Roundup: Articles From Around the Web
Here are some posts from around the web that I thought you may find interesting. Let me know if there is anything good I missed. Email me anything awesome that you find, or write, at Mark@milestomemories.com.
Articles
How You Pay for Your Vacation Rental Could Cost You More Than You Expect – NBC Los Angeles
I have talked in the past how Airbnb gift cards have some of the worst terms out there for customers. A viewer of NBC Los Angeles reached out to the station to share their experience with similar issues I have talked about in the past. I was invited on to share my thoughts as well.
Southwest Airlines warns that delta Covid variant is hurting bookings, lowers outlook – CNBC
This may be the dip in travel bookings needed to get out of the twilight zone.
The amazing vacation homes you can buy for $1 million – CNN Travel
It is always fun to dream isn’t it?
Conclusion
Which article did you find most interesting? Remember to let me know of anything you come across that you want added into the next edition at Mark@milestomemories.com.
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Hey Mark, loved the Bullets banner in the background—if it was for the Baltimore Bullets—not the Capital or Washington Bullets. 🙂
I read too fast and thought the title said, “Delta [Airlines] is hurting Southwest bookings”.
The scare mongering about Delta is causing real damage. However, the facts are that although cases are up from January to now, deaths are wayyy down. Peak death rate about 7x higher than now. 1/7 death rate cannot be explained by 6/10 vaxx rate, especially with more cases. The answer is that although Delta is more contagious, it is less deadly, and if you are vaxxed then basically you have a better chance of dying on the way to the airport than dying of covid. Time for sane ppl to move on and live, and let the doom and gloomers and the truly at risk to stay home in their basements.
Friends don’t let friends do AirBNB.
The real issue is not gift card terms and conditions . . . the real issue is a whole lot bigger.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-15/airbnb-spends-millions-making-nightmares-at-live-anywhere-rentals-go-away
That story has flown under the radar imo
Another reason to dislike Airbnb. If they weren’t so vehemently customer unfriendly they might have potential.
The fancy vacation homes are pretty sweet although the 11 bedroom place in Jamaica for $800k is suspiciously cheap.
I think they changed the way people travel for sure and that is something to celebrate. But they fail miserably when it comes to customer service imo too.
Well, you can say I am wrong but that doesn’t make it so. I’ll just add that one of the things I see repeated SO often in this and other blogs, as well as advice columns, etc., are to read the terms and conditions and to know the rules, whether it is Chase 5/24 or know that AMEX don’t like GCs when you are chasing a bonus or whatever.
Said my piece on this, I will leave it at we disagree. I won’t say you are wrong, just that I disagree.
Fair enough Carl.
I think saying Airbnb is “Scamming” is very harsh since the main problem is people NOT READING the terms and conditions. As your TV news clip points out itself, the terms very clearly tell people how they can use the gift cards. The rules are there and not knowing is not AIRBNBs problem.
Kinda like telling the cop you didn’t know it was against the law to do whatever. As they say, Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Very click-baity title at the very least and it seems more to me you have an agenda against AIRBNB.
You are wrong here Carl. The terms are created so that people get stuck with balances in order to force people to book a second trip. There is no reason that a gift card should not be able to be used for the second part of a booking or during a split booking. Can you think of any other company that has such terms? They are an IT company on top of that so it isn’t like they can blame bad IT (like they try to do).
They knowingly try to swindle money from their customers. They have had thousands of complaints about this for years and refuse to do anything about. Textbook definition of a scam.
Lets just say I am in the store looking for a present for someone. I decide on a gift card. 99% of people would have no clue that it couldn’t be used in any increment a person wanted to use it. The full terms are not on the card! If I buy a American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Best Buy, Chili’s, Red Lobster, Lowe’s (or almost any other gift card on the shelf), I can use it for almost any purchase at that place of business, as many times as it takes to use it all. I use Airbnb a lot but their gift card policy is crap. If I have a gift card to apply to any booking, I should be able to use it. It should be as good as cash. And while I am saying that it dawned on me that they lose (or the host loses) by making me pay them with a credit card, which they have to pay a fee on and the not one on the gift card.