Shop Talk

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for. Whether we learn this through our travels or by actively observing the world around us, Thanksgiving is an opportunity to break bread with family and friends, and be mindful of the bounty of blessings in our lives.

In the spirit of thankfulness, thank you to:

  • everyone who has supported Trip Styler via this blog, facebook, twitter and offline; I hope you've been educated, inspired and entertained!
  • my husband and dog @nachoking for being my biggest fans
  • @heatherlovesit for her dishing out her design, writing & editing skills
  • alvin from bionic amigo for being a coding master
  • leah from OTfit , the brains and brawn behind healthy on the road posts

With an attitude of gratitude, Trish

Q&A :: Code-Share Flights

q&A code share flights + check-inQuestion If you book a code share-flight, where do you check-in? [Have travel questions you want answered? Send us an email and your question could be answered in our Q&A series!]

Answer Checking in If you're on a code-sharing flight, check-in at the operating airline's desk! If you check-in online, do so with the carrier from which you purchased your ticket.

Code-Sharing Code-sharing is ultimately a revenue-sharing agreement allowing airlines to extend their reach into cities outside of their regular routes by selling tickets on a partner's flight. Therefore, there's always an operating and selling/partner carrier(s). For example, let's say there's a flight from Vancouver to San Francisco operated by United, yet Air Canada and Air New Zealand (also Star Alliance members) are also selling tickets under their own flight codes for that flight. This triple code-share flight would have flight codes looking something like: UA102 for United (operating carrier), AC105 for Air Canada and ANZ 229 for Air New Zealand (partner/selling carriers).

Code Sharing Facts

  • airlines don't typically code-share outside of their alliance, for example, Star Alliance or One World
  • the selling and operating airline are required to be disclosed during the purchase process, as well as on your ticket and boarding pass
  • the selling/partner carriers should always be identified on the terminal's status boards and at the gate
  • need to change your itinerary or seat on your code-share flight? This is where things get tricky. Most airlines will suggest you contact the carrier that sold you the ticket, which may or may not be the operator.

Last year when flying from Milan to New York, I booked an Alitalia flight, checked-in at an Alitalia desk, and boarded an Alitalia plane, in other words, Alitalia was the operating airline. I learned after, this flight was apparently a Delta code-share. Upon arriving into JFK, customs would not accept that I was on an Alitalia flight, they wanted me to say Delta, so after a few words, I told them I was on a "Delta" flight. Trip Styler Tip: take note if you see if your flight is a code-share, in case you're asked.

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[image by rocksee]

Travel Medicine Trip Prep

travel medical prepEver taken a trip abroad, fallen ill and didn't have your preferred medication? I have, many times. Searching for the correct medication in a foreign country can be daunting, frustrating and fruitless, sometimes resulting in the purchase of a wrong or ineffective med. In the spirit of easy preventative measures, here are some basic pre-trip preparations that can save time, money, and physical and emotional well-being while abroad:

Prep

  • Eat yogurt
    • For up to a month before you leave, eating yogurt is an effective way to encourage good bacteria in your system and guard against a sudden and continued need to sit on the 'throne'
  • Get lots of sleep
    • Whether you're traveling in your own time zone or across multiple, preparing for your trip with the right amount of sleep will help your immune system's natural defenses to run at full-throttle
  • Vitamin C is your friend
    • Prior to and during a trip I always take at least one Emergen-C (or Redoxin-B or C) a day to naturally boost my immunity and energy
    • Trip Styler Tip: next time you're in the US, stock up on Emergen-C, it's about $8 there and $22 in Canada
  • Pack
    • Bring a medical kit that's custom-tailored to your needs
  • Insurance
    • Make sure you have appropriate insurance coverage for your age, number of days away, etc...
    • Trip Styler Tip: Check your medical plan's fine print, I just found out mine offers travel medical for up to 6 months away

Hit me with your Big Shot Most trips outside your continent usually involve making an appointment at your local travel medical clinic to become informed about the potential hazards of the countries you're visiting, learn how to minimize health risks and inquire about preventative vacinations or medications. This visit should take place approximately 1 - 3 months prior to your departure. While there, the nurse practitioner or Doctor will suggest the precautions you should take based on the threats in the area you're traveling to, find out what vaccinations you already have, and suggest a list of medications and vaccinations you'll need. Just like any experience with a Doctor, some will have different opinions than others.

Mini Medi Kit Consider including the following in your travel medical kit:

  • All the regular suspects like antiseptic wound cleanser, adhesive bandages (even just for blisters), eye drops, medical tape, scissors and safety pins, antihistamines
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Insect repellent
  • Insect bite treatment
  • Personal medications
  • Meds you think you might need given past experiences like pepto tablets, cold & flu pills, ibuprofen or acetaminophen, allergy pills, etc...

[source emedicine]

Additional Resources BC Centre for Disease Control ~ Travel & Health US Center for Disease Control & Prevention ~ CDC Yellow Book

[img by 1888PressRelease]

Travel Regrets & Lessons Learned

Lessons learned from TravelThey say you learn from mistakes. I tend to agree. With this in mind, here are some of my silly and semi-serious travel mistakes/regrets. On a more positive note, in each regret there's a take-away for the future! What are your travel mistakes and lessons learned?

1. I didn't take a better camera on Safari in Africa Lesson Learned: Take a good camera if going on a photo-fabulous trip like a Safari in Africa. I took a basic 8.1mp Sony Cyber-shot, but I should have purchased a new one, or borrowed from someone in my family. I think my rationale was I didn't want to be carrying around a lot of stuff and gear while there, but I could have found a way to travel inconspicuously with a camera slightly bigger than my hand, given most of the cameras other people brought were bigger than my blender! [Photo above: taken with mentioned camera; decent shot, but would have been neat to get some super close-ups of lions!]

2. I didn't figure out sooner how to travel for discounted rates Lesson Learned: Traveling smart = cheaper + farther trips. Here are my travel rules: a) become loyal to one (or two) airline and hotel groups to amass miles and points for free flights and stays b) when redeeming airline miles, go as far as you can & travel in the off-season to get the most out of your miles c) try to buy everything with your travel credit card to get points for future trips d) when possible, travel in low or shoulder season

3. I've never purchased anything from SkyMall Lesson Learned: Skymall has so many redonkulously awesome, amusing and sometimes useful items. I don't want to look back on my life and regret my lack of at least a one-time indulgence in the mall on high!  Why, because I could buy these lighted slippers!

4. I stayed at a hotel vs hostel when traveling solo in Paris Lesson Learned: When traveling solo---especially when you're young---stay in a hostel. The communal life is much more conducive to meeting people than a solitary hotel room. Why I didn't figure this out still baffles me. Being in Paris for 4 days and barely saying a word to anyone---even when knowing the language---was an unfortunate state of affairs!

5. I haven't yet purchased noise-canceling headphones Lesson Learned: Noise-canceling headphones are everything on a flight: they make make movies better, dampen noise and most importantly, allow you to listen to calming nature sounds during crazy turbulence.

6. I didn't bring a few basic meds to Africa (& had to buy some that didn't even work for $25) Lesson Learned: I've had to buy meds in Peru, Africa and Paris---all of which weren't that effective. Taking a few extra mins before your trip to bring a few key meds in a small kit, saves your health and money abroad!

7. I haven't been anywhere really, really exotic Lesson Learned: Mix up your travel and save your points for that remote or lux trip style ! (Yes, I'm overly grateful for the places I've visited, but I guess our human nature---or mine at least---is to push the envelope.) One day I'll visit these places on my travel bucket list: Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, etc...

8. I didn't travel more when I was first married Lesson Learned: There's so many excuses not to go, but I've never come home from a trip thinking "that trip was terrible, I got nothing out of the experience."

9. It's taken me so long to go to Australia Lesson Learned: Just go when you have the opportunity, or, do your darnedest to create the opportunity. I'm trying to create mine right now!  For some reason, I feel like visiting Australia is a right of passage for me, meaning I can grow up a little once I've gone...

10. I can't take my dog @NachoKing on every trip! Lesson Learned: For all trips that don't involve a flight, seek out dog-friendly destinations!

Travel Trends :: Even Greener

travel trends :: hotels getting greener In the initial stages of hotels going green it was enough for them to communicate "if it's okay with you, we aren't going to wash your sheets and towels everyday." Circa 10-15 years ago, they may have also put a brick in the toilet to conserve water! Times have changed, but one thing's for sure, hotels going from green to greener is a trend that's not going away. Green has morphed from a nice to have to a full-blown expectation with guests leaving perturbed if basic green initiatives (different for everyone) aren't followed.

An Accidental Green Topic Discussing all things hotel with one hotel executive recently, not surprisingly, the topic of green came up. She mentioned how any reference to green has to be well-documented because potential guests are seeking out these properties and following up on the claims before they book! Further to this, if some eco-lovers see a few green claims, they take it a step further and ask about a host of sometimes-obscure items, like if the mattresses have green composition.

FrontRunners Now, hotel chains and boutiques are competing for green status and accolades just like they are for star and diamond ratings. Some frontrunners include: Accor including its Motel 6 brand, Fairmont and Bayan Tree. Interestingly, within these groups there's even some friendly competition to out-green one another.

What Does Green Mean at Hotels? Aside from not washing linens daily, here are some of the ways hotels have been greenifying themselves:

  • recycling (even though this one sounds obvious, it's incredible how many hotels don't yet even offer this service)
  • green roofs
  • honeybee programs
  • herb and veggie gardens
  • solar panels
  • geothermal heating/cooling systems
  • low-flow toilets and showers
  • low voc paint
  • motion-sensor lights and thermostats
  • food-waste composting
  • free valet for hybrid vehicles
  • free bike use to encourage cycling vs driving
  • doing away with plastic water bottles
  • installing reusable dispensers vs countless packaged hotel toiletries
  • landscaping with native plants requiring less water and care

Are hotels' green initiatives important to you?

Green Resources

Related Content Want more travel trends? Check out our other Travel Trend posts published the second, third and fourth Thursday of every month.

[photo by pnwra]