Hello and welcome to episode 207 of Travel Stories from the Back Again And Gone podcast.
This is being recorded in the beautiful home office of Chateau Relaxo, FL. If you are a new listener, welcome; if you are a returning listener, welcome back. The 2024 Travel Year in Review Plus Some Travel News roundup is tonight's topic.
There is no beer in this episode as this is recorded on January 1st, and I traditionally do dry January.
The days between Christmas and New Year are odd for me. It's even weirder when the holidays fall on a Wednesday. Those days are extremely slow for me when it comes to work, and I’ve learned to embrace those slow times because, by mid-January, all hell typically breaks loose.
It’s time for my year to be reviewed. I am a numbers nerd, and I love to track things.
For my beer consumption, I use Untappd.
In 2024
I drank 91 unique beers. 20 beer styles, with IPAs being my favorite style, no surprise there. I drank beer at 100 locations, with Saturday being my favorite day. I drank beer from 70 different breweries. With New Belgium getting the most love, thank you, Voodoo Ranger series.
This surprised me; my top beer for the year is Two Hearted IPA from Bells Brewery. It’s a great beer, but I never would’ve guessed it was my top beer.
The worst beer of the year was Gummies Fruit Punch IPA, which was so sweet it hurt my teeth, and Juniper Pilsner from 81Bay Brewing tasted like I was drinking a ground-up juniper bush.
Regarding the podcast, I had a whopping 1% growth in streamed episodes and 10% in followers. The top episode was the First Flight of 2024, which streamed 999% more than the average. 24% of listeners are between the ages of 18 and 24. Travel Stories was streamed in 19 different countries thanks to all the listeners.
Let’s look at my 2024 travel numbers.
In 2000, I signed up for TripIt; over the past 14 years, I have traveled 655,049 miles, equating to traveling around the world 26.3 times. This consists of 1825 days on the road and 517 trips. 35% of my time was traveling.
Of those 14 years that have been tracked, all road warriors keep track of their travel numbers,
In 2018, I spent more time on the road than I ever have in my 24 years of business travel.
Trips 51
Days 248
Distance 75,284 mi
Cities 70
Countries 1
Six years later, in 2024, those numbers have decreased significantly.
Trips 16
Days 56
Distance 31,511 mi
Cities 36
Countries 1
While many had hoped that business travel would return to pre-COVID numbers, we have become too comfortable with virtual meetings.
My favorite 2024 business adventure was a 500-mile Buffalo to Rochester road trip. Let’s review a few of the food highlights.
In Buffalo, dinner was at the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery. They offer a solid brew list, many of which are made onsite. While I was tempted to order wings, this is Buffalo. Our waitress convinced me to go with the Buffalo Chicken Pizza, which was so much OK that I left almost half of it when we left.
In Utica, it was Slice. Slice’s claim to fame is that they were featured on Barstool Sports one-bite pizza reviews, scoring 7.7 out of 10. If you visit, make sure you order their char-grilled purple cow wings. I am still trying to figure out what the purple cow sauce is made of, but this fantastic, tasty, sticky mix is tough to distinguish a single dominant flavor with. And while you’re at it, get yourself a slice; they are as big as your head. And keeping with the theme, I had a slice of purple cow pizza, which was beyond delicious.
In Rochester, the food stop was Amiel's the Original Submarine based solely on the hotel's recommendation. It took me a minute to hone in on what I wanted. I went with a large Buffalo Chicken-A-Miel with hot peppers and extra buffalo sauce. After my first bite, my sinuses opened right up, and I knew then that I was in store for one delicious sub. There is an excellent selection of glass bottled drinks….. think Hank’s Root Beer and save room for a cookie.
Regarding personal travel, it was the two trips to Boston, a city I have only visited to catch a flight back home. Listen to episodes 199 and 202 for the details. If you don’t listen, just know that it’s worth visiting.
Keeping with the theme of food let’s open with this. Which hotel has the best complimentary breakfast? TPG (The Points Guy) should be The Points Guys since Brian Kelly is no longer a one-man show. If you’re new to business travel, TPG can be a helpful site as you navigate what branded credit cards will work best for you.
Back to the actual story: Which hotel has the best free breakfast? TPG ate 10 meals at 10 different hotels to find the winner.
Specifically, they considered four key criteria:
Variety: How many options of hot foods, proteins, cereals, fruits, bread and pastries, yogurts, juices, coffees and teas, condiments, and more were available?
Dietary friendly: Were there options available for a wide swath of dietary restrictions, including non-dairy milk or yogurts, gluten-free bread or pastries, vegan item,s and the like?
Presentation: Was the breakfast area clean and organized? Were the foods labeled so guests knew exactly what they put on their plates?
Taste: How did it all taste?
Their list:
10. Comfort Inn
9. Hyatt Place
8. La Quinta by Wyndham
7. Fairfield by Marriott
6. Hampton by Hilton
What is the difference between a Hampton Inn and a Hampton Inn and Suites?
Hampton Inn: A budget to midscale hotel with limited food and beverage options
Hampton Inn and Suites: Offers suites in addition to rooms and may include amenities like free hot breakfast, parking, and Wi-Fi.
So, for the most part, they are the same.
5. SpringHill Suites
4. Holiday Inn Express
3. Homewood Suites by Hilton
2. Residence Inn by Marriott
1. Embassy Suites by Hilton
Mostly, I agree with the list because nowhere on it is Courtyards by Marriott. I have never had a decent breakfast at a Courtyard. There is no mention of Tru from Hilton or Avid from IHG. These are great spots for breakfast if you are carb-loading or starting your day with an S-ton of sugar. I’m glad that Embassy Suites by Hilton made the list, as they lay out a great spread. However, it should be in second place because the Hilton Garden Inn does it much better and should be number one—both Embassy and Hilton Garden Inn offer made-to-order eggs or pancakes. The bacon is always crispy, which is odd, and the biscuits seem to be made from scratch. It’s doubtful, but they are delicious.
Here are some tips if you're wondering how to score free hotel breakfasts.
Some hotel chains, like Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express, offer complimentary breakfast to all guests. It's a great perk to look for when booking your stay.
Many hotel loyalty programs provide complimentary breakfasts to benefit members with a specific status level. For example, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors offer this perk to their elite members.
Certain travel credit cards, including complimentary breakfast, have hotel status or benefits. It's worth checking if your card offers this perk.
Keep an eye out for special promotions or packages that include complimentary breakfast. Sometimes, hotels offer these deals to attract more guests.
Booking Strategies: Booking directly through the hotel’s website or app can sometimes unlock additional perks, including complimentary breakfast.
These tips can help you enjoy a delicious start to your day without spending extra money, leaving more in your budget for the fun parts of your trip!
It's time to talk about PTO-paid time off. My employer is beyond generous with PTO. I get 25 days of PTO plus three float days. This means I could take one day of PTO every other week. We can also bank up to 210 days, which rolls over yearly. For some, maximizing PTO is at the forefront. How about turning 16 PTO days into 55 days of vacation in 2025?
We must focus on the federal holidays on a Monday or Friday in 2025.
Monday, Jan. 20: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
Monday, Feb. 17: Washington's Birthday, also known as Presidents Day
Monday, May 26: Memorial Day
Friday, July 4: Fourth of July
Monday, Sept. 1: Labor Day
Monday, Oct. 13: Columbus Day, known as Indigenous Peoples Day
These holidays below fall on weekdays next year:
Wednesday, Jan. 1: New Year's
Thursday, June 19: Juneteenth
Thursday, Nov. 27: Thanksgiving
Thursday, Dec. 25: Christmas
If you tag on a PTO day before or after the federal holidays and put in for PTO on January 2nd and 3rd, you used 11 PTO days for 39 days of vacation.
If you're looking for a longer steak of vacation days, think Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 27). Request PTO for Monday, November 24; Tuesday, November 25; and Wednesday, November 26. 74 and Friday, Nov. 28 (unless you have Friday off already). Depending on your company policy, you can use three or four PTO days to get nine consecutive days off (Nov. 22–30).
By planning ahead and combining these holidays with PTO, you can turn 16 PTO days into up to 55 days of vacation in 2025
Since you work for your PTO, make it work for you.
Here’s another statistic for you. The five busiest air routes last October.
Los Angeles - San Francisco 319,064 seats
Las Vegas - Los Angeles 303,394 seats
Atlanta - Orlando 288,226 seats. This is surprising because by the time you get to the Atlanta airport, check-in, etc., you should be using online check-in. Take the flight and the deal with the O-Town airport you could drive this.
La Guardia - Chicago 283,592 seats
New York JFK - Los Angeles 282,426 seats
October isn’t traditionally a heavy travel month, and I can only imagine the numbers for November and December.
This is rental car season, or at least the migration of rental cars back to Thank You, Florida.
Pre-COVID rental car companies offered cheap rates for anyone who wanted to drive a rental vehicle to Florida from dozens of destinations. Guess what? Hertz is bringing this promotion back. However, in the past, rental car companies offered a rate of as low as $4.95 per day for rental vehicles returning to Florida. These were one-way trips from destinations in much of the eastern United States.
Like all good promotions that get brought back, there are some changes. To start, your rental will not be as low as $4.95, and it must be picked up through 1/19/2025. A minimum one (1) day rental is required, with a maximum of ten (10) days. You still get to pay all the airport fees, tourism fees, vehicle license recovery fees, and any other government-imposed taxes or fees.
You can pick up your car from twenty-two locations across the south and northeast.
Return to select cities in Florida:
Fort Lauderdale
Miami
Sarasota
Jacksonville
Palm Beach
Tampa
Orlando
Fort Myers
So, if you’re looking to visit Thank You Florida in the next three weeks, this isn’t a bad deal; it’s just not as good of a deal as it was in 2019.
"With Hertz's 2024 Florida drive-in deal, the only thing you'll be speeding through is your playlist of road trip songs!"
United Airlines Holiday Feast Fiasco: A Recipe for Disaster
Imagine this: United Airlines spreads some holiday cheer by serving festive meals to their Denver-based employees. Sounds great, right? Well, not so much. The "warm holiday salad" and chicken that had been left out a bit too long turned out to be the Grinch in disguise.
Employees, including flight attendants, started experiencing symptoms that could only be described as a holiday horror show: stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Over 200 flight attendants were initially thought to be affected, with some even falling ill mid-flight, causing at least one plane to return to the gate. Talk about a turbulent holiday!
The union later revised the number of affected employees to 24, but the damage was done. United is now investigating the incident, and employees are being advised to report their symptoms to avoid any holiday absence penalties.
To make matters worse. United also has a policy that penalizes flight attendants for calling in sick during the busy holiday period.
So, if you ever thought your holiday meal was a disaster, just be glad you weren't on the receiving end of United's "special" holiday feast!
Here’s a hotel hack, and I am not a fan of hacks because not everything is a hack. The CEO (My Wife) and I recently stayed at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista - Disney Springs, one of our favorite local hotels, after visiting Disney Springs and having dinner at Wolfgang Pucks. I need to post a podcast or blog about Disney Springs dining at some point. Wolfgang Puck’s did not meet the CEO's (My Wife) or me's expectations, and I rarely complain about food. We started with the Truffled Potato Chips, which were delicious. We ordered the WP Prime Burger with White Cheddar Cheese, Bacon Onion Jam, and Brioche Bun. To start, the Brioche bun did little to contain all of its contents. Within a few minutes, the bottom of the bun was falling apart, which was not a big deal since we had a fork and knife. The big thing was that the CEO (My Wife) ordered her burger; well done, don’t judge, and it was far from well done. The truffle fries, two WP Prime Burgers, and two double drinks totaling 143.00 dollars tipped the value scale.
Back to the hotel room hack. When we returned to the room, we discovered the thermostat would not go below 68 degrees. This is not conducive to my slumber. Since our room had a Honeywell thermostat, I knew how to get around the temperature limit. Here is the secret: hold down the display button, the off/auto button, and finally, the up arrow. The display will show LEn, and you can now set the room temperature to your level.
Well, there you have it, Episode 207, The 2024 Travel Year in Review, Plus Some Travel News Roundup.
For long-time listeners, thank you for your comments and emails. For new listeners, I hope you return.
If you want detailed show notes, links, and pictures, head over to substack at travelstories.substack.com/
You can also leave me a message on Anchor or email me at TravelFrick@gmail.com.
As I always say, travel safe, stay safe, and thanks for listening.
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