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School snow days may delay family vacation plans
Many families are whipping out their calendars in search of alternate dates to vacation this summer. The continued snowfall around the country has depleted the number of snow days in some school systems. Decatur County School Board in Decatur, Tenn., reports that they have run out of snow days and may have to extend the school year or use floating holidays to make up the difference.
This is a great opportunity for popular family destinations to offer a sort of “relief” program for families who may have booked with them and now have to change their dates due to a possible school year extension. What do you think? Would you change your summer plans just to complete the school year? Hmm, this one is sticky.
The Decatur County Chronicle | Jennifer Clendenion
Recent snow and ice accumulations combined with winding, tree-lined country back roads have resulted in the local school system exhausting its allotted snow days for the year.
Schools were closed for a week at the beginning of the month after several inches of snow left several roads in the south end of the county too treacherous for buses. At least three other bouts of winter weather since the start of the year has left officials no choice but to close schools. Between the inclement weather and closings for holidays, Decatur County students have not attended school for a full week of classes since early December.
Director of Schools Dr. Michael Price told School Board members Thursday that the system is out of snow days. But with any luck, additional school days won’t be tacked on to the calendar in May. “We have three more days in the calendar we can still float around,” said Dr. Price, including two vacation days and a staff development day. School board members expressed concern that family travel plans might be affected if school is extended in May. “We’re going to avoid that,” Dr. Price said. (READ MORE)
Luxury spells family-friendly for many upscale hotels
I absolutely love stories like these! For me, it’s a great reminder that parents, who
Young guests at the Loews Coronado Hotel enjoy the benefits of a private Berry Butler. Source: hotelchatter.com
travel with their children, don’t have to forgo luxury. There are a few upscale hotels who simply, get it!
I am a number one fan of hotels that offer a nanny or butler service. These two amenities are “must haves” when you travel with kids. Read on to get that warm and fuzzy feeling inside, like I have right now 
Forbes Travel.com | Jennifer Murphy
The kids’ spring break isn’t far away, so it’s about time to plan the family vacation. How about one that involves sipping champagne in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower? Not to worry, the kids will be well looked after: They might enjoy themselves out on the hotel’s ice rink (if the weather’s still cold enough; if not, the merry-go-round will do), or the concierge can arrange for a baby sitter to watch over them while they play with the provided coloring book and teddy bears or dig through the goody bag.
This treatment at Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris is just like that at many other luxury hotels and resorts around the world. Upscale family travel has always existed, says Bruce Himelstein, formerly SVP of sales and marketing with Ritz-Carlton, it’s just been better emphasized and marketed in the past five years than ever before.
(READ MORE)
Airlines struggle to resume schedule after snow storm
American Airlines plane being deiced after snow storm hits the East Coast.
Happy Monday!
Wow! We’ve seen the pictures, and I think it’s safe to say that the weather forecast proved true. Two or more feet of snow landed on the East Coast over the weekend, and airports are slowly trying to get those flight schedules back on course as they clear ice off the runway.
Sad to say, but even today might not be a good time to take that flight out. Airports in that region are packed. You may want to go and see for yourself, just to be sure. The FTS team does not have anyone reporting directly to us from the East Coast about the latest. Just in case you decide to give it a shot only to find that you’d rather wait a day or two, ask the airline about waiving your change fee. Many of them are granting this option.
USA Today | Today in the Sky | Ben Mutzabaugh
UPDATED – 10:15 a.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 8: The three airports serving the Washington and Baltimore metro region are still struggling to return service. Flights remain grounded Washington Reagan National as work continues to clear snow and ice. The Associated Press writes the airport “is slated to reopen at 10 a.m. Monday, with flights operating on a limited basis. ”
At Washington Dulles, flights have resumed, but on a very limited schedule. Only about 100 flights out of normal schedule of roughly 700 are expected to operate today, according to NBC 4 of Washington. Adding to fliers’ woes: Washington’s Metro is not yet running to National Airport or to the station that offers Washington Flyer bus service to Dulles.
At Baltimore/Washington International, the airport says it opened one runway at 5 p.m. Sunday, though very few flights have resumed there. BWI says on its website that “airline delays and cancellations will likely continue in to Monday morning. Travelers are advised to check with their airlines to confirm flight status BEFORE heading to Airport. Passengers are encouraged to rebook travel by telephone or airline website, rather than coming to Airport.” (READ MORE)
Airlines ground flights in preparation for major snow storm on the East Coast
Hello FTS readers!
Source: flickr
If you are planning to take a flight out today or tomorrow, reschedule. The East Coast is expected to receive about two feet of snow today, which will affect several flight schedules. If you are optimistic about your travel plans, be sure to check with your airline before you head to the airport. You can even use the handy dandy Flight Stats map in the LEFT column of this blog.
Just follow the arrow!
If you must brave the winter storm in hopes of your flight taking off, be sure to pack an extra set of patience and fun stuff for the kids.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Get the latest about the snow dump here.
Parents say “packing light” is not the solution to hassle-free air travel
Source: US News.com
It seems parents who travel with their children are lashing out at family travel bloggers and Budget Travel online. According to the website, parents are tired of hearing the useless suggestion to “just pack light” in order to avoid baggage fees or lost luggage.
While I do agree that it is often best to pack light or ship your important items ahead of you, I think we, the family travel experts, should come up with a better, more effective solution for families who travel by air.
Budget Travel | Sean O’Neill
An interesting discussion broke out in the comments on our recent post about whether shipping your bags to your destination is smart.
It began with this comment from G:
“Every time there is a post like this, someone chimes in with the useless comment that I should travel lighter.
Well, I travel with two car seats, a stroller, two children, two adults and we travel internationally and stay for weeks.
We actually come with a few empty bags (to buy the great bargains in the US for my children’s feet, especially) but really—a DSLR, three compact cameras, a netbook, a Macbook, a large business required Dell laptop, two Nintendo DS, a bunch of coloring books, dolls and the Kindle (which has lightened my load) as well as chargers and adapters.
Do these folks have any idea what it’s like to travel as a family?…”
Latin singer says marketing the “staycation” proves effective, despite the economy
Emilio and Gloria Estefan at their Costa d'Este Beach property|USA Today files
Gloria Estefan and producer husband Emilio say their Miami-based, boutique hotels have not been affected by today’s travel economy. This is mainly due to their marketing dollars being spent on Miami locals vacationing closer to home, and their keen sense of making the hotel guest feel at home.
You see, when it comes to rising above the competition and actually making a profit, all you have to do is focus on great hospitality and creative concepts that will lure your target market, even the locals. Estefan makes another good point in today’s article about being mindful of their spending so that they don’t have to raise rates and/or compromise the hotel guests’ experience. Nice takeaway.
USA Today | Hotel Check-In | Kitty Bean-Yancey
Gloria Estefanand producer husband Emilio are more than Miami-based sound machines. The duo also have made a splash in the restaurant and hotel business. Here, the singer shares her hospitable side.
A: I have a picture that was taken when I was a little girl when we first came to Miami from Cuba, standing in front of the Cardozo Hotel. When Emilio and I decided to diversify our company holdings, we opened our first Cuban restaurant, Larios On The Beach on Ocean Drive, in South Beach. It turned out the Cardozo Hotel was also for sale. Fate played its hand, and we bought it.
Going back to the early ’90s, we knew that South Beach would become an international destination, so it seemed like a natural to expand into hotels and restaurants. We now have seven restaurants and two hotels, including our newest “baby” — Costa d’Este in Vero Beach, Fla. (READ MORE)
