The Informed Traveler
The Informed Traveler
Overbooked, Now What? & A Visit to San Antonio
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Have you ever volunteered to give up your seat on an overbooked flight? It can be tempting sometimes depending on your circumstances. On this week's show Travel Expert Onanta Forbes joins me to discuss overbooking, not just with the airlines but with hotels and cruise lines. Why it happens and what to do to avoid losing your seat, room or cabin. Plus, we'll chat with our friend Dee Dee Poteete from Visit San Antonio to see what's new in a city full of historic sites and their famous Riverwalk.
Well, hello and welcome to the Informed Traveler Podcast, a weekly travel podcast where our goal is to help you become a more informed traveler. And I'm your host, Randy Sharman. Have you ever volunteered to give up your seat on an overbooked flight? It can be tempting sometimes, depending on your circumstances. In a few moments, travel expert Ornanda Forbes will join me to discuss overbooking, not just with the airlines, but with hotels and cruise lines, why it happens, and what to do to avoid losing your seat, room, or cabin. Plus, we'll chat with our friend Didi Petit from Visit San Antonio to see what's new in a city full of historic sites and their famous river walk.
Overbooked, Now What?
SPEAKER_01But first, let's kick things off chatting with travel expert Onanta Forbes, who joins us each week to talk about the latest travel news, trends, and travel tips in general. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and X at Onanta Forbes. OnantaForbes.com is her website. Hello, Onanta.
SPEAKER_02How are you?
SPEAKER_01I'm very well, thank you. We're going to talk about overbooking. Has it ever happened to you where you've uh been on a flight or uh walked got to your hotel or even on a cruise, or maybe some of your clients uh been overbooked?
SPEAKER_02Um, I personally haven't experienced this, and I'm um, you know, we do have travelers that have um unfortunately experienced it, and it can cause you stress. So um what can possibly be an exciting vacation can turn very quickly. These situations don't happen every day, but they can happen. And um, you know, we we're gonna look at different um travel components where you can probably see it, and you probably hear a lot about it when airlines overbook, and the simple answer why is stats. Um airlines know that almost on every flight a certain number of passengers uh won't show. Some cancel at the last minute, miss connection, or simply decide not to travel. So rather than flying with empty seats, airlines often sell more seats and um the seats are available based on their historical data. So most of the time their predictions are accurate, but occasionally, sometimes everybody shows up, and then that's when the the airlines have more passengers than seats. So they're gonna start asking by for volunteers willing to take a later flight, and in return, they may offer travel vouchers, cash compensation, meals, hotel accommodations, or transportation, depending on the circumstances. If there aren't enough volunteers, um, some passengers may be denied boarding involuntarily, and the amount of competition compensation depends on the country, the airline's obligations, and the length of delay. So you're probably asking yourself, how can I reduce my chances of being bumped? So what I do is I check in um online as soon as the check-in opens. I am that person that checks in 24 hours.
SPEAKER_03Me too. I too.
SPEAKER_02I don't I I have to own up to that. And then I, you know, you should arrive at the airport early. And then whenever possible, try and choose an earlier flight in the day. If something goes wrong, you'll usually have more rebooking options and avoid booking the last flight of the day when whenever possible. And if you travel frequently, consider joining the airlines loyalty program. Elite status may improve your priority during disruptions. And if you're traveling with a family or an important um trip, I would consider um definitely selecting your seats in advance. Um, the airlines always say that they can change your seats due to operational factors, but if you are wanting to all sit together um or near each other, book your seats in advance. You don't want the middle seats, especially on long flights. Well, I don't anyway.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. I did get the opportunity, well, I'm not me personally, but I was flying through the United States. I was going um to Savannah, Georgia, and in in Atlanta, and uh it was overbooked, and they were asking for volunteers. They were offering $400 U.S. and if you took the next flight. But I had to be there where when I was supposed to be there, but it was tempting to take $400 U.S. just to take the next flight. So it can be uh a tempting uh offer sometimes.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. I mean if you're flexible or you don't have any work commitments or you know have to be there for a certain event. Oh yeah, very tempting, absolutely. Um yeah, so you know, it just depends on your circumstance and such, but uh it does happen. And also uh hotels overbook from time to time because they expect some can um some guests to cancel or simply not arrive. And when the guests, when every guest shows up, um the hotel may have to walk a client or a guest to another property. And I don't mean that physically, they just kind of it's the term they use.
SPEAKER_01They don't they they don't walk you out the door.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's right. So what they do is they'll they'll uh arrange another comparable hotel and may cover the transportation between the properties, and depending on the circumstances, additional compensation may also be offered. Um while it's inconvenient, reputable hotels generally try to make the situation as seamless as possible.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they they're pretty good at that, trying to make up for whatever they've done.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and some of my tips to reduce the risks with hotels is either book directly with a hotel or through a trusted travel advisor. If you're arriving late in the evening, advise the hotel in advance of your arrival time. Um, guarantee your reservation with a credit card whenever possible. And I think that's usually the standard now. Yeah, to hold a uh a reservation at a hotel, you do have to. And then again, join the hotel's loyalty program if you frequently stay with that person. So that will help you as well.
SPEAKER_01I do that all the time. I film the hotel. If I know I'm gonna be kind of late or whatever, like a six o'clock arrival, I'll just phone and say, hey, uh, I'm coming. Don't give up my room.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think it's a great um tip and one to take care of. You can easily phone or even email. Like a lot of emails will show on their website their direct email address to send it to them and/or you know, their concierge email address. But it's a good idea, very good idea. So a lot of people can ask me this question do uh cruise lines overbook? And the answer is yes. It's less common than airlines, and they don't typically oversell cabins because every guest has an assigned stateroom. However, there are occasions when the sailing becomes oversold or when operational changes reduce the number of available cabins. So this was this can happen if like a ship is chartered or um it has the delayed entry service, like requires unexpected maintenance, or if there's operational issues affecting capacity. So in most cases, um, the cruise line first looks for volunteers willing to move to another sailing. Um, and to encourage their plans, um, cruise lines often offer like very nice accommodation uh compensation, and it could include um a full refund, a complementary feature cruise credit, reimbursement of certain travel expenses, and hotel accommodations if necessary, and in some cases an upgraded state room on the new savings. So if the um if there's not enough volunteers, a cruise line just may cancel some of the reservations. They don't want to do it, but uh it can happen. It's uncommon. Um, but and the compensation varies by cruise line, the reason for the change. So there isn't one standard policy across the uh industry at all. Um, and some tips um in is like checking in early for a cruise. Would it prevent you from being bumped? That's that's probably not gonna happen. It doesn't um your check-in doesn't usually determine whether you get to keep your tax. So it's not like an airline. And um, your reservation generally, based on factors when you book like your payment status, your prefair conditions, and the cruise line's operational decisions. So it doesn't mean you should delay your online check-in. You should be absolutely completed as soon as it opens, but it it's it's not the first thing that will protect your reservation on a cruise. Um, maybe some tips would be book your cruise early, pay your deposit and final payment on time, complete your online check-in, and submit all the required travel documents well before your departure. Um, if you're sailing on a brand new ship or an in an inaugural season, um, avoid purchasing non-referable airfare until your cruise is fully confirmed and your travel documents have been issued because there are times where, for whatever reason, maybe a fee or visa is defined or your passport doesn't come to you on time. So be careful of the airfare that you book because you want that flexibility. Nowadays, your travel advisor probably won't recommend the the lowest fare, like an ultra basic fare, because it has zero opportunity to change. Um a hundred percent um like cancellation penalty and then the baggage, like with with some airlines, no carry-ons allowed, or you have to pay for your baggage. So it you know, it it does it does um affect your o your next steps in your in your travel arrangement. And so that's why we always recommend travel insurance. It won't prevent overbooking, but it can help you prevent the financial impact on the unexpected delays or additional expenses, depending on your policy. So that's why we've talked about it before before. We always recommend um reviewing your coverage before carefully before you travel. Um, some people say, oh no, have a credit card, it'll cover me. Well, make sure it covers you for the future.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02What your your coverage levels are if the trip cancels. So lots of different things come into play.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And we should mention too the uh case of uh the cruise lines overbooking, it is rare, but it does happen, so you should be aware of it. Uh always good tips, Onanta. Onanda Forbes is a travel expert. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and ext at Onanta Forbes. Her website is onantaforbes.com. Uh good chatting, Onanta. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Thank you. Have a good week.
SPEAKER_01This is the Informed Traveler Podcast. I'm Randy Sharman. Just want to remind you of our website, theinformedraveler.org. That's where you can find our contact page if you have any questions or comments about the podcast. You can also email me too with any questions you might have. My email address is randy at the informedtraveler.org. You can check out our social media pages too at facebook.com slash informed traveler, Instagram at informed traveler, or on X at InformTraveler. That's where you'll find a number of videos and photos from our recent and past interviews and stories. Plus, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's released at the beginning of every month. Our August issue is now available. Just go to our website, the informedtraveler.org, click on the newsletter button, and it'll take you right there. Or better yet, you can subscribe to it and have it arrive in your inbox each
A Visit To San Antonio
SPEAKER_01month. Well, let's head to San Antonio, Texas now. Best known for the iconic Alamo and their scenic river walk and so much more. So joining us now to share what's going on in San Antonio these days and why you should plan a visit there is Didi Potich. She's with Visit San Antonio. Visit San Antonio.com is the website. Hi, Didi.
SPEAKER_00Well, hola from San Antonio, Randy. Always a pleasure to be on your show. And hello to all our Canadian friends.
SPEAKER_01Hola, como está? Very good.
SPEAKER_00Yes, bien gracias. What we're saying is uh do you want a margarita? And the answer is yes.
SPEAKER_01Always a margarita. Um, I would I I I I was just thinking about uh what we could talk about, and I thought if we did a word association game with uh San Antonio, I think Alamo would come up often, and Riverwalk would come up often. And it's because that's what makes San Antonio unique, right?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. You've hit on the two top attractions in the great state of Texas, the Alamo and the Riverwalk. And what's so cool, I always tell people that you know the story of San Antonio is simple. The Spanish built a church by a river, and those have become the Alamo and the Riverwalk, and they are literally just steps away from each other. As a matter of fact, in the last couple of weeks, we just opened up Paseo del Alamo, which connects the Alamo walking very easily to the Riverwalk. So it's and people are amazed when they come to San Antonio and say, Wow, I didn't realize why they build the Alamo downtown. But the truth is the Alamo was the first mission of five colonial colonial missions, and um everything built up around that to the seventh largest city in the United States.
SPEAKER_01I think I don't think people realize uh it is the seventh largest city, and all the missions that are there as well. It's quite a quite a fascinating history behind San Antonio. We can and let's keep with the theme of of unique things, what makes uh San Antonio unique? And I'm I'm glad you brought up the uh Paseo, was it uh Del Alamo. Del Alamo. Uh, because I was going to ask you, it's on your website, and uh so let's let's start there. It connects pretty much everything together, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00Connects everything together. You know, if you think about it, there are very few cities uh really in the world that have an uh intimate, walkable river running right through the heart of them. You think of Venice, you think of Rouge. Uh I'm sure there's some great locations in our friends from Canada as well, where the river is sort of the lifeblood of the city. So the San Antonio River is a natural river that starts about three miles north of the heart of downtown, bubbles up through the Edwards Aquifer, and flows based on the topography downtown, making a horseshoe bend, and then connects all the way down to some other rivers, dumping out into the Gulf of Mexico. So it's a natural river, the San Antonio River. And as I said, the Spanish were establishing New Spain, and they said, this is a beautiful place. It's green, it's verdant, there's lovely people who were here. The indigenous were very friendly, and uh they decided that that's where they would establish San Antonio or well, they established uh a place for Spain. It just happened they said the inaugural mass for the location on June 13th of 1691, and that is the feast day of St. Anthony, so therefore the area became known as San Antonio, but it all is connected together. The church Alamo is right by the river, and the Alamo was originally San Antonio de Valero, Mission San Antonio de Valero, and it's one of four total of five Spanish colonial missions in San Antonio along the mission trail.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. And I I would be guilty of this too. I don't think a lot of people actually know the the true story of the Alamo. I remember you know, they talk about a remember the Alamo and all that stuff, but but uh it's an interesting uh story behind it. Uh maybe you can just touch on it. I don't even think we can go into uh a lot of details, and also about um the restoration of the Alamo into something uh a bigger experience.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Well, you've hit on it. You know, a lot of people kind of know the Alamo from the John Wayne and the other movies, thinking it's out on a field somewhere. But um the Alamo was the battleground of uh the battle where uh 186 defenders uh wanted to have Texas become its own country and to pull away from Mexico. So that number of defenders were against thousands of Mexican troops, and the battle happened on March 6th, 1836, and Mexico won that battle. But the battle cry, remember Goliad, remember the Alamo, is exactly what inspired the Battle of uh San Jacinto on the 21st uh of April, where Texas won its independence and became its own country. So the Alamo was very much a uh message of universal cost of freedom. Uh the defenders knew that they were going against all these troops, but they were fighting for the uh independence, and so they really gave their lives for that cause. And the Alamo now is considered very much sacred ground. It was, of course, where the indigenous were because the Spanish missionaries were uh there to work with the indigenous and then became um uh uh not a church anymore, uh, and became the the a Presidio and a military fort and a part of uh the battle. So that uh San Antonio grew up around that landscape. Uh and to your point, uh Randy, you've really hit on something important. We are right now in the middle of the Alamo plan, these many hundreds of years later, um that is re-establishing the original boundaries of the mission of the mission, uh, is telling the entire complicated story of the Alamo. And is also establishing a world-class visitor center and museum, which opens up in 2028. So that plan is 700 million US. It's the state of Texas and private donors. It's a very exciting time to come explore the Alamo right in the heart of San Antonio.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. Well, speaking of the heart of San Antonio, I guess that would be the place, you know, if you're staying, that that's the central location because you can walk to so many uh different venues, and of course, uh you can reach out to other attractions as well, right?
SPEAKER_00You know, San Antonio is very walkable. I'm so glad you said that. People here, seventh largest city, and they think, oh my gosh, I'm gonna need a car, it's going to be difficult to get downtown, how do I get around? But the truth is San Antonio International Airport is only eight miles um from the heart of downtown. So you land, and certainly for those of us coming from Toronto, can land uh on the new direct non-stop on Air Canada. Lots of great ways to get to San Antonio from Canada, but that's exciting news. But I'll tell you, once you're downtown, uh you don't really need a car. The river walk is walkable and free. The Alamo is walkable and free. The missions are uh a short uh you can bike the missions, you can hike the missions, but you can also take a quick Uber to the missions. The entire mission trail is only 12 miles. So it's very doable to go from the Alamo down to the other Spanish colonial missions. Uh, and there's so many other attractions: a Spanish Governor's Palace, the Tower of the Americas, Hemisphere Park, La Vita, Market Square, all of that just within a very short distance in the heart of downtown San Antonio. So very accessible, a lot is free, easy to get around.
SPEAKER_01One of the nice things uh that your website does is offer three-day or four-day itinerary ideas for different groups of people. Families, couples, uh, you know, some small groups like a girls' getaway or something like that. So, but there's is there a common like using families, for example, is there a common activity that's found in most of them? And I'm thinking of the zoo. I didn't realize that San Antonio had such a fabulous zoo.
SPEAKER_00Such a fabulous zoo. The San Antonio Zoo is an award-winning zoo. It's often voted uh very consistently over the last many years as the top zoo in Texas. And what's lovely about it is that it just doesn't rest on its laurels. We just recently opened Congo Falls. The gorillas are back at the San Antonio Zoo for the first time in 30 years. You can even stay at Spec Boom Lodge and stay uh overnight lodging in the zoo and wake up to the giraffe uh just right outside your window.
SPEAKER_01A lot of fun.
SPEAKER_00A lot of fun. But I love that you talked about what kind of groups the San Antonio are great for. And I know everybody says, oh, we've got something for everybody, but I'm telling you, we really do. San Antonio is a great girlfriend getaway, a guide's getaway, especially looking for golf or for um tubing in the hill country, great uh access to the Texas hill country. You can take a day trip out there to the wineries and to the B's and to the uh antique stores and the great shopping and the topography out there is just wonderful for a day drive. It's only about an hour outside of San Antonio, but I Like what you said, Randy. Family, family, family. San Antonio is first and foremost a family destination. And a family could be a couple. A family could be a small nuclear family. It could be a multi-generational trip. Uh, we have lodging at all price points in San Antonio and activities that appease all of those groups and are attractive. There's so much to see and do in San Antonio. The one thing you're gonna, I guarantee you'll feel at the end of your trip is man, we need more time here because there's so much to see and do.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Well, and let's talk about the food. I'm a big fan of Mexican food, Tex-Mex food. There's no shortage of that, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_00We are the home of Tex-Mex, and uh, we also are Tex Next, and you're like, what is that? Well, you know, the culinary scene in San Antonio, besides all your traditionals, all your favorites, all your great Tex-Mex, I think the last I heard there were 300 Tex-Mex restaurants in the we used to call them the yellow pages, but in the phone directory for San Antonio, and more opening all the time. Uh, but what's really happened is the chefs and the restaurants have taken new twists on that, doing new fusions, taking it to new heights, opening up their own chef-driven experiences and making it so interesting that you will want to come back and, you know, if you just want to go to a neighborhood gen and have some breakfast tacos, we've got them. We've got some of them have 12 or 15 different variations on the menu. If you think about everybody walking around uh New York or Toronto with a bagel in the morning or a breakfast uh something they can hold in their hand, the breakfast taco is the equivalent of San Antonio. But we also have all these very, very uh wonderful restaurants, some of which are James Beard Award winners, some of which are Michelin. I know Michelin is very well known in your part of the world. We have 15 restaurants that have a Michelin knot. So we're really starting to garner attention for our fantastic, creative, interesting, intuitive culinary scene in San Antonio.
SPEAKER_01Which I'm sure uh is involved in many of the festivals and events that um San Antonio holds. Uh can you name a few that uh might be coming up or down the road?
SPEAKER_00Well, I'll tell you, we throw a fiesta at the drop of a sombrero in San Antonio. You can come any time of the year, and there's going to be something going on on the riverwalk. There'll be festivals down in Market Square, there'll be parties going on in La Vie Ita, over at St. Paul's Square, in the neighborhoods, in the parks, uh, whether it's the Tajano Canjunto Festival celebrating that great genre of music, uh, whether it's the uh Oktoberfest happening with great uh nod to our German Texas heritage. But the the grand party in San Antonio is called Fiesta San Antonio. Even though you can find that Fiesta Spirit year-round in San Antonio, for 11 days in April, it takes over the city. There's over a hundred events, multiple things happening all at once. As you mentioned, food festivals, music festivals, uh themed festivals, cultural festivals. Um, there's night in old San Antonio, which runs five nights, and hundreds of thousands of people come and experience all the different cultures that settle San Antonio. There's river parades with 20, 25 floats going down the glistening San Antonio River Rock, parades on the street level, just something for everybody, uh, neighborhood parades, military salutes, uh pooch festivals for everybody who loves to seeing dogs in parades, and just um just something for everything. It's very, very uh uh absorbing of the whole environment. You'll see people with fiesta colored outfits on, with confetti in their hair, and everything is run by volunteers, and so many charities benefit from the 100 events. It's a great time, it's a party with a purpose in San Antonio.
SPEAKER_01Well, you can't go wrong with dogs either, right? Um, well, April sounds like a good time because it's probably not quite as hot as the summertime. But is there a better time to visit San Antonio or a good time? I suppose if you wanted to uh check in one of these festivals, that would be the time to go.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. I mean, we really do have great weather year-round. You're absolutely right. It gets a little toasty come August or so, July and August, but we know our Canadian friends especially love that warm weather. So um, you can come anytime to San Antonio. There's festivals all around the calendar throughout the year. There's multiple river parades happening during, we turn the river green during St. Patrick's Day. We do a holiday river parade. And you know, we say the only ice in San Antonio is on the margaritas. So get out of the cold, get out of the ice, come to San Antonio, uh, especially during the fall and the holidays or during the spring. And um, we magically turn the lights on the river over hundreds of thousands of lights, if you can imagine, sparkling drape from the trees all around you. The river walk is 20 feet below street level. So you're in this beautiful uh walkway. It's almost like a canopy of lights that drip from the trees and reflect off the water. It is truly magical. And we invite everybody to come experience that or come any time of year to the Alamo City.
SPEAKER_01Lots of things to see and do in San Antonio. You can check out the website. It's uh it's a great website. Check out some of their itineraries, visit sanantonio.com. Didi Potit is with Visit San Antonio. Uh any last words, uh Didi?
SPEAKER_00The word Texas means friendly, and we want our Canadian friends to know we love you, we appreciate you, we thank you when you come to visit us, and we can't wait to see you soon in San Antonio.
SPEAKER_01Well said. Thanks, Didi. It was great chatting with you.
SPEAKER_00Always fun. Thank you, Mr. Randy.
SPEAKER_01And that is our show for this week. If you have comments or questions, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a show of ideas, send them along as well. My email is Randy at the Informed Trambler.org. And if you like what you heard, tell a friend. You can check out our website too at the Informed Trambler. In the meantime, thanks for listening. Tremblesave and be an informed Trambler.