Jan 20th, 2010 at 3:00PM: If you build it, will they come? Hotels from Hyatt to Starwood - and all the boutiques in between - are prepared to put that question to the test this year. While some hotels continue to drop prices in an effort to fill rooms, other popular brands prepare to introduce travelers to new hotels in 2010.
The New York Times is reporting a slew of new hotels launching state side in 2010, with 46 of ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
houston posts
Nearly 100 new hotels to open across the U.S. in 2010
Jan 20th, 2010 at 3:00PM: If you build it, will they come? Hotels from Hyatt to Starwood - and all the boutiques in between - are prepared to put that question to the test this year. While some hotels continue to drop prices in an effort to fill rooms, other popular brands prepare to introduce travelers to new hotels in 2010.
The New York Times is reporting a slew of new hotels launching state side in 2010, with 46 of ...NYC tops U.S. list of most expensive cities
Dec 21st, 2009 at 3:00PM: It's not exactly shocking to see that New York City is the most expensive city in the United States. Groceries, gasoline and other items tend to run a tad more than twice the national average. Whether you rent or buy, you'll spend a fortune in this city, where the average price for a home is $1.1 million and an apartment, on average, will cost $3,400 a month.
So, how can so many bloggers live ...New York remains top U.S. port of entry
Dec 12th, 2009 at 8:00AM:
Through the first nine months of this year, overseas visitors passed mostly through only 15 ports of entry. These spots, according to the Department of Commerce accounted for 84 percent of entry traffic into the United States, gaining two percentage points over the first nine months of 2008. New York's JFK airport, Miami and Los Angeles dominated, pulling in 39 percent of all arrivals, up a ...DoT gives airlines $175,000 reminder ahead of Thanksgiving
Nov 25th, 2009 at 1:00PM: Three airlines just scored a first with the U.S. government: they were fined for leaving passengers in the lurch. Continental Airlines, ExpressJet (a Continental affiliate) and Mesaba (part of Delta) racked up a total punishment of $175,000 when their combined efforts left fliers on a plane in Minnesota for six hours.
Continental and ExpressJet were slapped with a fine of $100,000, while Mesaba ...Drive a rental car to Florida for $1
Nov 6th, 2009 at 12:30PM: I agree with Mike Barish's recent post. Road trips do rock. I love grabbing some friends, jumping in the car, and blasting great music as we cruise down the highway or along back roads. If you love a good road trip.....and you happen to live in Texas or on the east coast......and you want to drive one-way to Florida.....and you just happen to plan on going before November 15, well then Thrifty Car ...Through the Gadling Lens: photographing skies
Oct 1st, 2009 at 11:00AM: Oh, how I'd love to regale you with my brilliant photographic skills in capturing the sky's majesty!
I'd love to, but I can't.
For some reason, I'm really, really horrid when it comes to shooting skies. Oh, I can manage to get a good sunset photo here and there, and occasionally my blue skies appear shockingly blue, but the truth is that for the most part, I get by with a little help from ...Few solutions offered for passengers trapped on plane overnight
Aug 10th, 2009 at 3:30PM: Even Gilligan used his creative wits better in crisis. The 47 people on-board a Continental flight last Friday night found themselves on their own "three-hour tour," a la Gilligan's Island. Rather than taking three hours to fly from Houston to the Twin Cities, they were stuck on the tarmac in Rochester, Minnesota for nine hours overnight, not even leaving the aircraft. The flight, operated by ...26 hurt on turbulent Continental flight
Aug 4th, 2009 at 1:30PM: On most flights, turbulence is a minor inconvenience. You have to return to your seat and buckle in, and you may have to wait a little longer to get your next vodka and cranberry (oh, is it just me that needs a cocktail, or three, to relax on a plane?). Planes are generally able to avoid the worst of the bumps, thanks to radar and reports from other planes in the area. But sometimes, turbulence ...Airport security checks your luggage, carry-on and... penis size?
May 24th, 2009 at 1:30PM: Airport security never ceases to amaze me, every time I think things are getting a little wacky, I'm shown something new that makes everything I saw in the past suddenly seem logical. Urinals at the Southwest airlines terminal at Houston's Hobby airport have a sign warning peeing passengers that: "Automatic infrared flush sensors also provide video monitoring for security purposes" Seriously, the ...Chattanooga, Portsmouth among top art destinations in the U.S.
Apr 18th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Who thought that Tennessee and New Hampshire would be some of the top towns in the country for art lovers. AmericanStyle magazine just issued the results of its twelfth annual arts destinations poll. Some spots are predictable. Others, like Chattanooga, will just blow your mind. This is the first year Chattanooga made the list, shooting all the way up to second in the mid-sized city category. If ...Baghdad or Bust
Mar 23rd, 2009 at 4:30PM: Here at Gadling, we often have conversations revolving around where we want to travel next. As we run through our lists, inevitably the conversation will turn towards the opposite question. Where wouldn't you go? The usually hot spots always get named: Iraq, Afghanistan and, of course, Houston in August. But the New York Times featured a group of travelers bold enough to travel to Iraq. And ...Man who can't work cell phone sues Continental Airlines
Feb 26th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Saquib Fatah of Houston, Texas, is suing Continental Airlines because he can't work his cell phone. Confused? I'll break it down: 1. Fatah gets on airplane in London with his new cell phone. 2. Captain makes the usual "turn off all electronic devices" announcement and the plane begins to taxi. 3. "BEEP BEEP BEEP!" from Fatah's phone. 4. A stewardess asks Fatah to "kill the phone." He appears to do ...Free flight ploy ends in jail
Jan 25th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Some people will do anything for a free flight. Instead of waiting for the airline to screw up, Arthur David Proskin used a bump by the beverage cart as his ticket to glory ... and hopefully anywhere in the continental United States. He used what was probably an accident to shout obscenities at the flight attendant who so egregiously wronged him (hint for the tone-deaf, this is sarcasm) and other ...Celebrate the season with an airport karaoke carol. Which is your favorite?
Dec 16th, 2008 at 9:30AM: Meg isn't fond of the idea of airport karaoke. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread, particularly after I heard the NPR radio story about the small karaoke stages at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. That's the very karaoke effort that Meg gave a bah humbug review.
By the time I arrived where I was going and had parked my car, the story about the airport karaoke and ...Forget shoe shine benches -- now there's airport karaoke!
Dec 5th, 2008 at 11:30AM: When I'm waiting for a flight, I like to dive into a book or pop open my laptop and try to forget my surroundings. Other travelers tend to annoy me, and I have a better time in transit if I can just ignore everyone else. So I'll be avoiding Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston from now on. The Texas airport has recently set up karaoke booths for travelers inside the terminals. Airport ...Travel or home improvement? How about travel to a home and garden show?
Sep 3rd, 2008 at 1:30PM: When I lived overseas some friends of mine, who also lived overseas, complained that when they were in the U.S. on vacation, they couldn't relate to what excited people.
For example, one friend said that a friend of hers in the U.S. was excited about getting a new deck. My friend didn't think that getting a new deck was exciting news. Planning an adventure vacation was exciting, however--unless ...Ten top cities in the U.S. for making a living. Tourist spot in each
Aug 27th, 2008 at 5:00PM: There is a newly published Forbes.com article on the top 10 cities for making a living in the United States. Each has something to offer travelers as well. Here are the top cities and one place to go to in each. These are the first places that immediately came to mind. It's an odd assortment.
1. Houston, Texas. I've been to the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles and found it incredibly worthwhile ...House-sized art exhibit in Texas features house
Aug 20th, 2008 at 2:00PM: In the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, Texas, is a curious sight: a house being sucked into a wormhole. It's the handiwork of two artists, Dan Havel and Dean Ruck. From their press release: Havel and Ruck will create a large funnel-like vortex beginning from the west wall adjacent to Montrose Blvd. The exterior skin of the houses will be peeled off and used to create the narrowing spiral as it ...Pilot reports seeing a rocket in mid-air
May 27th, 2008 at 11:20AM: Some weird things can happen in the skies. At least if you are the Continental Airlines pilot who reported seeing a rocket fly past his cockpit window while he was about eight miles away from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. "We don't know for sure what the object was. But we think it might be somebody doing model rocketing," said Roland ...Missing a laptop? Baggage handlers arrested with stolen goods
Mar 31st, 2008 at 2:30PM: As far as I can tell, I haven't had anything stolen from baggage in my travels. I've had it opened with an official notice left inside that it's been searched. As we've found out by messages about baggage handlers posted on Gadling--this post has 276 comments--others have not been so fortunate. Some people, though, may get their stolen goods back--not necessarily those who have told us of their ...
