you’re planning a trip to New Mexico anytime soon, I’d suggest giving it a read. Especially if you have kids.

Escape From New York: Hutongs Beijing, China

I remember back to the 80s when my uncle made a business trip to China. This was seen as such an oddity for someone from good old Midwestern Ohio USA (the heart of it all). Why would anyone want to go there?! Well, thank god times have changed. China is now a fast-growing tourist destination with so much rich history and culture to drink in. Escape From New York‘s post about Hutongs (described as ancient alleyways lined by traditional walled compound homes) points out just one of the more charming architectural aspects that makes Beijing in particular such a fascinating city to visit. But go soon. These jewels are currently being torn down to make way for more “modern” constructions in order to woo visitors to the 2008 Olympics. What a short-sighted shame.

So thems my picks, Betties! I hope you enjoy reading these submissions as much as I did. And don’t forget, Darren is always looking for great travel posts, so if you’ve written an insightful travel-focused article this week, don’t forget to submit.

If you’re so inclined, Dear Reader, take a peek at what I had to say. And then go poking around the rest of TravelBlogs.com, because like they say, you’ll find some of the best travel blogs out there today.

“Look out, idiot! The traffic is coming from the other direction. Jesus Christ!”

Sometimes it likes to focus on the loneliness (or worse yet, tries to create loneliness when there isn’t any).

“Oh, that was really a stupid thing to say. No wonder you don’t have any friends, you loser.”

I’ve been in town 4 nights. I’ve spent 3 of those nights out and have already befriended a friendly Aussie expat, the couple in the second villa, and three guys who play music over at Flying Piano.

People even recognize me. One of the Flying Piano guitarists calls out “Tracyyyyy. Tracyyyyy!” as I walk down the street.

Four nights I’ve been here. And this guy knows my name. And he’s not the only one.

But, for some reason, my mind is telling me that I’m a lame ass and will never make the cheerleading squad, er, enjoy myself on this trip alone. Instead I should pine for the days when Travel Boyfriend joins me. THEN I’ll really have fun.

Sorry, mind. I’ve got other plans. Plans that start with a little harmless lipstick and end sometime late into the night.

Other Betties Blogging About Traveling Alone

Rambling Traveler gives us 10 tips to meeting people while traveling
Beth at Wanderlust and Lipstick gives us 5 tips for solo women travelers and literally wrote the book (which I intend to review soon) on women traveling by themselves
Ross Tabak at Brave New Traveler helps lead us through the 4 stages of culture shock

Needless to say, I was honored to participate, especially since it was my first official interview! So, without further ado, I am pleased to announce that it was just recently posted for the whole world to see here: “Are You A Travel Betty?”

Please take a look at your earliest convenience. Much obliged.

On the way over to Bali, my meal was fine, but not notable in any way. And it definitely wasn’t better than some of the really tasty meals I had a few years back on Thai Airways. When all was said and done, I found the food on Singapore Airlines to be the same starch-heavy meals most airlines serve.

To try as best you can to remedy the situation, I’d suggest ordering a special meal even if you don’t have special dietary or religious needs. Because I booked my ticket directly through Singapore Airlines, I was able to request my meal from their website for my return trip. Travel Boyfriend, who booked his frequent flier ticket through Delta (a Singapore Airlines partner), had to call.

Although an atheist, he ordered a Muslim meal on the way out to Bali and was really pleased. He said he was served a variety of curries and even some roti prata-type bread (delicious!). Although agnostic, I’m looking forward to my non-vegetarian Hindu meal, which the Singapore Airlines site claims will be Indian in nature with homemade naan and daal!

The main benefit of ordering a special meal though is really that you’ll get your food served first. Sure, you may have to wait longer than most after you’ve finished with a messy tray in your lap, but for one shining moment you’re apt to feel that you’re one of the most special people on the plane. Someone important enough to be served before all others. And isn’t that really reason enough to convert?

The downsides of an outdoor tropical garden bathroom are few. One being when yours is located next to the also-outdoor spa facility and you are suffering the effects of poorly-cooked-coconut-chicken-induced “Bali Belly.”