Many U.S. airlines raise round-trip fares For the third time this year, several of the nation's major airlines raised airfares last week, with United and Continental airlines initiating a $4 to $10 increase in round-trip ticket prices. Most major airlines have matched the increase. Southwest Airlines had not yet followed suit. A previous increase, initiated in January by Delta, was rescinded when several major airlines refused to match the increase.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Mob Museum opens its doors in Las Vegas The Valentine's Day opening of the $42 million Mob Museum marked a new turn in Las Vegas' embrace of its long relationship with organized crime. Executive director Jonathan Ullman knows the museum has to satisfy -- or at least not enrage -- those who see the mob's 1950s to 1970s heyday as a golden age for Las Vegas, while telling a story filled with prostitution, graft and murder (www.themobmuseum.org).
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Online searching for hotel deals is up Travelers looking to save money on a hotel stay are spending more time searching the Internet for the best deals. The number of website searches for every room booked in January in North America jumped 20 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by Pegasus Solutions Inc., a technology company for hotels and travel businesses. Online shopping may be on the rise because the average hotel room rate climbed 7 percent in January, the report said.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Protect yourself when booking vacation rental Never, ever wire money when booking a vacation rental. PayPal offers a service called Purchase Protection, which can help protect you from a fraudulent transaction. But if you want to be more secure, you can insist on using a credit card. Credit card transactions can be disputed, so if the rental doesn't exist, you won't lose your payment.
WASHINGTON POST
