Two Ways to Check Gas Prices Before Your Trip

If you are concerned about gas prices this summer, or any time of the year, you can check online for the best deals in a couple of ways. Both have their positives and negatives in their coverage. First, starting for Memorial Day weekend, AAA will allow it's online members to check U.S. prices through their various regional websites. The AAA Fuel Price Finder monitors the gasoline price charged through credit card transactions at the individual stations. Data on price and location will be received from about 85,000 stations throughout the United States. You need to be a member of AAA (fee) and this won't record all transactions.

The free alternative that covers even more areas and Canada is gasbuddy.com. It relies on individual spotter reports across North America but it doesn't require any special computer connections either. So it's not automatically updated by every transaction but it encompasses more places and possibilities. In our checks, it had a pretty thorough report on even some small town gas stations. If a station was much lower than competition two days ago, it will probably have a lower price today.

After record high gas prices hit in early April, the prices have been steadily falling, but are still at higher levels than where the price climb began.

Over 9,500 Special Rates Added

AllStays.com special rate hotel inventory now exceeds 30,000 properties with the addition of 9,500+ AllStays Discount Rate hotels. You, our customer now have access to the most comprehensive inventory of merchant rate hotels in the world. More discounted rates than Expedia(tm). More than Hotels.com.

This latest expansion in listings includes thousands of additional properties in Europe and many other destinations, from the United States to the Middle East. These new properties include resorts, airport hotels, small independent properties, and boutique and luxury hotels.

The rates on these properties are discounted by at least 10% from the standard published rates, so your pocketbook is bound to appreciate the value at these properties... Multiple languages are also supported for these new properties, including Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, and Danish.

Defining Exchange Rates

Have you traveled between countries? Have you ever had to change money at an airport, bank or train station? If you have, you've already dealt with exchange rates.

You've seen the electronic charts in the airports and in bank windows. You've heard the news anchor talk about the dollar being up or down against the yen or euro. But what does that mean?

AllStays Travel Money is here to help. See our series on defining exchange rates in plain words.

Bed Bugs in Hotels

They're back.

Bed bugs in hotels have never really gone away but the old phrase "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" has come back strong and with a bite to hotels. Even some of the finest hotels in the world are being bitten by the resurgence of these bloody biters.

They are not targeting cheap hotels or old hotels. They can be found in the newest, the best and the most expensive of hotels. They do not discriminate. They just want human blood and do not pose a health threat at this time.

More and more hotel pest calls are being quietly serviced by the pest control industry. The complaints are rising but are mostly buried by the hotel chains. As a travel website, we don't want consumer afraid of hotels but we do want you to be aware of the problem and what you can do about it.

Bed Bug Lawsuits

Bed bugs have triggered lawsuits but that seems a bit too extreme. Bed bugs are in our homes, not just hotels. Hotels are more susceptible however, because of the transient nature of the guests. People and their luggage come and go and the bed bugs can hitch a ride from place to place, multiplying as they go. If you complain to the front desk, the hotel should try and accommodate you with compensation. Perhaps a free stay or other perks that they can pass on to you right away.

Bed bugs are oval-shaped and tiny, less than a quarter of an inch, and brown in color. They hide under mattresses and in the bed frames, crevices and other furniture pieces.

Once they find an attractive human source, they bore the skin and suck blood. Can an empty room kill them off? Not so, as they can go months without a food source. They wait patiently for the next guest to check in. They may even hitch a ride home with you in your luggage.

Scientists believe that the resurgence is caused by the cut backs in some pesticides. Many of the most powerful pesticides have been taken off the market due to other health problems that they caused. In the U.S., the insecticide DDT which was banned in the 1960s, was used heavily in hotels and bed bugs were nearly eliminated in the 1940s and 50s.

There is no evidence that bed bugs transmit West Nile Virus or any others at this time. So far, they only leave a itchy mark on the skin....and perhaps an uneasy creepy feeling the next time you pull back the sheets in your hotel room.