News and notes from around the interweb:
- Marriott Luxury Collection property Liberty Hotel in Boston performed gender inspections in women’s restroom (HT: Paul H)
Ansley Baker and her girlfriend, Liz Victor, went to a Kentucky Derby party at the hotel Saturday. The couple, who are both cis women, said their afternoon ended when hotel security searched the women’s restroom and allegedly asked them to show their identification to prove their sex.
…”All of a sudden there was banging on the door,” said Baker. “I pulled my shorts up. I hadn’t even tied them. One of the security guards was there telling me to get out of the bathroom, that I was a man in the women’s bathroom. I said, ‘I’m a woman.’”
- Air France KLM Flying Blue now lets you redeem for Air Tahiti flights the domestic carrier (VT) as opposed to Air Tahiti Nui. Not a phenomenal use of points, but pretty unique. The first time I flew them you could either book direct or on Travelocity, and 20 years ago searching on Travelocity
I discovered that everything originating in French Polynesia was pricing out 90% off due to a currency conversion error. I posted it on FlyerTalk. A day later others turned it into one of the all-time great mistake fares (Air Tahiti Nui to Los Angeles, which forced paper tickets combined with other carriers, turn up at LAX having ripped out that first coupon, then fly anywhere in the world in first class.)
- It looks like GHA’s status match program, which required you to have at least one stay in your account over the past 18 months, was turned off back in mid-December. I don’t know whether it will return.
Of course staying at 3 brands alone is enough to earn Titanium status. You could do that in 3 nights at 3 different hotels in a city like Bangkok!
However, Rotana is joining GHA and their program offers status matches which should transfer to GHA status.
Kempinski Cancun - The American Airlines domestic first class pre-order sliders were apparently pulled early because they were too successful – catering couldn’t keep up with demand. Even before tariffs, there’s a supply chain issue with burgers and buns?
story as one hears it; the reason sliders went away (prematurely even, despite it being a test run) is because it was actually too much of a success- tons of people were preordering it-and some suppliers having difficulty keeping up
Expect it to return at some point once logistics can be figured out— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 5:13 PM
- A proposal for $17 billion to bring true high-speed rail to the Northeast Corridor by integrating intercity and commuter service, adopting European standards, and focusing on strategic upgrades rather than megaproject bloat. It aims to cut Boston–New York and New York–Washington travel times to under two hours each, primarily through better scheduling, modernized infrastructure, and upgraded rolling stock.
- “The economy is hurting and we promise to scam you less.”
Sahara is offering 50% off resort fees for a limited time. Possibly the first “resort fee sale” in Vegas history, and we don’t know how to feel about it. pic.twitter.com/8WcrE0WWGl
— Las Vegas Locally (@LasVegasLocally) May 6, 2025
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