It sounds like a bit of crystal ball reading, but hospitality and restaurant consultant company AF&Co have just released their predictions for hotel and restaurant trends in 2008. If you’re traveling around the United States and can keep an eye on the new things you see, try and compare them to this list of predictions and see if it turns out to be true:

They say that hotel trends will include:

• Better websites from hotels to gain customers directly off their sites, rather than through third-party bookers
• More boutique hotels will open in “bohemian neighborhoods”
• Hip lounges will replace old-fashioned lobbies
• More wellness activities will be available, including yoga and diet coaching
• Learning activities will be offered to guests, like cooking classes or culturally-related excursions

And in restaurants, they say trends will include:

• An increase in the use of Australian ingredients, especially olive oil, honey and seafood
• Cupcakes will be the new nostalgic dessert
• Green behaviors like biodegradable tableware and eco-friendly cleaning products will be used more
• Unisex bathrooms are taking over from separate male and female bathrooms
• Organic foods and house-made syrups and preserves will be popular
• Gastro-pubs will stock a longer list of exotic beers and winelists will go beyond the standard varieties to more unpronounceable kinds of wine from Europe, including Austria and Hungary

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Wherever you’re spending your Christmas vacation, there are bound to be some fantastic shopping bargains to be had in the next few days. Post Christmas sales can be found across many continents and whether you’re after the latest fashion, a great book or even a souvenir of your destination, you’ll probably find the prices a whole lot cheaper now than they were a few days ago.

Across the United States, most shops will launch their big sales on Wednesday, December 26, and with the big discounts on offer, a lot of people who were given gift cards as Christmas presents will be looking for something to buy; retailers say there’s also a big market for Christmas items at extremely marked down prices, but if you’re far from home you probably won’t be lugging a Christmas tree back as carry-on.

For those vacationing in the United Kingdom, the big days for sales are December 27 and 28, when government agencies are warning that travelers can expect especially large delays. Down under in Australia and New Zealand, most shops will be closed over the December 26 Boxing Day holiday, with sales beginning in earnest early on December 27; however, some large department stores will be ready to start selling bargains from Wednesday.

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If you’ve got someone on that shopping list who loves to travel, here are some inexpensive travel accessories that can make your present the best one under their tree.

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Frequent travelers know the routine: Clothes, toiletries, computer, charger, cell phone, charger, PDA, charger, digital camera, charger. Sensing a theme here? Today’s modern conveniences come with a huge inconvenience, chargers.

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Would you sit in the middle seat for $100?

A survey taken this past summer revealed that 25 percent of air travelers wouldn’t willingly sit there for anything. But 40 percent would be willing to sit in the center seat for just $100. This means that you could buy a window or aisle seat at regular fare and then sell it to someone who doesn’t want to sit in the middle on a crowded flight. If you don’t find any buyers, you still have the better seat.

Just make sure that you’re not in the emergency row because almost no one ever wants to sit there!

(Photo via flickr cc)

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Autumn is a terrific time to get out and about on a vacation. The leaves are changing. The air is crisp. The beauty of nature strikes the eye in a number of different ways. And what better way to enjoy that beauty than by taking a train ride?

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You already have your passport but you’ve recently learned that you may need a travel visa from the country that you wish to visit. Here are the basic steps that you need to take to obtain a travel visa so that your international travel goes smoothly:

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Wisconsin may not immediately strike you as a hotbed of Shakespearian activity, but one trip to the American Players Theatre will change your mind forever. This amphitheater is one of the two most popular outdoor classical theaters in the country. Located in Spring Green, Wisconsin, just off the beautiful Wisconsin River, the American Players Theatre is a thespian’s delight like no other. With 110 acres of rolling woods and meadows surrounding the cozy stage, audiences are transported to a time long ago when kings and queens ruled the day as tragedies and comedies unfold before your very eyes.

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I’m the type of person that plans everything down to the very last detail when I go on vacation. Many times, I’ll have hotels booked months in advance, a schedule mapped out for exactly what restaurants I’ll be frequenting, and I’ll have subway routes highlighted within an inch of their lives to minimize travel between the 32.4 tourist sites I’m going to visit.

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When I turned 16 and started driving, my mom signed me up as a member on her AAA membership . All I knew at the time was that if I locked my keys in my car (again!) a AAA member would come and get them out for me. But over the years, I’ve learned that there’s a whole lot more than this service to AAA. In addition to roadside assistance, AAA provides other car and insurance services, financial services and a whole plethora of travel services.

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If you’re a frequent traveler, you should consider investing in a handheld GPS unit because of the time and hassle that it can save you when you are visiting new locations. The Magellan Crossover GPS Unit is one example of a handheld GPS unit that works well for travelers. It is able to work from your rental vehicle as well as when you are walking around or even if you are out on a boat somewhere. This means that you’ll know where you are and how to get to where you want to be no matter what city you’re visiting.

The Magellan Crossover GPS Unit is particularly great for travelers because of its notably small size. It can fit right in your pocket even more easily than a standard map. It has built-in street maps and topographic maps for all of the U.S. states as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. The battery lasts up to eight hours so you don’t have to worry about re-charging it throughout the day. Plus it’s waterproof, so you can take it with you out on the water or on the streets during a rainy day and you won’t have to worry about it become non-functional.

Although the GPS features of the Magellan Crossover GPS Unit are what you’ll buy it for, you’ll also enjoy the additional features that it offers. You can listen to music on this unit because it is a functional mp3 player. And it also has a camera function so you can use it to take pictures as well. The Magellan Crossover GPS Unit is also just a really user-friendly device, with touch-screen menus and turn-by-turn driving directions. If you’re going to be spending time in a city that you aren’t familiar with, it can help you make sure that you know where you’re going.

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Pocket puppies have become the rage since Paris and Britney packed their little pooches into a purse and hit the runways. But do these gals really take their dogs with them wherever they go? Probably not. Many countries have some very specific requirements for bringing animals overseas and before every trip you should contact the local embassy to see what their particular rules are. Prohibitions on health, quarantine, agriculture, wildlife and customs can all affect your ability to bring a beloved pet overseas. Don’t forget to check with your home country as well. They may also have some quarantine rules and other regulations that you’ll have to adhere to when returning that may make traveling with a furry companion undesirable. Another thing to keep in mind is, if the area you’re visiting happens to be hit with a disaster (i.e. the Thailand Tsunami) chartered and military rescue ships will not accept pets as passengers and you’ll need to leave them behind or make other accommodations for them. Obviously, if you have a seeing-eye dog or a guide dog these rules do not necessarily apply but taking time to find out the specific regulations for the region you’re visiting is still key. A little preparation beforehand can save you hours and hours of hassle during the actual trip.

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The name Coney Island conjures images of salt-tainted warm summer breezes wafting across throngs of youngsters waiting on line for their turn on the Ferris wheel while nearby a hotdog vendor hawks this park’s famous concoction. Typically, this image is dated by years and the youngsters have long since aged and had children of their own. But in its heyday Coney Island was exactly that, a romantic amusement park that thrilled locals and visitors alike.

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What building do you know that was designed by a Dane and is covered in Swedish tiles, yet is one of the most famous monuments in the southern hemisphere? It’s the Sydney Opera House, which has the added advantage of sitting on one of the world’s most scenic harbors.

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1. You use the World Wide Web to do your trip research because you won’t shill out for a travel book, or even for a coffee to squat in the travel book section at the bookstore.

2. Your travel-sized shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste are so because you swiped them from the last hotel you stayed at.

3. Your worst fear at customs is that the agent will take away your mom’s homemade trail mix and make you pay for airport food – ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

4. You opt for the cheapest airfare known to humankind – you take the red eye from your home state and sleep in the airport during a 4 hour stop-over in some remote foreign city you have no wish to see.

5. You opt to stay in a youth hostel even though you are over 35!

6. You’re idea of the perfect cultural dinning experience is whatever is cheap and doesn’t make you vomit.

7. You’re idea of an off-resort excursion is a walking tour of the city - because your too cheap to take a taxi or even pay for the bus.

8. Your ideal last night’s accommodation is the airport – because why pay for a hotel when there is a perfectly good airport terminal chair for you to catch some zzzzzz’s on?

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Let’s face it if you’re on a budget, or just trying to get the most out of your travel dollars, a GPS unit can seem like a luxury. However there are quite few reasons you might want to rethink that position.

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If you’ve been to a theme park, aquarium, children’s museum or other family based attraction in the past few years chances are you’ve seen a pressed penny machine. While these machines may seem somewhat annoying at first for the budget conscious traveler these are really a lifesaver.

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If you travel internationally you probably have a bucket at home full of foreign currency that it just didn’t make sense to convert back into US Dollars. Here’s a tip that can help you solve that problem and save you any currency conversion fees. When you go to check out of your hotel first pay with any local currency you have. Pay the remainder of your hotel bill with your credit card. This solves you from having to convert any leftover currency at the airport.

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Earlier this year the Walt Disney company brought the dream of an interactive internet a little closer, bringing vacation booking to your TV. Disney partnered with Time Warner and Cablevision to announce an interactive travel channel. The channel will feature programs about Disney’s California theme parks, Florida theme parks, and locations that are part of the Disney Adventure Travel Destinations. The new twist is while watching these programs you can push a button on your remote and an agent will call you about booking your vacation to the destination you were just watching on TV.

Disney and it’s partners are quiet about how much the venture is costing and how many people they are devoting to the experimental project. However you can be sure other travel partners and cable companies are watching to see how successful the project will be.

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Are the suburbs the last place that you think of heading for a vacation? It doesn’t even cross the mind of most people to seek out a suburb for their annual trip. This is a shame because a significant amount of money can be saved by visiting a suburb instead of a city. “Sure”, you’re thinking, “that’s because there’s nothing to do when you get there”. Think again. As more and more young people find city living to be too expensive, they’re heading to the suburbs and taking trendy activities with them. Suburbs that once had no culture or nightlife to speak of now have almost as much to offer by way of these things as some cities do. And they offer them at a much lower cost.

Of course, not all suburbs have picked up on this trend, so you’ll have to do your research before you book your trip. Select a city that interests you and then start looking at the outlying suburbs to see if you can find information that’s of interest to you. Look specifically for unique hobbies, community activities and independent shopping areas. Suburbs often give people the chance to explore really unique attractions that would get overlooked in the hustle and bustle of trying to do all that there is in the city.

And of course, you can have your cake and eat it too. The vacation in the suburbs may be enjoyable on its own but there’s no reason that you can’t spend a day in the city if you’d like. Select the major attractions that you want to make sure to see, get out on the highway and enjoy what the city has to offer. Then make your way back to the suburbs for a late night cup of decaf at the coffee shops that are cropping up all over these towns. You’d be surprised by the creativity that abounds in places you normally never think about.

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