I booked and paid for a room using Hotwire.com last weekend and then ended up paying for a second hotel room. Why? It turns out that there is a catch with the HotWire service that you should know about.

If you are not familiar with HotWire.com it is a site that sells unsold hotel rooms at a significant discount. It is similar to the better known Priceline.com. With Priceline you bid for what price you are willing to pay (which is a hassle). With HotWire they will tell you what price you can pay for a hotel that is rated a certain number of stars with particular set of amenities. Neither site tells you the name of the hotel before you pay for a pre-payed, non-refundable room. On HotWire you choose a general geographic area, decide if you need the pool at a 3 star hotel or if the 2 star hotel with free internet is what you want.

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VeniceHotel.org has a great feature for those traveling to Venice in the very near future. It has a forecast for which days will have the biggest crowds. I assume they are predicting this using bookings at hotels in the area. The only catch is that the forecast only goes out for 21 days. But, for instance, if you are planning on going in the next 3 weeks (which includes carnival) and you wanted to avoid the biggest crowds (did I mention carnival) then they recommend avoiding February 2nd.

Thanks to Italy from the Inside for finding this gem.

According to the website AvoidDelays.com “on January 21, 2008 the number of flights delayed was 1,864 According to FAA”. But those delays are not evenly distributed across all flights. This new web site helps you avoid flight delays by pointing out what flights, times and airports are most likely to have flight delays. Their top ten airports for flight delays are:

1. New York, NY (LGA)
2. Newark, NJ (EWR)
3. Chicago, IL (ORD)
4. San Fran, CA (SFO )
5. Phili, PA (PHL)
6. Dallas, TX (DFW)
7. Miami, FL (MIA)
8. Greensboro, NC (GSO)
9. Houston, TX (HOU)
10. Burbank, CA (BUR)

So if you have a choice between airports, airlines, or departure times then this site is a good place to check before making your decision. Thanks to Gadling for their article on Tools to track flight delays which brought this site to my attention.

People ask me occasionally where I find news for the Amateur Traveler podcast. I am a web 2.0 addict in a very serious way. I subscribe to about 100 podcasts (a future post), numerous social networks, 148 twitters, 558 blogs (or other RSS feeds). Since few people are this crazy I thought it would be useful to name some of my favorite travel blogs:

• USAToday - Today in the Sky - This blog focuses on news about airports, airlines and air travel.
• elliott.org - Christopher Elliot’s travel blog covers a large range of topics. He writes a column called the Travel Troubleshooter.
• Geeky Traveler - A blog from b5media that does a great job of covering travel gadgets and gear.
• Gridskipper - The “Urban Travel Guide”. This is a blog that dresses in black and has an attitude. Look for the weird and wonderful here.
• Gadling - A wonderful weblog from Weblogs Inc (which also publishes a great blog for Mac users called The Unofficial Apple Weblog). This blog has general purpose travel news.
• The Perrin Post - A very classy blog from Concierge.com. It’s byline is “Secrets Every Smart Traveller Should Know”
• Exit Seat Row - This blog almost did not make my list because it does not update as regularly, but it is well written and when it does come out it is worth reading.
• Wanderlust and Lipstick - Advise for women travelers but I won’t tell if you don’t.
• Corporate America Runaway - Sherry Ott (Amateur Traveler Episode 107 - Solo Travel as a Woman) is home from =her year traveling around the world but has been bitten very hard by the travel bug and I expect her to head out again as soon as she figures out how to make a living being a travel writer.
• Less Than a Shoestring - Budget Travel Tips for People With No Budget.

Honorable Mentions:

• A Year In Europe - Scott and Sheryl quit their jobs, sold their home and travelled Europe for a year. It does not make my list because they have come home and the blog does not have fresh content. It is also a podcast and Scott and Sheryl have also been on the Amateur Traveler (Episode 84 - A Year In Europe).
• Six In The World - A normal family who took 365 days out of their everyday lives to circumnavigate the world, and explore interesting places. They are also former guests on Amateur Traveler (Episode 92 - Around the World, Family Style) and are also home now.

What are you reading?

If you have ever been disappointed to driven up to Disneyland and been disappointed that they are welcoming the Shriners but not your family then the Disneyland Sign Generator is for you. You can send your family and friends photographic evidence that your name was up in lights. Of course… f you do lie about something like that don’t tell Jiminy Cricket.