AAA Predicts an Increase in Memorial Day Travel

Despite rising costs of airline tickets, hotels and rental cars, AAA believes that there will be slightly more residents traveling over this year's Memorial Day weekend compared to last year.

AAA, which just so happens to be the nation's largest leisure travel organization, predicts that roughly 34.9 million Americans will hop aboard their chosen means of transportation and travel at least 50 miles away from home next weekend for Memorial Day. This estimate is a 0.2% increase (roughly 100,000 people) over the 34.8 million people who set out to travel last year. AAA defines the Memorial Day travel period as running from Thursday, May 26th until Monday, May 30th.

According to Chuck Mai, a spokesman for AAA-Oklahoma, "In 2010, Memorial Day travel experienced a gain of more than 14%. This year we expect to add slightly to that gain due to an anticipated increase in air travel and an improvement in the overall domestic economic picture. Many travelers have told us they'll compensate for higher fuel costs by cutting back in other areas of spending."

Some people, in Oklahoma at least, are deciding to stay closer to home or are even going as far as delaying travel plans for the weekend. Memorial Day has long since been considered the traditional start of the summer travel season according to AAA. Another factor is schooling. A rash of snowstorms back in February caused many schools to shut down for two weeks and those schools now have to make up that time by letting out two weeks later than usual.

Nancy Winn, a travel agent with Travel Leaders/Spears Travel, stated, "Schools are getting out late so that kind of messed up people's plans. So, many people are waiting until the middle of June."

Even though gas prices are more than $1 a gallon higher than they were last year, vehicle travel is still the primary route of transportation. According to AAA, nearly 9 out of 10 holiday travelers will be getting to their desired locations via motor vehicles throughout Memorial Day weekend.

The national average price for regular gas right now is $3.95 per gallon, compared with the $2.85 per gallon price of last year. However, gas is still lower in some areas. Around my hometown in Ohio gas has dropped to as low as $3.77 per gallon.

AAA conducted a survey of intended holiday travelers and found that 6 out of 10 stated that the increase in gas prices would not affect their plans to travel. 70% of the people who said rising gas prices would affect their travel stated that they would make up for that increase by economizing in other areas. The rest of the people polled said that they would simply take a shorter trip or travel by something other than car.

AAA expects around 2.93 million people to travel by air over the weekend, which is an 11.5% increase over last year's numbers. Air fares over Memorial Day weekend are expected to be 14% higher than this time last year with the lowest round-trip cost coming in around $201.

According to Tim Smith, a spokesman from American Airlines, "The busiest travel days will be Thursday and Friday, May 26 and 27, and Tuesday, May 31 when returning holiday travelers will be running into outbound business travelers. Load factors (percentage of full seats) will be in the high 80s and low 90s. Give yourself plenty of time."

AAA also noted that their Three Diamond lodging costs are up 5% from one year ago with travelers spending roughly $148 per night as opposed to the $142 of last year. Travelers to AAA Two Diamond hotels can expect a 10% increase in price with an average cost of $109.

What about you? Will rising gas prices, air fares and hotel costs put a damper on your Memorial Day weekend?

Source: Tulsa World - AAA predicts uptick in holiday travel despite higher costs

SMBnow.com is news of, for and by SMBs!
SMBnow.com... The Small & Medium Business Magazine!

How to Make Traveling with Dogs Safer and Easier

So, a lot of people like to travel and a lot of people like having dogs, and there are some out there that even like traveling and having dogs. However, this scenario poses a problem for these people: what to do with the dog when you travel. Well, there are a lot of different options. You can leave the dog with a friend, neighbor or relative, put the dog in a kennel or at a ridiculous doggy resort, or you can take the dog with you. Now that last option is pretty easy if your dog is small but a lot of people have big dogs and keeping them safe when you travel is hard.

If you are traveling with your dog, there are some serious things you need to consider first. First off, never let your dog stick their head out the window if you plan on traveling at high speeds. If your dog does this, you run the risk of debris or other things getting into your dog's eyes and causing some pretty bad damage. However, it seems kind of cruel to keep your dog from sticking its head out the window, so invest in some doggles. Doggles are goggles for dogs that can protect their eyes in these types of situations.

Second, never let your dog sit in the front seat. This may seem strange but hear me out. If you get into a wreck, or even a fender bender, and the airbag deploys, then that can cause some serious harm to your dog. You should also never leave your dog in the car by itself. The number one cause of death dogs is heart related issues. If you leave your dog in the car for too long and it becomes overheated, it could have heart problems and die.

If you absolutely must leave your dog in the car, then keep the air conditioner on and leave some cold water in the car, especially in the summertime. It is also recommended that you do not shave your dog for the summer. This seems to go against everything you have heard, right? Well, dogs have a built-in cooling system which goes away if you shave them. Excessive panting and a red mucus membrane instead of pink are both signs of heat stroke in your dog.

Serious dog lovers can even get a dog first aid kit to keep in their car. This works much like a human fist aid kit containing everything you would need in a doggy emergency. With this information, traveling with your dog can become much easier and much safer.

Source: News 8 - How to keep dogs safe in the summer

File Server rentals are ideal if your company needs an extra storage unit for company information while you are testing various types of storage solutions.

Whether you need a short-term rental or a long-term lease, we have the right kind of server for your needs.

Easter Travel Won't Be Hampered By Inflating Gas Prices

It is springtime and Easter is fast approaching, so you know that there are going to be a lot of travelers hitting the roads this weekend and traveling all over the country to see friends and family. However, there is one thing that you would think would dampen Easter travels and that is the continuously rising gas prices.

Crude oil's cost is at its highest since about two and a half years ago, with prices in some locations reaching as high as $4 a gallon. However, AAA Michigan spokeswoman Nancy Cain says that increasing gas prices will not likely hamper spring vacation or Easter.

According to Cain, "It's an unfortunate set of circumstances for motorists. We're paying almost $1 more per gallon than this time last year."

The average gas price per gallon for unleaded in Michigan on April 19th was $3.954 per gallon which was above the national average price of $3.835 for that day.However, Michigan wasn't the only state higher than the national average on Tuesday. States like Alaska, California, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois and New York topped $4 per gallon, according to the AAA website database.

Cain stated that AAA Michigan conducts surveys multiple times each year in order to gauge holiday travel. They monitor holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the time span from Christmas to New Year's. However, AAA does not typically do Easter or Spring Break travel but, according to Cain, it is evident that travel has increased from last year.

Easter is not typically a holiday when people travel too far. A lot of people stay home or visit family members that live close by. However, even traveling to see close family members or friends will cost you a little more than you are used to.

Gas prices where I live, around Cincinnati, Ohio, have reached as high as $3.99 a gallon in some places. President Obama has already spoken on the high gas prices, let us just hope that he actually does something about it.

Source: PetoskeyNews.com - Travel, gas prices on the rise since last spring, AAA says

Put your eye on the problem with Camera Security Now, installing security cameras since 1999. We install in the US and we can help you do it yourself.

Call us toll free 877-422-1907 between 8am EST and 5pm PST M-F. Talk to an expert about your serious security camera needs.

Airlines Attempt to Raise Fares Yet Again

Anybody who has ever traveled before knows that if you are planning on traveling by plane, you should check the price of tickets regularly. One day they could be just the price you want and the next they could jump by $100. While nobody likes the fluctuations in airline tickets, there is one thing they hate worse. No, it isn't airport security, that is a whole other post. No, what people hate is when airlines permanently increase the price of their tickets, and at least two major U.S. airlines are trying to do that now. That's right, at least two major airlines in the United States are attempting to raise the price of round trip tickets once again by $10 on some domestic routes in order to counter the rising costs of fuel. US Airways initiated the fare increase late Thursday on most of their routes. Delta Airlines later followed suit by raising prices mostly on routes where they competed with discount airlines. JetBlue and Virgin America have already matched the increase according to Jaime Baker, an airline analyst. JetBlue, in addition to raising fares, also extended travel periods for the increased fares to include dates before and after the peak summer travel season. AirTran is another airline company which plans on raising fares on some of their routes. Their increase will not include those to and from Atlanta, where they compete with Delta. This marks the first time AirTran has attempted a major fare increase in several months, according to Baker. Apparently airlines have tried widespread price increases a total of nine times this year, six of which stuck. The last three times failed in a matter of days because other airlines did not increase their fares too. One certain way to tell if this latest attempt will be successful is to see if Southwest Airlines joins in and raises their fares as well. Southwest carries more passengers than any other airline company in the United States and also regularly undercuts the fees of other major airlines. Oil has now risen above $110 per barrel, which is a 21% increase in cost this year alone. Rick Seaney, a fare watcher, points out that the airlines successfully raised prices four times in April of 2008, a time when oil prices increased from $102 to $117. In this month alone oil has risen $4 per barrel. Source: MSNBC - U.S. airlines attempt to raise fares for the 10th time