Coming and Going: Camcorders on Loan, Top Airlines for Pets, Online Bike Rentals

ANNALS OF INDUSTRY

Leave the Camera at Home

Tired of the hassle of lugging that old video camera around? Coming to the rescue is Rosewood Hotels, a company that CoGo hopes will inspire others in the lodging industry. The luxury chain will soon begin offering guests high-definition digital camcorders (Flip UltraHDs) for use while they are staying at a property. The hotel concierge will give quick lessons in how to use them. Upon checkout, guests return the cameras and the hotel will either copy the images to a DVD or upload them to YouTube.

For starters, Rosewood will be offering the cameras at five properties in the United States and Mexico, but if they prove popular -- and CoGo doesn't see why they won't be -- expect an expansion. With any luck, other hotel chains will jump on the bandwagon. Please!

For further information, visit http://www.rosewoodhotels.com or call 888-767-3966.

ANIMAL RITES

Plane's Best Friend

Which of the airlines has the pet-friendliest policies? Well, according to Petfinder, a Web site specializing in animal adoptions, it's Continental, which the site applauds for, among other things, its climate-controlled cargo area and a program offering frequent-flier miles to pets. The other airlines in the top five are JetBlue (for its JetPaws program), AirTran (inexpensive pet fares), American (even zoos trust them) and United (they fly everything from cockatiels to ferrets). For more information on the rankings, visit the Petfinder Web site at http://www.petfinder.com.

DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION

Pedal Pushing

Looking to rent a bicycle on your next vacation? RentaBikeNow.com, which launched in April, offers rentals in 157 North American cities through more than 200 independent bike shops.

Available bikes are displayed by type (cruiser, mountain or road), size and price. Put down a refundable deposit via credit card or PayPal. The Web site charges a $5 convenience fee, but rental prices are the same as or lower than the stores'.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK

Lufthansa has summer sale fares from Washington Dulles to cities throughout Europe, including Madrid, Zurich and Berlin. Round-trip fare to Frankfurt, Germany, for example, is $506, including taxes; other airlines are matching. Depart by Sept. 12, and return by Oct. 11. Seven-day advance purchase required. Book by June 24 at http://www.lufthansa.com.

Reporting: Scott Vogel, Carol Sottili

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to: cogo@washpost.com. By fax: 202-912-3609. By mail: CoGo, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.