Tagged With "Van rental"
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Re: Airbnb's rural listings gain popularity
"...the short-term rental site is clearly not just for urban hipsters anymore." From my own experience I'd put a somewhat different spin on it. Something like "urban hipsters seek rural experience". A good percentage of my guests come from one of the hipster capitols of the universe, San Francisco.
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Re: AAA Premier a Good Idea for Budget Travelers
AAA seems to choose their contracted towing services very well. I have always had good luck with them. I used the coverage when I had a break down with a rental car in a small town. The rental car company suggested that I call AAA for towing to their office in a nearby larger town to exchange the car. The rental car company had a contract with the same towing company that was under contract to AAA in that area. So that was very easy. If the tow goes over the 200 miles, they charge something...
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Re: A Visit to Lovely Lake Orta
I booked a rental car earlier today for a forthcoming trip to Portugal/Spain. I had toyed with the idea of going for something a bit bigger than the smallest category - which is what I usually book - but your article reminded me of the potential issues with very narrow streets in this part of the world. So a 'mini' car it is (Renault Twingo)!
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Re: AirBnB vs New York. Update
From the Bloomberg article: "Airbnb has been working hard in recent months to change the law in the company’s favor." This limited characterization makes me wonder whose side Bloomberg is on, given any individual NYC host or user has more to loose or gain than Airbnb, since the company will succeed with or without NYC listings. Given the timing of the original law, it seems clear that it's largely commercial interests that back the law limiting just who can participate in the short-term...
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Re: AirBnB vs New York. Update
I missed something...what taxes do they collect? None in my case. I collect it, include the bed tax in my price, which Airbnb gives to me in their payment, and I file a return with the county quarterly when I pay them. Income reported to IRS, but my responsibility to pay any tax due. But I think the rest is reasonable. No requirement that Airbnb enforce anything except in response to local authorities that a rental is illegal. In theory, they already remove substandard listings, so much the...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 18th, 2014: Bears
I haven't really "lived" with bears, but I've experienced their resourcefulness, both in campgrounds where we had to store our food up high and away from trees, and at a summer rental. At that house, they kept opening the steel container for the garbage cans. I weighted the lids with stones, and they brushed them aside. I put even larger and heavier rocks on the next time (making it truly inconvenient for me), and they simply pushed over the whole container. My wife wisely advised me to...
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Re: Airports, Airlines battle over passenger fees
The other fees that especially bother me are the ones you never see in tickets, because they come out the back door. Compare airport car rental prices with off-airport of the same brand; compare the price of gum or candy at the airport or a neighborhood store. That’s airport revenue, too, either through a direct charge (car) or super-high-rents (newsstand)
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Re: Airports, Airlines battle over passenger fees
Good points, PHeymont. I have noticed the extremely high fees imposed by airport car rentals. Sometimes these exceed the cost of the car rental itself.
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Re: Budget airlines pushing seat squeeze on new planes
Thomas Cook do charter flights - they sell you a complete vacation. Hotel, food, car rental, adventure tours from your hotel and flights. Probably find something in there that's not up to scratch. But complain ? No... not I. I'm looking forward to your report from Berlin. Maybe we'll do a long weekend from Liverpool to Schoenefeld (nr. Berlin) Easy Jet do it for £25 - £45 each way. And for that price I'll sit on the wing for 2 hours !! Would TravelGumbo sponsor you to write a report on this...
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Re: Ferry Service to Cuba Approved by US
I see that there are actually some fares quite a bit cheaper on that ferry, but I'm surprised it should be so busy when it's clearly more than the cost of Ryanair+car rental for a few days...so who is the "audience" for that route? I actually wondered the same thing about Havana...are there enough people who want to go but don't want to fly?
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Re: Max Gate - home of British author Thomas Hardy
It was right at the end of about a week walking on that killer path, the Southwest Coast Path, and isn't SO far from Dorchester. But you don't need to be impressed, Mac, I ran out of gas just as I was leaving Hardy's Cottage to start back and instead of returning on foot, called the hotel and had them send a taxi to fetch us. But walking does put me in the mood to visit historic places. Arriving by car, which I've done with friends and in rental cars, just isn't the same. There's nothing...
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Re: Why Missouri is Not just a Fly Over State
The Current River is amazing. It's around 185 miles, but in the area we were (in Salem) they do canoe trips as long as 65 miles or so. There are multiple canoe rental places near there, doing everything from short 4 hour canoe trips to multi-day camping canoe trips as well.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 18, 2015: Olive Grove, Saint-Remy
I always thought picking olives would be a labour intensive task. I watched as the farmers wife placed a round blanket ( with a split in it ) on the ground under the tree. Then the tractor had a claw attachment that gripped the tree. Then it shook the tree for 10 seconds. All the olives fell on the blanket. Job done - 1 minute a tree !
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Re: Do Airlines offer the Best Loyalty Rewards Programs?
Agreed, especially if you are clever enough to find a great back door to use your points the way you like. I think the point of the video was that your hotel gives you a lot more for the money you spend there than airlines do. I use a generic rewards card in Canada that builds up a dollar amount of bonus. I buy the hotel, flight, car rental I want and the money is returned to me. That way it's simple and easy.
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Re: Van Gogh comes to Airbnb: $10 a night
Link to the listing: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10981658?s=9qhtAoOY
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Re: To the top of Mount Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands.
Tenerife is an all year resort and has its peak season around Christmas. One of the rituals on Christmas Day is driving up Mt Teide in a rental Jeep. Take a couple of cooler box's and fill them with fresh snow. Drive back to Playa de las Americas and have a snow ball fight on the sunny 75'f beach with the sunbathers. Something that leaves a lasting memory of Christmas Day.
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Re: Risks of our ever aging car rental fleet. Not rare to get rentals with more than 50,000 miles
The link does not work. Regardless, I find this difficult to believe as car rental compaines sell cars that are used.
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Re: Where Gumbo Was #11: The Arena of Arles and the World of Rome
PHeymont-What a spectacular answer page to the puzzle!
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Re: Where Gumbo Was #11: The Arena of Arles and the World of Rome
The remains of Rome are great to see, it cannot be denied, but it's those lovely little bridges that will be the target when I go to Arles. And I will, no doubt. The village within the walls reminds me of the "anfiteatro" in Lucca Italy. It was filled by houses until the 19th century when it was cleared, leaving the ring of buildings on the perimeter and creating the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro. I had the good fortune of renting a large apartment in the perimeter ring of buildings, overlooking...
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Re: Where Gumbo Was #11: The Arena of Arles and the World of Rome
When you get to Arles, you may want to look at another bridge, this one crossing the Rhone. The clip below is from this website , which also has several other side-by-side comparisons of his paintings and today. The bridge here is modified or replaced, but the steps and the walk along the Rhone have not. And here's another image from my visit, looking down the Canal d'Arles from near the Langlois Bridge (the official name of the "Van Gogh Bridge.")
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Re: Where Gumbo Was #11: The Arena of Arles and the World of Rome
Thanks again, PHeymont. I'll certainly be back for more tips before I go to Arles. This website is becoming dangerous!
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Re: Laguardia Gets a Little Love from the Guv
Good news! Please come back and let us know when it's done. By then Airbnb may have helped sort out the NYC short-term rental market confusion and I can begin planning a visit. I'd love to visit but dread both LGA & hotel prices.
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Re: Flood of new agents to speed up Customs at JFK and Newark
You're both right of course. No one has the moral high ground on delays. When you transit an airport with several terminals you do need to enter the country first. But hub airports like Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bahrain have all been so polite and helpful it makes you realise that there is a better way. I use Philadelphia airport now to enter the US. It rates alongside Orlando as a pleasant experience. Last year I went through passport control in Philly. When asked, I told the officer that...
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Charleston's Grand Mansions: Drayton Hall
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
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Charleston's Grand Mansions: Middleton Place
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
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Update: Loyalty Programs and Credit Cards
For some of us, credit cards are more than a convenient way to pay—they are the lifeline to free travel through loyalty programs. Between points for purchases and bonuses for opening or upgrading credit card accounts, it's possible to get quite...
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Traveling to Europe soon? It may pay to prepay...
If you're traveling to Europe in the next few months and can be reasonably sure of your plans, this may be a good time to prepay some of your expenses such as rent, car rental (especially since most agencies offer a prepay discount). the reason? The...
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Van Gogh Museum takes a new look at Vincent
Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum is marking the 125th anniversary of his death by refocusing the display of its collection to change the focus of how we look at the artist; in their words "to discover the ideas and ambitions behind his art" and present "a...
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Zipcar adds more airports; tests one-way rentals
Zipcar, which rents cars by the hour to its members for short-term use, is expanding its on-airport locations, adding seven more for a total of over 50. The new ones include Orlando and Tampa. For those who aren't familiar with Zipcar, it works...
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AAA predicts big bump in Memorial Day travel
Among the things that tell you summer is nearly here is the annual Memorial Day travel prediction from the American Automobile Association—and this year is no exception. Here are some of AAA's numbers: 37.2 million travelers (going more...
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Inspectors in Paris Fine Homeowners for Illegal Airbnb Rentals
Inspectors has been deployed to go to Airbnb rentals in some of the Paris' most touristy areas and this inspection program is expected to continue for the next few weeks. On the first day, 30 homeowners out of 80 properties inspected were...
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Etihad to fly A380 on New York route
Airbnb, move over. There's a new apartment available for short-term rental in New York, and it's on Etihad's A-380, which will begin New York-Abu Dhabi flights December 1. The only hitch, of course, is that if you take Etihad's "Residence by Etihad"...
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HomeAway: Who Do They Think They're Kidding?
Online vacation rental agency HomeAway is shelling out millions in advertising to get us to believe they're different than Airbnb. CEO Brian Sharples states, "... it’s more profitable for us to target being a better us than being a worse...
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Belgian hotel rents 'therapy goldfish'
For solo travelers on the road, a quiet companion. Or, a hotel's publicity stunt. You decide.
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Stockholm gets hybrid electric bikes
Stockholm will upgrade its bike rental system with new electric-option equipment and many more bikes.
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No more TGV: France says 'Oui' to new name
France rebrands its TGV trains as 'inOui' as the country edges closer to rail competition and more discount flights.
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Car Rentals: More tech, shorter (or no) lines
Easy availability of car-sharing and ride-sharing are forcing car rental companies to rethink their long rental lines with a tech shake-up.
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Europe's new car rental rules: simplify, standardize
An agreement between EU officials and leading rental car companies should make renting in Europe a smoother experience.
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There's a long, long trail a-winding, at the airport
As airports get bigger and bigger, the distance within gets longer and longer...now you know the numbers!
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A Visit to Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum
Join Samantha on a visit to the memorial for the 168 who died when a right-wing terrorist destroyed a federal office building in 1995.
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Paris tightens the rules on Airbnb
New registration and tax rules are aimed at giving the city a better shot at enforcing the rules.
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Airbnb's rural listings gain popularity
Airbnb says its rural listings are growing rapidly, especially in areas near national and state parks.
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Airbnb to aid Milan refugee housing
Airbnb and Italian refugee relief groups pilot a way to use the short-term rental platform to find appropriate housing for refugees.
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UK charges big fraud in rental car repair
Europcar is accused of overcharging renters for car repairs, by as much as 300% in big-ticket scandal
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April 2, 2017: Van Cortland Park Cross Country Track
The Tortoise and the Hare mark the finish line of one of the most famous Cross-Country courses in the United States, in the Bronx, New York City.
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Mallorca gets tough new tourism-control law
Mallorca and Ibiza call a halt to some rentals and set new rules for others in one of the stiffest responses to perceived 'overtourism.'
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September 20, 2017: House Boats on the Kerala Backwaters
Professor Abe's journey into the Kerala backcountry continues, today with a house boat cruise.
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Spotted on the Road. Torres Del Paine National Park
A wickedly decorated van parked in Torres del Paine National Park.
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Amsterdam tightens lock on Airbnb
Amsterdam's war on what it considers excess tourism impact takes a new twist with licensed short-term rentals with a ban in the city center.
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Amsterdam gets OK to ban tourist shops
Amsterdam's struggle against over-tourism gets a final OK from the country's courts.