Saturday, September 12, 1998

Some pleasant turns along the road

By Bob Greene

SOUTHFIELD, MICH. -- As the summer of 1998 waves goodbye -- don't be too depressed about this, but you now have one less summer left in your life -- the season of heavy travel also comes to an end.

Most summer travelers complain about the inconveniences and indignities of being on the road these days. For those who think life for the traveler is in all ways worse than it used to be, today's column is an antidote. The thesis: Some parts of travel are the best they've ever been. A few examples:

-- Free breakfasts in the lobbies of an increasing number of economy-priced hotels. One of the most maddening aspects of travel has long been the $12 hotel breakfast that usually takes too long, wastes your time, and starts the day on a vaguely unpleasant note. The new way -- go down to the lobby, have some cereal and fruit or muffins, and be on your way in a matter of minutes -- is vastly preferable. And it costs you nothing.

-- Checkout via your hotel-room TV set. The day of the long line at the front desk at checkout time is just about over. This used to be the worst way to end a trip -- with your blood pressure soaring as you stared at your watch in the hotel checkout line, thinking you would miss your flight. Now it's instantaneous. Walk out of your room and you're gone.

-- Airports as shopping malls. Finally, when you're stuck in airports for hours, there's something to do that beats sitting in the boarding area and gazing straight ahead. More and more airports -- Pittsburgh's is the best example -- feature bookstores, music stores, real restaurants, real shops, even entertainment options. Yes, they're doing it because they want your money, but it beats those 25-cents-for-15-minutes-of-viewing TV sets that used to be bolted to airport chairs, or the no-chair standup bars that exist only to get bored travelers drunk.

-- Free newspapers. In an era in which newspaper publishers worry constantly about shrinking numbers of readers, both travelers and the newspaper industry are well served by the growing practice of giving hotel guests free papers in the morning. For the guests, it's a pleasant way to start the day (especially when the paper given out is not a national one, but the local one, full of the flavor of the town); for the newspaper business, it's a way to keep (or start) people in the habit of reading the paper each day. Many travelers don't go to vending boxes -- and the free papers at the hotels makes the whole exercise effortless.

-- Steakhouses, steakhouses, steakhouses. They were not long ago thought to be an endangered species -- but now, even in the smallest of towns, there's usually a decent steakhouse (or three) to be found. Nothing like a steakhouse at the end of a long day of traveling -- and those hash-browns-with-onions-mixed-in, in a dark room with white tablecloths, help make the steakhouse experience feel like a reward for living.

-- The disappearance of long-distance access fees. They're not completely gone; some hotels still insist on charging their guests 50 cents or $1 every time the guests use a phone credit card to make a call. But -- responding to angry complaints from business travelers -- this practice is on its way out. The travelers said they were offended by having to pay an extra fee on top of the long-distance fee they were already paying and said they'd take their business to hotels that didn't gouge them this way. Hotels -- at least the smart ones -- listened.

-- Cleanliness. The side-of-the-expressway hotel chains have finally realized guests aren't really looking for luxury or elegant amenities. All the guests really want is a good night's sleep in a room that is really clean, down a hallway that looks as if someone in charge is interested in keeping the carpets swept, the light bulbs bright and the ice machine shined and humming. You wouldn't think clean rooms would be such a revolutionary concept -- unless, like many travelers, you have been on the road during the not-so-distant era of grungy motels with terrifying bedspreads and call-the-health-commissioner shower curtains.

-- Gideon Bibles. No, they're not new. But they're still there, in virtually every room -- a fine touch in a tawdry world.

Chicago Tribune