FODORS STINKS!
 

Is there another travel web page other then Fodors that is actually with merit? I've found that Fodors is so far behind the times and out of date that it's nearly useless for corporate travel.

Kyle,
This board is what those who contribute to it make it. Frankly I (as a leisure traveler) have found it most informative.

What kind of information are you looking for on the boards? Have you posed questions that have not been answered? Please give some reasons for your statements.

I fully agree with the previous response.

Au contraire. This site is far more informative
for the corporate traveler than 2 others I can name.
Just where do you travel?

Kyle: Evidently your corporate travel needs are rather special, so how in the world did you stray into a travel posting of plain folks? Seriously, have you looked into AmEx travel guides? They even come with a business logo on the cover and a guarantee that offending words (such as backpack) have been banned from their pages. I bet AmEx offers just the kind of insider tips you need. As they say, Don't leave home without it.

Kyle: I strongly disagree with you. I have found the advice on this bulletin board to be of great help and have booked my hotels and planned my trips through the advice of many people here. If this is not what you are looking for, you should probably stop by a travel agent and stop browsing this site.

Actually, this is a fascinating topic. I travel for my company with some frequency and, to me, "corporate travel" is mind-numbingly mundane: you fly into a city, check into a hotel, conduct business at a company, head back to the airport, and drive on freeways the whole time. Who needs a travel guide for that? Leisure travel is where the adventure is: finding the "right" flight, hotel, and restaurants; developing an itinerary and then improving upon it. I have a shelf of travel books from places I've been (why do we keep these things?) and roughly half of them are Fodors titles. This web site is a marvelous medium for exchanging ideas: its contributors are intelligent, well-traveled, insighful, and know how to write declarative sentences. I've posted queries and received advice that proved to be excellent; I've tried to return the favor when ever possible. Fodors stinks? No way. Go sell that one somewhere else.

The excellent and thoughtful responses above confirm why I think that Fodor's is best for the average traveler. In my 50 years of business and pleasure travel I've never found such a helpful service. My only complaint is that it doesn't cover enough locations. However, I agree that it is not ideally suited for corporate travel - that's what travel agents are for. There are also other web sites more suited for that purpose, such as Expedia.

NO WAY!!! This is one of the best sites on the web to get opinions from people who "have been there" rather than some one with an "ax to grind".

A question was addressed to Kyle earlier, but he never responded ... in exactly what areas is Fodor's deficient in meeting the needs of corporate travellers? Awfully easy to post an attention-grabbing claim, but where are the details to substantiate it?

We have only been scanning the net for travel info for the past year, though we have many years experience travelling throughout the world. And, we find this site superior to the competitors in the amount of queries and responses. Seems very friendly!!! Business travel takes a person to a different part of a nation - to a different part of a city. We look for history, beaches, food and drink, nightlife, a longer stay and we have to look for bargains, as we cannot deduct such travel costs unless we are writing or photographing, filming, etc. Quite different from business!!!

Kyle: Fodor's is outstanding. I travel to Europe frequently and find that for background information the Fodor's guide gives me virtually everything I need. I appreciate the updates (to say nothing of this web site). Perhaps your corporate travel agents are better than the ones I'm familiar with (unless you are fortunate or are the CEO, you are likely to get an entry level clerk who hasn't been anywhere ever).

Well, Fodor's is obviously more for "leisure" travellers wishing to explore the world, as opposed to conduct business. What were you expecting? What did you have in mind? Doesn't your "corporation" have one of those "reliable travel agents" to take care of whatever your needs are?

I suppose the person who started this is long gone,
but for the record, I agree with the above comments.
This site isn't meant to be a corporate/business
travel agent site -- it's simply information and a
BB for leisure travelers. What kind of a dumb/
cheap business tries to use a Fodor's WEB site
for their corporate travel, anyway? Why on
earth would they? Travel agents get commissions,
you know, and love corporate travel accounts
because they are very lucrative and don't involve
much effort or knowledge--just booking flights and
making reservations at chain business hotels in
major cities.
If you want regular travel air fare/chain hotel/rental
car, etc. travel sites, here's a few:

www.itn.net (Internet Travel Network)
www.previewtravel.com
www.expedia.com (very time-consuming)
www.travelocity.com

Of course, if you had any smarts at all (which I
doubt) you could find such sites by using a
simple search engine such as Yahoo.

Kyle, Even thought it is teribbly American (insular) it is quite informative for the odd tip here and there. Be patient, surf to it now and then and you just never know???? Shane

Kyle....are you there?...hello....

If you're looking for an excellent travel site try "Lonely Planet". Very comprehensive.

whatever happened to Kyle? Fodor's still here.....

I have just discovered this site recently and thoroughly enjoy reading everything on it! The rants are sometimes so funny, the trip reports by some are so entertaining, and I already have lists of where to stay/eat/shop on my next two or three trips to Europe.Obviously,Kyle is looking for something - what, we have no idea, but keep looking , Kyle, it must be out there...In the meantime, I am perfectly happy with Fodors...M

The site is out there.

Kyle, I totally agree with the other posters here. This is a great website. I have found out a lot of useful info here. We have a trip to Paris planned for 2002, and are going with friends. They contacted the hotel by E-mail and were told to contact again in Feb. that is was to early to make a reservation, and to contact them again in Feb. I happened to read a post from someone here who had just made a reservation for the excat same hotel at almost the same time we want to go. If I had not read that we would be sitting here until Feb. and then woud not have gotten into the place we want. We sent a fax to the hotel then (vrs. E-mail) and got our reservation accepted. So see, there is one good thing and I know there are many others. I find out great websites to check out re: travel from reading postings here. And know how to pack and what to look out for. Also I have made 3 friends who I correspond with. Met them through postings and we still keep in contact. Go fly a kite Kyle! This is a great spot. I like that it is clean and friendly also.

You guys did noticed the original post goes back to 1997, right?

Yep--<BR><BR>Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose...

Say what?....

The more things change, the more they remain the same...

Whining babies don't deserve to have their diapers changed! Whether it's 1997 or 2001, if you don't like it, leave it! No one is putting a gun to your head & threatening your life to stay here!

Try the Lonely Planet, I assure you, you will feel at home.

I have gotten excellent advice from the questions i have asked on the forum.<BR><BR>and i hope the advice i have given has been useful to others.<BR><BR>i find the format to be the easiest to use of any forums i have visited on any subject

FODORS RULES!