beat the brochure

We had two weeks away from the Weekly Travel News and now the sun is out we are back, call it Seasonal Affective Disorder! Here are the stories in travel this week that have made us chuckle.

Where’s a guide book when you need one?

Well, in a phone booth near you if you are in New York, alongside a random selection of non-fiction, chicklits and crime-thrillers. Architect, John Locke has revamped the old-school phone booth into ‘Phone Booth Libraries’. Due to the increase in mobile phone use, the people who adorn the streets of New York no longer require the use of street phones and so now the iconic street symbols are now a place to borrow, exchange or pretty much take a book to read at your leisure. I’m sure kindle are shaking in their boots.

McVino?

Picture the scene, a meaty, double beefburger, 2 meat empanadas on the side and a glass of locally produced, full bodied Malbec. An all round, “yes please” (aside from the vegetarians). Argentina have done what I have been waiting for my whole life, for McDonalds to serve a glass of wine with your meal. Sadly I’m pretty sure this won’t be happening in the UK any time soon but over in Europe they already sell a cold beer so maybe we will be able to supersize our McVino meal in the near future?

When the lights go off, they really go off.

43% of British Airline pilots admitted to having fallen asleep on the flight deck (and that’s who admitted it!). I’m not entirely sure what else to say about this, surely that’s not cool?!

Stereotypical Brits

According to survey findings by British Airways an unnatural ammount of British travelers take a kettle and teabags with them on a week’s holiday. Even as a non-tea drinking Brit, I can understand why you might take teabags, but is the kettle really necessary? The survey also revealed how Brits are quite fussy about what they eat by packing instant noodles, sardines (!?), peanut butter and Marmite, just in case.

Specialist Travel Careers.

We all know it pays to be a specialist in something so if you are looking to get into the travel industry perhaps one of these jobs would be of interest. Your uniform could be a provided thermal suit and your job title ‘bedwarmer’ where you spend your days warming customers beds. If you find yourself in Jaipur, you could work for a well known hotel as a ‘pigeon chaser’, ensuring the pigeons are not in the vicinity of the hotel. Or if you fancy working in New York you could find yourself as a sleep expert, discussing sleep patterns with customers and tailor making a room atmosphere to ensure the visitor has a peaceful night.

Beat the Brochure Video Travel Tip of the Week:

We cheated slightly, it’s more than one tip but they do come from the travel industry experts at @British_Airways:

Have a great week!