Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.travel From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: travel Tue, Mar 17 1992 Date: Tue, 17 Mar 92 05:44:53 EST Message-ID: 03-17 0000 DECISIONLINE: Travel USA TODAY Update March 17, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CONTINENTAL BAILOUT NEAR: A group of investors led by financier Charles Hurwitz is close to an agreement to bail out financially troubled Continental Airlines, The Houston Post says. Hurwitz reportedly has submitted a proposal to buy a majority stake in the airline, which has been in bankruptcy protection since December 1990. Continental filed a reorganization plan Feb. 6. GUESTS SEE DIFFERENT RATES: Hotels can charge different rates to different guests just as identical cars can be sold from the same lot at different prices, say USA TODAY travel experts. On a given night, a traveler and his hotel neighbor may be paying something different, just as fliers next to each other probably paid different fares. The only restriction: Discrimination for such things as race is forbidden. HOW TO UNCLOG EARS: Ears clogging during flying is caused when a small air pocket in the middle ear hasn't caught up with the change in air pressure. In addition to such common solutions as yawning and swallowing, try this, from the American Academy of Otolaryngology. Pinch nostrils shut. Take a mouthful of air. Using only cheek and throat muscles, force air into the back of the nose. Don't force air from lungs. DON'T SLEEP THROUGH TAKEOFF: Some ways to avoid the discomfort of clogged ears when flying include not sleeping during takeoffs and landings. Also, try to avoid flying with a cold, sinus infection or allergies. Some people have blocked eustachian tubes that prevent easy equalization of the middle ear. Decongestant tablets may help, but those with heart problems or high blood pressure should consult a doctor. KIDS NOT ALLOWED ON ROW: There are regulations stating that some travelers should not be placed in rows with emergency exits on airplanes. The regulations can apply to children 14 and younger, the handicapped, elderly and passengers who don't speak English. Airlines who seat such passengers in a row with an emergency exit is in violation of federal air regulations. JACKSON TOPS SKI LIST: Snow Country magazine has rated the top cross-country ski resorts in the East. Its March:April issue lists the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation in New Hampshire as the best, based on a systematic measurement of 120 nordic resort facilities. Also: Trapp Family Lodge, Vermont; Garnet Hill, N.Y.; Waterville Valley Cross Country, New Hampshire; Woodstock Ski Touring Center, Vermont. `TWIN PEAKS' TOURS OFFERED: ABC's "Twin Peaks" television show may have died over here. But it's alive in Japan, according to Japan Airlines' newsletter. The Japan Travel Bureau offers tours to Snoqualmie, Wash., where the series was shot. The package includes a stay at the Great Northern Hotel (the Salish Lodge), a meal at the Double R Diner and a visit to the site where Laura Palmer's corpse was found. NEWSLETTER STILL IN BUSINESS: The newsletter for frequent travelers called Mileage and Points has not gone out of business, according to USA TODAY travel experts. It has changed its phone number, however. The new number is 602-953-9237. MUSEUM INCREASES HOURS: The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson has changed its hours. The museum will expand its hours from 8:30-5:30 to 7:30-6:00 through September. The museum recommends that visitors allow at least two hours for a visit. Interpretive programs are offered each day. Admission is $7.95 for those 13 and older and $1.50 for children ages 6 through 12. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON RATES: RATE VARIATIONS WILL GROW: Hotels can, and do, charge different rates to different travelers, say USA TODAY travel experts. And as hotel-reservation systems grow more sophisticated, such variations in rates will grow. That's probably bad news for business travelers. New industry software lets large chains fill as many rooms as possible with high-paying guests and offer discounts on rooms that would go unfilled. BUSINESS TRAVELERS HIT: Business travelers who can't give much advance notice, stay a Saturday night or otherwise change their schedules will be hardest-hit by increasingly varied hotel rates. But there are ways they can try to save money. When making reservations, many business travelers make it a point to ask the hotel if the rate offered is the lowest available. Just asking may shave off a few dollars. TRY CALLING AGAIN: If hotels won't immediately lower prices slightly when business travelers try to negotiate rates, calling back in a day or two might do it, some travelers suggest. By then, rates may have come down if demand for that particular night hasn't increased. In the end, it all depends on supply and demand. Negotiation is far more effective when a glut of hotel rooms exists. (End of package.) 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Weather Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Travel Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM