NEWS - FLU SHOTS AT 10 AIRPORTS | MARRIOTT MILES FOR CHARITY | NEW YORK’S NEWEST HOTEL | AMERICAN THINKS KIDS, COMFORT | AIR SECURITY VS. AIR REALITY
REVIEWS - NOVOTEL SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT HOTEL, BANGKOK
DEALS - BELIZE FOR FREE | MORE DINING FOR MILES | FLY ONE, GET ONE FREE | SHOP AND STAY SEATTLE-STYLE | SOUTH AFRICA FOR UNDER $500

Home Or Hotel For The Holidays?
With the holiday travel season fast upon us, two new surveys give good clues for keeping it safe and sane, whether you’re traveling or hosting travelers.

Hotel.com’s latest Hospitality@Home survey shows that 63 percent of American adults really miss hotel amenities when they stay with friends or relatives during the holidays. Significantly, things we’ve come to expect as frequent travelers are the things people miss most: Personal-care products such as shampoo ranked highest on the list, tied with Internet access. Only 2 percent miss minibars, but 9 percent miss room service and 8 percent miss having access to a fitness center.

Interestingly, it’s older travelers who are more flexible. While 56 percent of those over 45 say they miss hotel amenities when staying with family, a whopping 72 percent of those 44 and younger have been spoiled by hotels.

The survey also showed that those of us who are the hosts rather than the guests don’t love the role reversal. More than half of those surveyed said, when hosting, that they feel like a chef (62 percent), maid (56 percent) and waiter (52 percent). Women in particular feel like maids (63 percent of women), while more men than women (22 percent) feel like the bellman.

If you’re finding — or feeling like — a grumpy host, it could be that you’re feeling undercompensated. On average, U.S. adults say that they believe the value of the guest accommodations they provide in their homes are worth $130 a night. Despite the higher cost of hotels in the Northeast, it’s Southerners who value their own lodgings most highly, at $177 a night. Must be that famous Southern hospitality.

And if you’ll be driving with the family for your holiday visits, another survey — this one of 9,000 customers of TomTom NV, an international provider of navigation devices — shows what to watch out for. Sixty-one percent of Americans in relationships say they don’t have full confidence in their significant other’s ability to get them where they need to go without getting lost. Forty percent say that the biggest cause of in-car arguments is disagreements over directions. And married people argue more: 37 percent of marrieds say that directions are the biggest cause of in-car disputes, as opposed to 27 percent of unmarrieds.

Flu Shots at 10 Airports
Got a little time to kill before your flight? You might as well get your flu shot. Ten North American airports make it easy, and relatively cheap. Most convenient is probably the post-security clinic at Terminal 2 at Chicago O’Hare (ORD), plus flu-shot kiosks, two in Terminal 1 and one apiece in Terminals 2 and 3. Also convenient are the clinics at San Francisco International (SFO), on the arrivals level of Terminal 2, and at Las Vegas International (LAS) on the second floor of Terminal 1 pre-security. Vancouver International’s (YVR) medical clinic is on level 1 of the domestic terminal (and, yes, open to Americans). At the other airports, the flu-shot clinics take a bit of finding. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), it’s in the third-floor atrium; at Denver International (DEN) it’s on level 6 of the main terminal; at Boston Logan (BOS) it’s in another building (1 Harbourside Drive) on airport grounds; at New York’s JFK it’s in Cargo Area C of Building 198; at LAX it’s at the airport medical clinical near the airport entrance across from the Terminal 1 parking lot; and at Honolulu International (HNL), the flu shot clinic is in a building on the access road. Click on the links for more specific locations, prices and times.

Marriott Miles for Charity
Members of Marriott Rewards can now donate their miles to the charity of their choice, in the new Rewarding Communities program. For seven years, Marriott has offered members the chance to donate miles to Children’s Miracle Network, for use as room stays by the families of sick children, and since last year has also allowed donated miles to be turned into Marriott Cheques for the Red Cross. Under the new program, members can redeem points either for dining certificates to be given to charities, or for Marriott Cheques to donate to any charity they choose.

New York’s Newest Hotel
Brand-new and not too expensive are both rare on New York’s hotel scene, but there’s a new Wyndham Wingate Inn that fits the description. The new-construction 92-room Wingate Inn Manhattan Midtown, at 235 West 35th St., has a fitness center and business center, and will have a restaurant in 2007; meanwhile guests get a free hot breakfast. Amenities include free high-speed Internet (both wired and wireless), minifridge, coffeemaker, free faxes and voicemail. Rates start at $189 a night, and there’s a 5 percent discount if you pay with American Express.

American Thinks Kids, Comfort
American Airlines will be giving away more than a million “comfort kits” to domestic passengers over the holiday season. The kits include items that otherwise would have to be specially packed to clear security, or left behind, such as lip balm, hand lotion and toothpaste. Distribution begins today (Nov. 21) on all flights scheduled to take at least three hours; the kits will be handed out onboard after takeoff. MasterCard is the program’s sponsor. American is also making available — though this one’s not free — a small, lightweight alternative to a child safety seat. Called the Child Aviation Safety Restraint System, or CARES, it’s an FAA-approved alternative to having to bring along a seat for use within the United States. It can be bought from American’s gift shop for $79.95. While American is the first airline to sell it directly, it can be used on any domestic flight regardless of airline.

Air Security Vs. Air Reality
The new Democrat-dominated Congress has announced plans to consider requiring that all airline cargo be screened. While that sounds like a no-brainer, the airlines are adamantly opposed, citing the realities of time and money that would be involved. Only a very small percentage of airline cargo is currently screened or inspected for explosives, according to a Government Accounting Office audit, because no technology exists for scanning large cargo containers the way luggage is scanned. The TSA does screen cargo that is carried on passenger planes, but the screenings are random and known shippers are exempt. Airline industry organization spokespeople say that the time and money involved for universal cargo screening would cripple the industry. They may have a champion in the incoming chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, James Oberstar (D-Minn.), who is on record as opposing universal screening.

Belize For Free
Thirty-one hotels in Belize have banded together with the Belize tourism association to build the country’s offseason business by giving away their excess rooms inventory through mid-December. You get four free nights at any of the participating properties, with no strings attached. The participating hotels are spread throughout the country and represent a wide range of accommodations, from traditional beach resorts to rainforest lodges. Some of the more luxurious beachfront options include the Mata Rocks, Ramon’s Village, and the Casablanca Hotel.

More Dining For Miles
Through the end of the year, several airline dining-for-miles programs have special deals in place. For example, if you have not yet joined Continental’s OnePass Dining, registering gives you an automatic 1,000 OnePass miles. Similarly, newcomers to Delta’s SkyMiles Dining will get 250 free miles for joining before the end of the year. Members of American’s AAdvantage Dining who spend at least $250 at participating restaurants before year’s end automatically earn elite dining status for next year, and if they happen to reach elite status before the end of 2006 will earn 1,000 bonus miles. And United Mileage Plus Dining members who complete at least four qualifying restaurant meals of $25 or more by the end of the year will earn elite status for next year. If you prefer to eat at home, United has a program for you, too — in addition to earning miles for purchases at participating supermarkets, members of Grocery Miles can earn 3,000 bonus miles if they spend at least $2,000 in the program by Dec. 31.

Fly One, Get One Free
In addition to its various other bonus miles programs for joining its Skywards rewards program, flying its routes, booking online and checking in online, Emirates is offering up to 30,000 bonus miles to those who fly in business or first class on its new New York (JFK)-Hamburg (HAM) route before Jan. 1. Earn 15,000 miles one-way, or 30,000 round-trip. That 30,000 miles is enough to fly another trip to Hamburg for free, or to fly free on a domestic U.S. flight on partner airlines such as United or Continental.

South Africa for Under $500
If you can leave before Nov. 30, here’s a real bargain: South African Airways is offering tickets to Johannesburg (JNB) from New York (JFK) or Washington Dulles (IAD) for $395 one way (which comes out to just under $500 including tax and fees). Flights stop in Dakar en route for refueling. There is no minimum stay; travel must start by Nov. 30 and be completed by Dec. 30. There is no advance purchase requirement, but tickets must be purchased within 72 hours of making the reservation and are nonrefundable; there is a $200 fee to cancel or change. At less than $1,000 round-trip, this is a substantial savings over the usual, and more restrictive, least expensive round-trip fare of $1,368.

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