Passengers share 'weirdest' things seen on planes, plus Walmart customer calls cops on himself
PLANE CRAZY: Travel experts discuss airplane etiquette as Reddit users share strangest flight experiences.
FAITH JOURNEY: A rare 14th-century Bible is on exhibit, a year after a family bought it for a seven-figure sum.
'WHOLE CIRCUS': A customer called police on Walmart after mistakenly charging himself for 999 avocados at the self-checkout.
ROLL OUT – From quick getaways to extended adventures, find the perfect travel companion with this selection of 10 versatile and durable travel bags. Continue reading…
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Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
What Are Smart Workcations? 5 Tips To Plan One This Summer
Find out why workcations are becoming more popular this year and how to take one that's balanced. Summer is just around the corner, and vacation plans are heating up. Many travelers are staying close to home this summer, staying in the U.S. or headed to Canada or Mexico, according to Squaremouth. Or they're staycationing at home, enjoying slow summer vacations. The tanking economy, jammed airports, travel disruptions, canceled flights and flight delays--plus lost luggage claims up 18%--are causing vacationers to rethink how they want to spend summer vacations. As a result, smart workcations are becoming more popular in the summer of 2025. Almost one year ago to the day I was writing about 'hushcations' for in which younger workers were sneaking vacations without calling off work or disclosing their location to their employers. The 'hush movement' grew among remote workers across the country as they tried to find risk-averse ploys to combine remote working with their desire for job flexibility. Now, as summer 2025 nears, Americans hit a 15-year low in travel planning, according to Fortune, explaining that job insecurity from DOGE layoffs and tariffs are shattering 2025 vacation plans. This summer vacationers are turning to a different kind of break called 'slow summer vacations,' shying away from baggage delays and loss, long lines, flight delays and disruptions and scaling back activities, cutting costs and allowing more unstructured time. A new Monster study reveals that most employees aren't getting the flexibility or support they need to enjoy the summer months. A notable 84% of U.S. workers say they aren't offered any designated summer benefits. And64% say they struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance during the summer, When it comes to managing seasonal schedule conflicts, 42% report feeling unsupported by their managers or employers Among employees who receive summer benefits, 55% say it improves their productivity, proving that seasonal flexibility is more than just a perk--it's a performance booster. Workations are having a moment, as almost half of office workers (46%) have taken a one, with one in four doing so to obtain a better quality of life, and eight in ten claiming that a workation helps them cope with burnout. In fact, one in three workers have completed tasks on a beach or on a plane, according to a recent survey by Headway app. If you're like most people, the availability of technology and remote work make it impractical to plan a vacation totally devoid of work. White-knuckling through wondering if a work problem is going unaddressed actually raises your anxiety. Instead of planning a "cold turkey' vacation, it makes more sense to shoot for a smart workcation that balances play with work. Here are my five tips on how to have a fun and productive smart workcation: Limited communication with the office while vacationing can be less stressful than no communication at all and worrying about things piling up. Feeling that you're getting behind can make you feel out of control and make it harder to chill. Strictly enforced limits on vacations such as an hour a day to check email or make phone calls can help you relax. The breakneck speed of technology can activate your stress response, provoking a cortisol/dopamine squirt. Then you respond to the immediacy of the device as if it were a threat to extinguish. Be master instead of slave to your devices. Use custom ring tones for your family, friends or coworkers when you want to screen calls during off-hours. Ease up on instant messaging so you don't create the expectation that you're available 24/7. Avoid working right up until the moment you leave and head back to work right off the vacation. If possible, schedule an extra-day cushion before you depart and another when you return to ease back in. On vacation, alternate your time between staying active and restorative rest. A walk on the beach combined with five minutes of meditation both give you a biochemical boost. Activity raises endorphins. Quieting your mind stimulates the part of your brain that dampens the surges of adrenaline and cortisol accompanying stress. Choose a colleague you trust to manage day-to-day tasks during your absence, and make sure your coworkers know you'll be away. Designate a point person to be contacted on your voicemail and out-of-office email only on matters you want to be bothered about. Avery Morgan, workplace productivity expert and CHRO at Edubirdie, shares four easy-to-follow tips to help you stay focused, creative and one step ahead, without sacrificing the whole 'workation' vibe. "Your golden window of uninterrupted time, without Slack texts, emails and Whatnot, is while everyone else is sleeping, scrolling or sightseeing," Morgan explains. "Early mornings and late nights are your most productive window. No pings, no loud Zoom calls or zero distractions. Just you, your work and your full focus." "Besides, depending on your time zone vs. your team's, you might be able to sneak in deep work while everyone else is unavailable," she adds. 'So swap that midday hustle for some quiet early morning sessions--or whatever non-peak groove works.' "Travel time doesn't have to be downtime," Morgan says. "In fact, being on flights, trains and ferries is a perfect excuse to disconnect from meetings and dig into some much-needed big thinking." "No Wi-Fi? That can actually work in your favor!" she suggests. 'Jot down ideas, brainstorm projects, map out your goals--whatever your brain's been too busy to do lately. Pro tip: keep a tiny notebook or your Notes app handy. You'd be surprised how many good ideas hit when you're 30,000 feet in the air with no distractions in sight.' "Nothing disrupts your flow faster than bad Wi-Fi or a forgotten charger," Morgan warns. "Before you head out, test your hotspot, download offline backups of key files and make sure you've got your gear--adapters, headphones, chargers the works." "Scouting work-friendly spots at your destination is yet another way to streamline your processes," she advises. 'Know where the solid Wi-Fi is, have a backup location and steer clear of being the one scrambling for a charger in a noisy café with no signal.' "It's easy to blur the lines on a working trip," Morgan points out. 'If you don't set boundaries, work will bleed into your personal time and suck the joy out of your trip." She recommends blocking out active hours and downtime as well. "In your scheduled 'unplug' time, go sightseeing, take a nap or relax--just make sure when you're done for the day, you're really done. Protect your rest time like your productivity depends on it, because it really does." The beauty of smart workcations is that you gift yourself the freedom and to not just relax and play, but to do both. 'Try switching it up," Morgan says. "A cozy café in the morning, co-working space in the afternoon and beachside brainstorming in the evening. Different environments bring different vibes, and fresh vibes bring fresh energy.'
Condé Nast Traveler
2 hours ago
- Condé Nast Traveler
10 Queer Travel Books to Read This Summer
There are few experiences that match the same liberating and transformative feeling of travel. In literally moving outside of our daily routines and surroundings, perhaps the greatest souvenir we bring back home from our journeys are the new parts of ourselves we uncover. And from beach reads to guidebooks, travelogues to adventure comics, reading intuitively feels part and parcel with our travels as a safe space we can tap into to explore ideas. But whether through cultural stigma, discriminatory legislation, or a lack of accommodating resources, the obstacles can be complicated and various for LGBTQ+ travelers. Through sharing stories of how queer people move and exist in the world, the ability to travel feels just that much more available knowing there's a greater community of people who understand and still claim journeying as a right rather than a privilege. By no means a comprehensive list, our suggestions for LGBTQ+ reads are more of a sampler of the vast and growing library of queer books on travel. From the eerily beautiful highways of West Texas to a river boat in Phnom Penh, this compilation of some of our favorite queer books plots out a humane and exciting vision of the world one paragraph (or comic panel) at a time.
Skift
3 hours ago
- Skift
Short-Term Rentals Could Benefit as Extreme Weather Disrupts Travel
Extreme weather isn't just a future concern, it's already driving demand for rentals. But costs are rising too. As temperatures climb and extreme-weather events become more frequent, the travel industry could see big shifts. One possible winner: short-term rentals, according to Marcus Räder, CEO and co-founder of travel tech firm Hostaway, who spoke with Skift's climate podcast, Greenshift. Räder pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic as an early preview of what the future might hold. According to Räder, short-term rentals saw demand spikes during the pandemic, especially in rural and nature-based destinations and he believes that trend will only accelerate as climate impacts increase. 'People could travel in a nice way locally. You drive nearby to get to a nice cottage by the mountain or close to a lake,' Räder said. 'What's going to happen due to climate change is that vacation rentals are going to become more exclusive and expensive. Increased extreme weather will make it harder to travel.' Listen to This Podcast The Hostaway founding team (L-R) Saber Kordestanchi, Marcus Rader and Mikko Nurminen. Extreme weather isn't just a future concern, it's already having measurable effects on rental patterns. 'When there's an extreme weather event, the rental market spikes in the area because there is more demand. Lots of rooms get taken up through things like insurance companies paying people to come and repair an area that has been affected by extreme weather,' Räder said. That increased demand leads to higher prices, even in destinations that have just experienced disruptions. And this dynamic, he said, is likely to repeat more often. 'There will still be that want or need to stay there from tourists and travelers. The prices go up. We can expect more of this in the future.' Short-Term Rentals Face Rising Costs, But So Far, Guests Are Paying Beyond demand shocks, other costs are also on the rise. Räder noted increasing utility bills, particularly for air conditioning and the potential for climate-related taxes to put more pressure on operators. Still, travelers seem willing to absorb those costs, at least for now. 'People are willing to pay higher costs. Our data for the summer shows that this year in popular tourism markets, we're looking at higher occupancy rates and at a higher price than previous years,' he said. A Fragmented Industry Without a Climate Roadmap Unlike aviation or cruise lines, the short-term rental industry lacks a centralized body to coordinate climate strategy. Räder sees this as a challenge, but also an opportunity. 'We as an industry are still so young and it moves so fast. It's going to take many years. It's still very fragmented. For planes, it took decades to align and reach a standard.' Still, he acknowledged that some major players, including Airbnb, and Vrbo, have begun setting emissions goals and climate targets. The question now is whether the broader industry can catch up. Skift's in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift's editorial team.
