Useful Travel Tip - Hotel Key Cards

Came across this useful info for frequent travellers. 

Are you travelling? Grab a refrigerator magnet on your way out the door!

Always  take a small magnet on your  vacation , they come in handy at the end of every stop.

HOTEL  KEY CARDS  

Ever  wonder what is on your magnetic key card?
Answer:
a.  Customer's name
b.  Customer's partial home address
c.  Hotel room number
d.  Check-in date and out dates
e. Customer's  credit card number and expiration date!

When you turn them in to the front desk, your personal information is there for  any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner.  An  employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your  expense. 

Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until an employee  reissues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's  information is electronically 'overwritten' on the card and the previous  guest's information is erased in the overwriting  process.

But  until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a  drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

The  bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them.  NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and NEVER turn them  into the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you  for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a lot of  valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off with any  simple scanning device card reader.

For the  same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the  card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash basket. Take it  home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic  information strip!

If you  have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then  try it in the door, it will not work. It erases everything on the  card.  Hope this proves useful!

Information  courtesy of:  Metropolitan Police Service.

Tourism In Action Challenge

17 Oct 2013 Yesterday 19 Singapore schools comprising of 34 teams participated in the Tourism in Action Challenge organized by Ngee Ann Polytechnic School of Business.  Teams were tasked to plan an itinerary based on eco-tourism theme.  It was grueling session as teams were given very short deadline to finish the project and present to judges.  ISE Travel is proud to be a supporter of this wonderful and meaningful event.  Well done future tour planners!

Internet Link – How Facebook Can Ruin Study Abroad
 
I recently came across an article by Robert Huesca in the “Chronicle of Higher Education” that compares studying abroad 20-30 years ago, when the main method of communication was “snail mail” to studying abroad today, where students can be connected 24/7 to their friends and family back home via social media. 

The article reminded me of my first study abroad experience in 1979 in rural USA. I bought stamps by the dozen and waited anxiously by the mailbox everyday hoping for letters or postcards from my friends.  During my year in USA, my mom and I would split the cost of a 15-minute, long-distance call every other week. 

Now, when I travel abroad, I barely even have to tell people that I’m traveling internationally. I have Facebook, email and IM on my cell phone (my main means of communication these days anyway) and, other than the extended international flights and the horrific time difference, I hardly lose contact with any of my friends and family at all. 

It barely even costs any extra; on my last international voyage in June, I paid an extra $15 for the international data I used during the 17-day trip.  However, I definitely don’t feel as connected or even need to try nearly as hard to communicate when I have a translation app on my phone and I can Babelfish translate almost anything I want to say. Social media is great for keeping in contact with the friends I’ve made during my international travels, but it is also removing a key element from the study abroad experience. 

To read the full article, click on the title linked above

Travel Tips

Hi there!  I came across a pretty good list of international travel tips while searching the internet this month. Here’s a selection of the tips. Some of them I’ve covered before (but always good reminders!) and for the full list check out the Travel Zoo website here.

Security & Health

• Register with your embassy. If there’s a problem in the country, this will make it easier for your government to contact you and get you to safety.
• Check-in with your doctor and insurance carrier. Double check and make sure that you have all of the proper vaccinations and that you have renewed all essential prescriptions. Also, ask you medical insurance provider if your policy applies overseas for emergencies. If it doesn’t, and you want to add extra coverage, consider supplemental insurance.

Money

• Go to a bank or ATM in the country you’re visiting. The conversion centers in the airport or around the city tend to be huge rip-offs. You won’t get charged as many fees at the ATM or the bank, and the conversion will be exact (In Asia, local money exchange usually does no charge commissions). 
• Always have local cash. Not every place takes credit cards. Especially important places like trains or buses.
• Check the country’s entrance/exit fees. Some countries require travelers to pay in order to enter or leave the country. These fees are not included in the price of your airline ticket, and can range from $25 to $200.

Local Research

• Download apps before you travel. Avoid downloading charges from your wireless carrier and get your apps before you leave.
• Research events going on while you’re there. This will help you make sure that you’re not missing be events going on in the city. Fun things like festivals, ceremonies and natural events. Also be sure to research as a few national dishes to try. You don’t want to leave the country without experiencing what its known for.

Electronics

• Bring a charger adapter. Countries have different size plugs and voltage. So if you want to use your iPod, make sure you can charge it.
• Check the voltage of your electronics. From my own experience I know that nothing is worse than having an adapter and still not being able to use a blow-dryer or a straightener because the voltage isn’t high enough for that country.

Luggage & packing

• Pack an extra set of clothes in your carry-on bag. Don’t be one of those travelers decked out in J’adore Paris apparel because the airline lost your luggage and you have nothing else to wear.
• To check a bag or not to check bag. Each airline has its own set of guidelines as to how many bags can be checked or carried on for free. Make sure to look up what your airline’s rules are to avoid any incremental fees.

Have a great trip!
(Source:  ISE Cards Travel Tips)