2.) Roots Farmer’s Market.  Less than a mile from the Manheim Country Inn & Suites, this farmers market has plenty of indoor market space featuring locally made food and craft items.

3.) Take a tour of the Kreider Dairy Farm from the comfort of your own vehicle, year round, in any weather.  Advanced reservations required.

4.) Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming at Dutch Apple Dinner Theater.  Enjoy a full buffet lunch or dinner with carving stations and a wide variety of dessert items.  Then tap your toes along with bluegrass gospel favorites in this sequel to the popular show Smoke on the Mountain.

5.) Family fun at the Hands-on House at the Landis Valley Museum.  In addition to the regular exhibits which feature hands-on educational fun for kids ages 2-10, there are several special crafts and classes during the winter, including Frosty Friends and Icy Art.

6.) Celebrate Elvis’ birthday on January 22nd, at the American Music Theater with premier Elvis impersonators, Scot Bruce and Mike Albert, who perform as young and old Elvis, respectively.  On January 23rd, come back for the Elvis Gospel Show, featuring Mike Albert.

7.) American Quilter’s Society Quilt Show & Contest at the Lancaster County Convention Center.  Shop for quilts, quilting supplies, and gifts at the huge Merchant Mall, take classes on beginning through advanced quilting techniques, and view over 300 quilts on exhibit.  March 16-19

8.) Wilbur Chocolate Museum and Factory Store in Lititz, PA.  Watch live candy making and take a stroll down chocolate memory lane in the Wilbur museum.

9.) Ice Park at Clipper Magazine Station.  Kids of all ages can enjoy ice skating and sliding in the home of the Lancaster Barnstormers.

10.) Cuddle up with a loved one in a Jacuzzi suite at the scenic and cozy Manheim Country Inn & Suites.  These spacious two room suites have a king bed and two-person Jacuzzi in the bedroom, and a separate room with second TV and microwave and fridge.  Plus, you’ll be close to all the above attractions.  Call 717-665-5440 for reservations or book online at www.countryinns.com/manheimpa

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has introduced its new Secure Flight Program. This new program could impact the way you make your air travel reservations.

The Secure Flight program transfers the government “watch list” matching responsibilities from the airlines to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). While this is a behind-the-scenes process that TSA so small differences in name should not cause any major issues, it is a good idea to make sure all your information is as correct as possible.

What does this mean for travelers?

Starting November 1st 2010, passengers traveling to any U.S. city or flying over U.S. Airspace must provide full Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD). This means in addition to their full name, all passengers must now provide their gender, and date of birth when booking a ticket.

Travelers who have been previously misidentified can apply for a redress number at the Department of Homeland Secuirty website. The Redress number should help prevent delays for misidentified passengers who share a name with someone on the “No Fly List.”

Further information and a series of FAQ’s about the new rules are available at the TSA website search for “Secure Flight.”

Summer is here the sun is out and the temperatures are rising. With the warmer weather there are several things you can do to make traveling easier and less stressful for you and your family.

If you are traveling by car this summer get your car checked out. A quick check of your cars coolant, hoses, belts tires, oil, battery air and fuel filters can help avoid breakdowns sitting in the hot summer sun waiting for AAA to come fix your car. Carry liquids in your car with you and encourage people to drink more often then thirst requires, children dehydrate at a much faster rate then adults.

If you are traveling by rail this summer there are a few things to keep in mind. Each rail car has it’s own AC unit so if the car you are in is becoming to hot, don’t be afraid to move around.

Many of you will be traveling by air, while the FAA has changed some of the regulations so that we can not be forced to sit on the tarmac more then three hours, any delay on a plane can seem like a life time in the stuffy air. One of the keys to staying cool is to stay calm. The less energy you exert the cooler you’ll stay. Do what you can to distract your mind from any delays, read a book, listen to music, or watch that latest episode of “Lost” you downloaded to your computer.

Till next Tuesday, travel safe.

Jason W. Deeds

Yes we are aware that this weeks Travel Tip Tuesday is being released on a Thursday. We have a good reason.

For several months I have been talking to many people at the work place about social media and engaging the audience and getting involved in the conversations that are already out there in the travel industry.  Today we are taking the next step.  With so much of the travel industry jumping on board with Social Media there are many great deals out there if we just open our eyes. Included in that now is Hilton Garden Inn Lancaster! We are now offering a special rate bookable directly through the hotel front desk reservations. We will be adding the rate information to our Facebook account, twitter account, foursquare and now on the Google coupons! Many other hotels and travel industry groups are doing the same. What specials have you been able to take advantage through social media?

The discount rate is based on availability and can not be combined with any other offers.

For many business travelers time is the most precious resource they have. Today I wanted to highlight a tip on saving time while traveling.

The Hilton Garden Inn brand has been forward thinking with how to interrogate technology and the travel industry. It started with being able to book via your smart phones. Now you can print from you smart phone device or laptop to our business center from anywhere! Most business travelers generally are never more then a foot away from their blackberry, Iphone or Laptop. Ease of access to their personal information including email, spreadsheets,  and contacts is essential. Yet where does the business traveler go when they need to print something quickly for a meeting or interview? They could use the blackberry or Iphone and find the closest Kinko’s drive over their, sit down at a computer upload the information and then print…30 to 45 minutes later they could be at their meeting. OR… Now they can print from any of their mobile devices to the printer in any Hilton Garden Inn Business center and have it waiting in the printer que for them to come release. You don’t even have to be on the hotels wireless network. Land in Harrisburg even before you pick up your rental car you could be sending your print job to our business center to pick up right after you check in.  You can even print your next boarding passes to our printer while you are still at on the road!

Here is a link to the Printer On Website for directions on how to print to the Hilton Garden Inn Lancaster for you next visit!

(Work Smart)

Until Next Tuesday Travel Safe and Smart!

~Jason W. Deeds

Many hotel chains, including our own, are offering on-line “Advance Purchase” room rates. This program rewards people who book in advance extending reduced room rates of varying amounts based on how much in advance the purchase is made.  The advance purchase is a purchase and requires payment at the time of confirming a reservation.  The payment is nonrefundable and the reservation is unchangeable.

While these rates are great bargains for many travelers, they can sometimes become a bit of a headache when a traveler’s plans make a sudden change. Many people have called and asked if they can change the dates of their reservation and pay a higher rate, and are more than a little frustrated to find out that we are unable to accommodate the requested changes.

When booking your next hotel stay online, if this rate is available to you, take a quick moment and remember these rates are a great deal, but if you are not 100% sure of your travel plans it could cost you more in the long run.

Checking your Room Type Guarantee vs. Room  Preference.

Lately with more and more travelers choosing to book online we are seeing some confusion in the difference between “Guaranteed Room Types” and “Room Preferences”. The online booking sites will not always be able to guarantee traveler’s room type but they will put down the traveler’s room type preference. Many travelers unknowingly assume this is a guarantee for their room type. While all hotels will try and match all of the room requests to the preferences, it can become difficult during the peak seasons and those guests who are not guaranteed will sometimes end up with rooms types they did not request.

What can sometimes compound the issue is that many rates through the online booking systems are advanced purchase rooms which are nonrefundable bookings. While this will get travelers a lower rate, there is little to no flexibility if you need to change your reservation dates.

For many travelers, room type may not matter as long as they have a bed to sleep in. There are circumstances, though, where room type is VERY important for the travels. Parents traveling with 2 children would become very disappointed to find at check in that they only had one king bed rather then the two queen beds. Or a guest requesting a king bed for their anniversary would be a little upset to find two double beds at check in.

So what can travlers do?

1. If you are booking online read through the confirmation completely and make sure your room type is guaranteed, and if the reservation is non-refundable make sure everything is correct before you submit the payment button.

2. If you are confused at all about the reservation call the hotel directly and ask to speak with one of their “In House” reservation staff. They will be able to help you directly with any concerns you may have.

We as hoteliers never want a guest to check-in and be disappointedwith their room or the customer service they receive. With peak season being  right around the corner we are expecting to see more online bookings and this issue may arise more often. So while the hotels will do what they can to make sure travelers are getting what they desire at check-in, travelers can also take it into their own hands to make sure their stays are as stress free and enjoyable as possible!

Until next Tuesday, good travels and safe returns.

~Jason W. Deeds

Working at a hotel it is not uncommon for us to get 2-3 phone calls a day, 5-6 a day on busy leisure travel weekends, from guest’s who have left items behind in their guest rooms. We then package these items and send them home. We know at the hotel that there are many reasons why items are left behind, waking late for the board meeting, stressed out from that new job interview, or just being a parent and having your attention span cut in half. Earlier today I was talking with our house keeping manager and we came up with a check list of the top five places you should look before checking out of your hotel room. We hope that using this list is quick and easy way to remember some of those items we all commonly leave behind.

1. Check all the wall outlets.

The most commonly left behind item is the cell phone, mp3, laptop, Kindle, Nintendo or PlayStation chargers. These are so easy to overlook, and sometimes hard or expensive to replace.

2. The bathroom counter.

The makeup or bathroom bags are handy little bags that hold all your toiletries in one place. Yet these handy items seem easy to forget and are left behind many times. We don’t always go back into the bathroom on our way out, but we should. While you are checking the sink area for this bag, don’t forget to look in the shower for any shampoos you might have missed.

3. The night stand, and the floor around it.

There are many odds and ends that we pull out of our pockets at the end of the night that get stacked on the night stands. Watches, wallets, work ID cards, wedding rings, bracelets, glasses and medications are most commonly left here or knocked off the night stand accidentally. Take a second and scan the area, while shampoo is easy to replace realizing you left your wallet on the night stand can make traveling become difficult at best.

4.  The pillow

Many of us, me included, can not sleep without our own pillow. Yet this item may be one of the most overlooked items when glancing around the room before check out. It just fits in. Pillows belong on the bed. One of the easiest was to avoid leaving this precious item behind is putting a outrageous colored pillow case on it. Most hotel pillows are going to be white, or off white. Try throwing your pillow in a bright orange or pink pillow case, you can usually find them in the kids section of any department store, you won’t miss that when doing a quick look around.

5. The closet

I can not tell you how many pairs of running shoes I have mailed back to guests, sometimes jackets or hoodies. On the rare occasion a fanny pack. These are commonly left in the closest and forgotten. Just before you leave the room, even if you think you have everything, just open the closet and take a quick look around. Especially if you are like me and are from some where warmer and traveling somewhere cooler. I personally always forget my jacket when leaving a hotel, because I’m not used to wearing one out.

There are many other areas that we could add to this list, but these top five places we think will help with the most commonly left behind items at hotels. Oh I will add as a side note, before leaving the hotel always taken a second and smile in the bathroom mirror. As much as we love your smile we don’t need you to leave those pearly whites behind.  (Yes, it does happen)