Seth Kugel

New York

Columnist, Tripped Up at The New York Times

Tripped Up columnist @nytimestravel. Send travel problems/conundrums to [email protected]. Unresolvable: 🇧🇷pão de queijo or 🇨🇴 pandebono?

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Articles

I Gave Up My Seat for $800, but Frontier Forgot to Pay Me.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Seth Kugel

When the low-cost airline asked for 20 volunteers to take a later flight, one of them never received the promised voucher. Was a handwritten list to blame? In March 2024, I was awaiting my $96 Frontier Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Trenton, N.J., when gate agents announced they were seeking 20 volunteers to fly the next day instead, in order to lighten the aircraft's load. The offer: an $800 credit for a future flight. (Or was it multiple future flights?
TRIPPED UP: Help! I Booked the Wrong Hotel Dates. Why Can’t I Get My Money Back?

3 weeks ago | myheraldreview.com | Seth Kugel

Dear Tripped Up,Dear Allison,Federal rules require airlines to refund any reservations canceled within 24 hours of booking. Does a similar law exist for hotel rooms and vacation rentals? No. But if it did, it wouldn’t have helped you anyway, because of the nature of your error. The 24-hour cancellation rule for airfare applies only if you book a flight seven or more days in the future; you booked a room for mere hours before your (mistaken) travel dates.
After Heathrow Debacle: Who Pays for a Ruined Vacation?

4 weeks ago | rethinking65.com | Seth Kugel

A March 21 power outage in Heathrow Airport disrupted vacations across the world, causing countless thousands of travelers to miss prepaid reservations and forgo long-anticipated adventures.
Can I Get a Refund After Booking the Wrong Hotel Dates Online?

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Seth Kugel

Last Sept. 26, I booked a ski trip for my family at a Sheraton Vacation Club property in Steamboat Springs, Colo., for December - or so I thought. As soon as I saw the confirmation email, I realized I had actually booked a reservation for that very night, Sept. 26. I assume the dates somehow reset as I navigated the website.
After Heathrow Debacle: Who Pays for a Ruined Vacation?

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Seth Kugel

10 hours agoCanadian Travel To US Plummets Following Trump’s Tariff ThreatsCanadians, once the top international visitors to the US, are staying home. After US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged people to travel domestically. It worked; February saw a 13% drop in air travel and a 23% decline in land crossings to the US compared to last year, according to Statistics Canada.
After Heathrow, Who Pays for Missed Cruises and Hotel Bookings?

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Seth Kugel

When the airport shut down travelers were on the hook for reservations that could not be canceled, expensive new flights and missed events that airlines don't reimburse for. How can you protect yourself next time? Last Friday's power outage in Heathrow Airport disrupted vacations across the world, causing countless thousands of travelers to miss prepaid reservations and forgo long-anticipated adventures.
Help! I Couldn’t Take My Tall-Ship Voyage, and I Want My Money Back.

2 months ago | businessandamerica.com | Seth Kugel

Last summer, I booked a five-day sailing trip with Tall Ship Experience, a company based in Spain. For 1,350 euros, or $1,450, I would be a volunteer on the crew of the Atlantis, sailing between two ports in Italy. But eight days before, I had a bad fall that resulted in multiple injuries, including eight stitches to my face that doctors said I could not expose to sun or water. The Tall Ship Experience website clearly states that I could cancel for a full refund up to seven days before the trip.
Help! I Couldn't Take My Tall-Ship Voyage, and I Want My Money Back.

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Seth Kugel

Last summer, I booked a five-day sailing trip with Tall Ship Experience, a company based in Spain. For 1,350 euros, or $1,450, I would be a volunteer on the crew of the Atlantis, sailing between two ports in Italy. But eight days before, I had a bad fall that resulted in multiple injuries, including eight stitches to my face that doctors said I could not expose to sun or water. The Tall Ship Experience website clearly states that I could cancel for a full refund up to seven days before the trip.
À São Paulo, l’Ozempic de plus en plus convoité par les criminels

2 months ago | courrierinternational.com | Seth Kugel |Flávia Milhorance

Le braquage a eu lieu à la fin du mois de janvier, vers 22 h 30, un vendredi soir. David Fernando était derrière le comptoir de sa pharmacie à São Paulo quand un homme est arrivé et l’a menacé d’une arme. “Il m’a demandé l’argent de la caisse et les médicaments dans le réfrigérateur.” Aujourd’hui, les pharmaciens de São Paulo – la plus grande ville du Brésil – savent exactement ce que les voleurs entendent par les “médicaments qui sont dans le réfrigérateur”.
The physics that keeps a crowd from becoming a stampede

2 months ago | sanjuandailystar.com | Seth Kugel

By Seth KugelEvery July, at the opening ceremony of the San Fermín festival signaling the imminent start of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, more than 5,000 people cram into the city’s central plaza. The crowd starts the morning dressed in white. By noon, much of their clothing has been dyed pink by the free-flowing sangria.