Scott Laird

Travel contributor to TravelPulse

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Hotel Reviews
Destination Pieces

Jul. 6, 2020

100 Years of Summer Vacations - Travel Trends From Each Decade

, but many popular vacation types travelers know today simply didn't exist a century (or in some cases a few decades) ago. As modes of transportation and global events shape how Americans vacationed over the past hundred years, destinations and…

Jun. 2, 2020

How I Hope The Cruise Industry Comes Back

The cruise industry has virtually ceased to exist during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cruise lines have canceled departures for most or all of the summer season, while many of the ships are anchored in or off various ports around the world (many of them…

Jun. 1, 2020

The Necessity of Travel Advisors in the Era of Information Overload

If there’s anything travelers have learned from the Internet, it’s that there’s an obscene amount of information out there regarding travel. If there’s anything travelers have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that the shelf life of…

Jun. 1, 2020

21 Aircraft That Changed How We Travel

Heavier-than-air human flight is just over a hundred years old, and the technological advances undertaken by the aviation industry in that century is, quite simply, spectacular. Travelers went from no public air transport to jumbo jets within the…

May. 7, 2020

These Cities Are Known For Travel Firsts

Ever wondered where today's popular travel trends originated? Where was the first free hotel bath amenity? How about the first catering kitchen dedicated to airline food? Some of the cities on our list make sense, like the first city to have a hotel…

May. 3, 2020

How These Travel Traditions Got Started

Travel is a medium marked by tradition. For centuries, generations of travelers have been marking milestones and celebrating their journeys in ways that are still celebrated among travelers today. But what are the origins of the Bon Voyage fruit…

Apr. 20, 2020

Ecotourism In-Depth: Planting Coral in the South Pacific

It’s easy to miss Coral Gardeners on Moorea’s single main road. The instructions I have are that it’s on Cook’s Bay between Kaveka Resort and Allo Pizza on the oceanfront side of the road. Looking closely, one might notice the small black-and-white…

Apr. 4, 2020

W Mexico City: Youthful, Earthy Energy

Upon arrival into my gorgeous room at the W Mexico City, I found a note from Diego, my W Insider, with a Lady Gaga lyric. “Hot like Mexico, rejoice,” it read, appropriately. Inside was the ticket for the National Museum of Anthropology we’d been…

Apr. 3, 2020

Rangiroa's Hotel Kia Ora: Luxury on the Reef

After a couple of years traveling to French Polynesia, I began to notice that the territory’s resort hotels are generally populated by two types of visitors: those that are pleased to be there, and those that are pleased with themselves to be there.…

Apr. 1, 2020

Hotels Continue Hospitality Tradition in Extraordinary Times

Many hotels in the United States and around the world closed to guests for the foreseeable future during March 2020 because of significant drops in demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While it might make sense for hotels to close when their…

Mar. 17, 2020

Love of Travel in the Time of Coronavirus: Why I Kept Going

“Don’t you ever stay home?” I get the same question from my Mother whenever I tell her I’m traveling that weekend (which is often). She herself is by no means a shut-in, having cruised the Nile on a barge and hiked ancient footpaths in the Andes, but…

Mar. 15, 2020

Undaunted by Coronavirus, Vacationers Continue to Visit Puerto Vallarta

Mexico has a handful of cases of COVID-19, but when I arrived in Puerto Vallarta this morning, one couldn’t tell the difference. My flight wasn’t full, but it appeared other arrivals around the same time were. The crush of pale northerners seeking…

Mar. 14, 2020

The Lexington NYC is Midtown Manhattan's Memory Keeper

Historic hotels are like a tonic for the imagination. It’s invigorating to relax in a hotel room that’s decades old, wondering what’s changed over the years. Were private bathrooms carved out of spaces that weren’t included in plans from an era where…

Feb. 5, 2020

20 Places Where You Can Avoid the Spring Break Crowds

Spring Break can be a busy time to travel. Schools across North America let out from March through early April, clogging travel infrastructure in popular destinations. Here are a few destinations to travel to in March and April to avoid the Spring…

Jan. 28, 2020

Celebrate the 2020s by Visiting These 1920s Hot Spots

It's the '20s again! There has been a surge of interest in the hot spots of the 20th Century's third decade as the 21st Century hits the same milestone. Be on the lookout for homages to art deco, jazz and Prohibition as travelers look to recapture…

Jan. 22, 2020

How to Stay Secure During a Hotel Stay

Recently, in a medium-sized city at a property belonging to one of the large international hospitality brands, I was intrigued to find a list of “guests of the day” posted at the front desk, with the first and last names of loyalty program members…

Jan. 20, 2020

10 Tips for Cruising Solo

Solo cruising is a booming market segment, but many travelers remain apprehensive about sailing on their own. In spite of the drawbacks, solo cruising can be one of the most relaxing, worry-free vacation styles. While many how to tend to focus on how…

Jan. 16, 2020

How Some Hotels Are Celebrating Chinese New Year

The Lunar New Year (popularly known as “Chinese New Year” by many in North America) is celebrated in many parts of Asia, and several hotel brands with roots on the continent are joining in the festivities at their global properties. Many well-known…

Jan. 16, 2020

Hilton Anchorage: Where The World Comes to See Alaska

One of the things I’ve always found fascinating about my hometown of Anchorage is its diversity. Something like six of the ten most ethnically diverse zip codes can be found in the Anchorage Bowl, but it’s visitor diversity that comes to mind when I…

Jan. 15, 2020

Golf and Good Times: George Strait's Tapatio Springs Resort

The first sense to be awakened when you arrive at Tapatio Springs is that of smell. Stepping out of the car at the brand new clubhouse building to check-in, it’s the fragrance of golf course and the heady aroma of Texas Hill Country live oak. Once…