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United Airlines offers easier biometric clearance for frequent flyers
United Airlines is joining the likes of Delta and British Airways in using biometric security to speed up your airport visits. The airline has forged a deal with Clear that will bring speedy facial recognition and fingerprint scanning to its frequent flyers, helping them skip the usual document checks. Clear will be available in United's hubs at Newark Liberty International and Houston George Bush Intercontinental this summer, and there are "efforts" underway to make Clear lanes available at Chicago O'Hare in the moths ahead. Many passengers will get discounts on Clear as well, although the amount depends on just how devoted you are.
Tinder wants to protect LGBTQ users in countries that discriminate
Tinder wants to keep its users safe in the nearly 70 countries that have discriminatory LGBTQ laws. Today, the company is launching a feature called Traveller Alert. When members of the LGBTQ community open the app in one of those countries, the alert will warn them about the potential dangers LGBTQ people face.
Airbnb makes it easier to find a place to stay on business trips
Airbnb wants to make it easier to find work-friendly listings, and its solution is fairly simple. Before, the company would ask if you were traveling for business at checkout. Now, it's offering a work trip toggle that you can select at the beginning of your search. The feature will bring up listings that are more relevant for business trips.
Google Translate's camera now works with more than 100 languages
Google Translate's instant camera feature will now make translating a foreign street sign as easy as aiming your phone -- even if your native language isn't English. The company today unveiled a set of new updates to its translation tool, including the ability for instant camera to translate between any of more than one hundred languages supported by Google Translate. In other words, English no longer needs to be one of the languages used. This means users can translate from Bengali to French, or from Catalan to Polish or many other combinations.
Airbnb Luxe offers castles, villas and islands for $1,000 per night
If you've ever wanted to stay in a castle in France or book an entire island in the Pacific, you might appreciate Airbnb's new luxury travel offering, Airbnb Luxe. The company launched the long-rumored service today with more than 2,000 hand-picked listings, including award-winning homes in New Zealand and South Africa, historic villas in Tuscany and the Jamaican beachfront property where Ian Fleming wrote his iconic spy novels. But a stay in these high-end, Instagramable homes will cost you. Airbnb Luxe is designed for travelers looking to spend at least $1,000 per night.
Hopper app now predicts hotel prices around the world
Hopper could already tell you the best time to buy tickets for a flight. Now, it can hook you up with the best prices for a hotel stay, as well. After initially only providing prices for hotels in New York City during a beta run, the popular travel app is now applying its powerful prediction engine to hotels around the world. Users will be able to book rooms through the app at the ideal team for more than 270,000 hotels across 230 countries.
Airbnb wants to sell you rock climbing and camping trips
Want an exciting holiday without having to plan it yourself? Airbnb wants to sell you more than just a place to stay. The newly launched Airbnb Adventures offers all-in-one trips to locations around the globe hosted by local experts.
Hackers steal traveler photos and license plates from US Customs
If you were wondering why it can be risky for governments to collect traveler images en masse on connected systems... well, here's why. US Customs and Border Protection has confirmed that hackers stole traveler images from a subcontractor, including photos of people entering or leaving the country as well as copies of their license plates. In a statement, CBP said that the subcontractor had "violated mandatory security and privacy protocols" by transferring the data to its own network.
Airbnb agrees to share data for over 17,000 NYC listings
Airbnb and New York City are inching closer to making peace over data sharing. To start, the home rental outfit has reached an agreement to hand over semi-anonymized host and reservation data for over 17,000 listings in the city. It's also providing data for every NYC listing rented between January 1st, 2018 and February 18th, 2019 that might have violated the city's short-term rental laws.
Airbnb may create original shows to spark the travel bug
Airbnb might not be content with hoping that you'll book a stay on your next vacation -- it may want to make that vacation more appealing in the first place. Reuters sources say Airbnb hopes to create original shows that would encourage would-be customers to travel. Although the specific plans aren't mented, CEO Brian Chesky is reportedly a long-time advocate of the project and aims to create a studio so that Airbnb can "be travel-everything." The company has toyed with the idea for a minimum of three years, according to one insider.
The makers of 'Chef's Table' have a new Netflix series about street food
Michelin-starred fine dining is passé. As evidenced by the exploding popularity of street food, good eats these days are found at trucks and carts tucked away outdoors, prepared by families with decades of hard graft behind them, and not a single experience of culinary school. Enter Netflix's new series, Street Food, which tells the stories of these chefs as they cook up a dazzling array of noodles, soups and snacks on the streets of nine Asian countries.
Nearly 70 percent of hotel websites leak personal data, Symantec study finds
A security flaw may be hiding in that confirmation email you get after booking a hotel room. A Symantec study of more than 1,500 hotels found that 67 percent of them were unwittingly leaking guests' personal information. The hotels in the study were spread across 54 countries, including the U.S., Canada and even some in the E.U., despite strict GDPR protections. They ran the gamut in quality too, from two-star motels to five-star beach resorts.
Airbnb is buying last-minute hotel app HotelTonight
Airbnb is buying last-minute hotel booking service HotelTonight, in another move on the traditional hotel industry. The HotelTonight booking app and website, which offers day-of hotel reservations at discounted rates, will still operate independently, at least for now. Once the acquisition is completed, HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank will lead Airbnb's boutique hotel category. "We started HotelTonight because we knew people wanted a better way to book an amazing hotel room on-demand, and we are excited to join forces with Airbnb to bring this service to guests around the world," said the HotelTonight CEO in a press release.
US bans cargo shipments of lithium-ion batteries on passenger planes
The US government just added a new wrinkle to receiving lithium-ion batteries. The Department of Transportation and the FAA have issued an interim rule banning the transport of lithium-ion batteries and cells as cargo aboard passenger flights. It also demands that batteries aboard cargo aircraft carry no more than a 30 percent charge. You can still carry devices (including spare batteries) on your trips in most cases, but companies can't just stuff a passel of battery packs into an airliner's hold.
Russia will fly two space tourists to the ISS in late 2021
Russia has flown just seven tourists to space since 2001, but it's about to expand that number in the near future. The country's space agency, Roscosmos, has signed a deal with Space Adventures to carry two "spaceflight participants" (read: tourists) to the International Space Station in late 2021. They'll fly aboard a familiar Soyuz spacecraft for a "short duration" trip. The guests haven't been named, although it's safe to presume they'll have large bank accounts.
Airbus ends production of its A380 superjumbo
Airbus will soon end production of the A380 superjumbo, the largest passenger plane to ever fly. It's capable of hauling up to 850 people and flyers love it, especially those who can afford the amazing first class seats and private cabins. However, airlines were less enthralled, and orders have been tapering off for years. The final straw came when the A380's best cutomer, Emirates, cut an order for the planes, forcing Airbus to admit in a statement that there was "no basis to sustain production."
Paris sues Airbnb over illegal rental ads
France is determined to prevent home sharing services from allowing makeshift hotels, and that now includes court action. The city of Paris is suing Airbnb over 1,000 ads it says violate a law designed to limit homeowners to renting their places for no more than 120 days per year. It's not clear just what terms the ads violated, but French law requires a registration number inside those ads to ensure they aren't venturing past the 120-day mark. The aim is to "send a shot across the bows" and end near-constant rentals that "spoil some Parisian neighborhoods," city mayor Anne Hidalgo told Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview.
Google Assistant will soon check into your flight for you
Frequent travelers will soon receive a godsend courtesy of Google. The company is rolling out a new feature to the Google Assistant that will let you check in to your flights just by saying "Hey Google, check in to my flight." You won't have to dig through emails or screenshots to find your confirmation number while standing in front of a kiosk. Assistant is already clever enough to know what it is, and will work with airlines to seamlessly complete your check in.
I want a wireless charging pocket in my next bag
Look, it's hard to get excited about a backpack. But, I have to admit, the Targus Mobile ViP+ Backpack is actually pretty damn cool. Most importantly, it's a solid feeling bag with plenty of padding where it's needed most and tons of storage space. But it's also got a few pretty unique features. The most obvious is the zip up pocket on the side that hides a Qi wireless charging dock. There's rails to keep your phone from moving about too much, and even ventilation to prevent overheating. The whole thing connects to an easily removable and rechargeable 5,000 mAh battery pack.
Google Assistant will warn you when it predicts flight delays
Google has predicted flight delays for a while, but only if you've searched for a flight yourself. Wouldn't it be better if it warned you before you packed your bags? It will soon. In addition to bringing delay predictions to Assistant, Google is rolling out proactive warnings over the next few weeks. If your post-holidays return trip is likely to start late, Assistant will both let you know and provide a reason if one is available. You'll know to grab an extra book or TV episode for that longer wait at your gate.
