COMING AND GOING
When Deals Go Bad

Sunday, March 18, 2007

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WALLET WATCH
When Deals Go Bad

Traveland, a travel agency that specialized in discount packages to Latin America, has gone out of business, leaving an unknown number of customers in the lurch. The 11-year-old company in Mission, Texas, whose deals were featured in Travel's What's the Deal?, Frommers.com, Travelzoo.com and Budgettravelonline.com, did not respond to phone messages and e-mails last week.

Traveland's Web site, http://www.traveland.com/, advises customers to contact the Airlines Reporting Corp., a company owned by airlines that processes tickets sold through travel agencies, but that advice is wrong. Travel agencies accredited by ARC put up a bond that can be used to cover outstanding debts to airlines, but ARC has "no legal connection" to consumers, says ARC spokesman Allan Muten. Instead, file complaints with the Texas Office of the Attorney General at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/ or 512-463-2070.

How to protect yourself from good deals that turn bad? CoGo's advice:

· Investigate before paying. Check out the company with the Better Business Bureau, http://www.bbb.org/. (Traveland had an unsatisfactory rating -- one of the reasons the Travel section stopped recommending its trips about six months ago.) Read the blogs at sites such as TripAdvisor.com. (Consumers started complaining about Traveland in September.) Look for memberships in trade associations that monitor their members' behavior, including the American Society of Travel Agents and the United States Tour Operators Association. (Traveland belonged to neither.)

· Pay by credit card. You can protest the charge with your credit card issuer when a company does not provide promised services, but be aware of time limits.

· Confirm the details. As soon as you get a confirmation from a package provider, call the airline, hotels, etc., to make sure that reservations have been made and are paid in full.

· Buy travel insurance. It's worth the $85 or so for a major trip. But read the fine print: Some policies don't cover insolvency; some limit such coverage. Compare policies at http://www.insuremytrip.com/ or http://www.quotewright.com/.

Passport Watch
That's the USVI

The U.S. State Department's Web site is quite clear: Despite new rules that require passports for travel by air to Caribbean nations, U.S. citizens do not need a passport to fly between the States and U.S. territories such as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

So why does CoGo keep hearing from readers who were told they do need a passport when returning from the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas?

Jane Scott Barnett of Reston, for example, was attempting to leave St. Thomas recently when she was told she had to fill out a U.S. customs form , walk through i nspection stations and show a passport. When Barnett objected, saying that her U.S. driver's license was all she needed, she said the customs official told her, "You don't need a passport to travel to the USVI, but you do to return."

Wrong, confirmed Kelly Klundt, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Traveling to and from the USVI and Puerto Rico "should be no different than traveling from D.C. to North Dakota," she said.

Passengers faced with incorrect information should ask for a supervisor and alert customs officials by calling 877-227-5511, Klundt said. She added, "If there are any officers out there still confused, we want to know about it."

Barnett, by the way, convinced the official she was a U.S. citizen and was allowed to come home.

TRAVEL TICKER

A discount hotel with rooms from $3 to $ 20 a night opens next month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Tune Hotel, first of a planned chain in Southeast Asia, is in a modern building. Four other Malaysian cities are slated to get Tune hotels this year, and Bali early next year. CoGo found singles for about $4, doubles for $8. Details: http://www.tunehotels.com/. . . . Spirit Airlines, which earlier this month said it would charge fees to check luggage, announced another new policy last week: You must join a club to access new members-only sale fares. A three-month trial membership is $9, then $29.95 a year. Details: http://spiritair.com/. . . . All 433 Comfort Suites hotels will become smoke-free as of May. . . . Yellowstone National Park is seeking 3,000 summer workers. Details: 307-344-5324, http://www.travelyellowstone.com/. . . . Top polo players from the U.S. and Britain will face off at the America's Cup of Polo on May 12 in Leesburg to help mark the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. The rock band Journey will perform. Tickets are $75 and proceeds go to charity. Details: http://www.americas400thcelebration.com/, 540-622-2505.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK
Bridging London

Virgin Atlantic has introductory sale fares on a new second flight from Washington Dulles to London that will begin April 24. Flight 056, a.k.a. the Evening Envoy, will depart at 11:10 p.m., arriving in London at 11:35 a.m.; service will be seasonal, operating through October. Round-trip fare is about $499 (including $157 taxes). Purchase at 800-821-5438 or www.virginatlantic.com by March 20 and travel April 24-May 31. No blackout dates or days. Other airlines are matching.

Reporting: Carol Sottili, Cindy Loose

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to cogo@washpost.com. By mail: CoGo, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.