STAR

Is my hotel’s lost star a lost cause?

by Christopher Elliott on March 5, 2010

My fiance and I are going to Melbourne, Australia, to celebrate his six-month, “all clear” from cancer. I booked a four-star hotel on Priceline.com for our first two nights and when they revealed the hotel, it was actually a three-star on the hotel’s own Web site.

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Hotwire’s half-star mistake

by Christopher Elliott on December 10, 2009

Debbie Burk books a four-star hotel in Chicago, hoping to avoid a particular property, which is rated a half star lower. But when she ends up with a room at that hotel anyway, she ends up in an argument with her online travel agent over its star ratings system. Is she stuck with that room?

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Senate leaders call for slow-down of airline alliance antitrust immunity

by Charlie Leocha on December 22, 2008

Charlie LeochaOver the past two weeks, I have covered the pending antitrust immunity for airline alliances. In my discussions with insiders in Washington, DC, I have heard that many congressional and Department of Justice (DOJ) staffers were concerned with the fast-track the Department of Transportation (DOT) was pursuing regarding the antitrust immunity hearings.

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Undemocratic secrecy shrouds airline alliance antitrust immunity hearings

by Charlie Leocha on December 16, 2008

Charlie LeochaThe STAR and oneworld airline alliances have filed antitrust immunity requests with the Department of Transportation (DOT) that are far more far-reaching than any such immunity in the past. In my opinion and in the judgment of many others, this immunity is not in the interest of America’s traveling public nor the nation’s travel industry at large.

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