Internet Eases Travel Planning

If there's one industry that has been truly revolutionized by the Internet, it's travel. But technology other than the Net is changing the face of travel as well. Angela's favorite example of no-downside tech progress concerns hotels' in-room phones, which all-too-recently charged downright toxic prices even for local calls (let alone modem access). No one's sorry to see that system give way to cell phones--though you'll still need the in-room phone, she snarks, to complain when the broadband connection crashes.

Of course, says Steve, like a lot of other mass-market developments, making your own travel arrangements online is just another example of you supplying the labor instead of relying on the work of someone else, such as a grocer or a travel agent--a trade-off he'll accept, since the savings are substantial. Great topic, says Angela, but she'd rather talk first about the trip-planning process--another area where tools that simply didn't exist pre-Internet have had a profound effect on the landscape.

Steve agrees, citing TripAdvisor's user-based hotel reviews as a favorite resource. Angela notes the usual argument against bothering with user comments on the Web, which is that the companies might game the system and put up bogus favorable reviews for themselves. And then the race is on, with Angela and Steve vying to find the most obviously legit user reviews they can dig up.

Steve lobs in an NYC hotel review citing "peeling wallpaper, cold shower every morning, mold on the sink, terrible breakfast buffet, and old food left over in our refrigerator in the suite." Angela counters with an offering from Cruise Critic, which she freely admits is probably catering to folks with vacation expectations rather different from her own: "The whirlpool tub in the bathroom was out of order for the entire 7 days. The steam room and sauna (one floor up) and directly above our suite was being remodeled. For 3 days we were woken at 8:00 am daily with the hammering needed to remove the ceramic tiles."

Catharsis for the affected travelers, fair warning for would-be patrons, and good fun for the Duo. Steve enjoys the inevitable contrarian who tears into not only substandard accommodations but the people who praise them, while Angela focuses on the ease with which a careful reader can deduce which reviewers are simpatico with one's own individual preferences and sensibilities.

SAVE/DELETE

Steve:SAVE

Angela: SAVE, but with a strong recommendation that you speak with a professional travel adviser for more-complex trips