Downgraded: Continental exit row seats
Starting March 17, exit row seats will cost you extra money, unless you’re a Continental OnePass elite member. (United elites get it for free eventually, too, but not yet.) No big surprise, given the industry as a whole. But as David Jonas argues, this is actually a meaningful shift by Continental, whose management had been more resistant than other airlines’ leadership to charge fees for things that were previously free.

Downgraded: Luggage scanning at Denver
For a few days, thousands of checked bags were not scanned by TSA at Denver. No further comment.

Upgraded: All-you-can-drive toll payments for Bay Area rental cars
If you’re renting a car in the Bay Area from Dollar or Thrifty, you’ll be able to buy a “Pass 24″ add-on for $9.95 per day or $39.95 per week (5-7 days) that includes unlimited use of all tolls in the region. The service is run by Rent-a-Toll. I guess it’s a deal if you’re crossing a lot of bridges. Just be sure to use the FasTrak lanes.

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The display of winning bids is nice, but given that the BetterBidding or BiddingForTravel message boards exist to catalogue winning bids with greater precision, it’s not all that useful.

The best-rate-guarantee promotion — which expires March 31, 2010 — is potentially more interesting: Just like Priceline’s normal best-rate guarantee, the new offer only applies to their name-your-own-price product. But the terms and conditions of the deal are more generous.

While the normal best-rate guarantee was only valid for 24 hours after purchase, the new “big deal” guarantee is valid up until the day before check-in. That’s a much bigger window in which to find a better rate.

If you do find a lower publicly-available and -visible rate (i.e., no AAA or convention rates) for your hotel room on a website (it has to be via a website) and phone it in to Priceline, you’ll get a full refund, a $25 credit, and a $50 coupon for a Priceline vacation package.

But finding that better rate will be really tough. Priceline rates are deeply discounted because the name of the property isn’t revealed until you commit to purchase. But for a best-rate-guarantee, you’ll need to find a lower price for the specific hotel you won. And let’s be honest, it’s hard to beat a Priceline rate with a conventional publicly-visible rate. Priceline knows it’s not going to see many claims here, so this promotion is all bark, no bite.

On the other hand, they do introduce a portly new pimp character to be William Shatner’s sidekick in the ads. Tradeoffs.

Free internet, free local calls, and free breakfast are commonplace at the lower end of the hotel spectrum, while at the luxury end, you’re paying for each of those. (The sweet spot may be the mid-range hotels and suites which improve the comfort level over the Motel 6’s but throw in the freebies.)

Given the success of Ryanair, EasyJet, and their ilk, it’s actually a surprise that the a-la-carte model hasn’t been more widely tested at the economy tier. But that’s changing.

EasyHotel, from the folks who brought you EasyJet, EasyCar, EasyCruise, and their ilk, opened its 12th hotel yesterday. The most recent property, in Berlin, follows other properties in London, Luton, Basel, Budapest, Larnaka, Sofia, and Zurich.

The pricing concept is (unsurprisingly) similar to the airlines: You pay a base price for the (small) room with spartan private bath. (Berlin seems to start at 25 euros per night, though some reports mention 12.50. The earlier you book it, the lower the price. Then, the add-ons.

Want to watch TV? That’ll be 5 euros.

There’s a single towel per guest. Want another? That’ll be 1 euro.

Wi-fi? Another 3 euros per 24-hour period.

Housekeeping? Only on request. Additional charge: 6 euros.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that comfort is something you can buy as an add-on. And the decor is extremely orange, branded just like the airline. Which is fine if you’re decorating in order to appeal to the Dutch Olympic team, or taking your interior design inspiration from a 1979 Burger King. But for a hotel, it’s rather jarring.

This particular configuration doesn’t appeal to me personally, but I can see the draw for those who aren’t interested in hostels (…or camping) but are looking to keep lodging costs near rockbottom. Why pay for stuff you don’t need?

The pay-as-you-go model for hotels and motels isn’t new. This just takes it to a different level. And while luxury travelers have ironically accepted this model for years, it’s an innovation at the low end. Expect to see others follow suit in coming years.

What’s your take? Are a-la-carte economy hotels a good idea or another step backward for travelers? Vote in the poll below and hit the comments with your thoughts.

(Can’t see the poll? Reading this via the feed? Click here to visit the site to vote in the poll or leave a comment.)

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Downgraded: This site’s backend

Just an administrative note: This site’s database crashed over the weekend. In a big way. (Thanks for the emails letting me know you couldn’t move beyond the homepage — which was cached.) I’m still working to restore the content that was lost in the crash — the last two weeks’ worth of content, basically.

Upgraded: Amtrak
If you’re traveling Amtrak in the Northeast Corridor, you’ll soon be able to snag a free wi-fi signal, but only in first or business class. A good start, but only available in first/business? Come on. At least offer in economy at a billable rate!

Downgraded: Full-body scanners in the UK
Two women refused to pass through the full-body scanner at Manchester Airport in the UK. One refused, on the basis of her faith; the other cited health concerns. But instead of being given a pat-down option, as is the policy in the US, they were prevented from boarding their flights. “The women were warned they were legally required to go through the scanner, after being chosen at random, or they would not be allowed to fly, an airport spokesman said.”

Upgraded: Turkish Airlines’ mysterious premium economy cabin
Turkish Airlines has pre-announced that they’ll introduce a new cabin between economy and business on widebody aircraft, but don’t call the new product premium economy. It “will exceed the premium economy standards of most other carriers and will be close to the business class of some other carriers,” according to CEO Temel Kotil. Okay, great. But why pre-announce a new product, without details, instead of just… announcing? What are they trying to get in front of?

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Similar price, enormous difference in distance. Charlotte to Greensboro is 83 miles. Charlotte to Spokane is 2060 miles. A nearly 25-fold difference. Let’s look at that on the map, courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper, for laughs:

Yes, yes, yes, airlines price tickets on more than just distance flown, such as the supply and demand for a city pair. And that often means less-served airports are often more expensive. I get that. There’s an economic logic behind fluctuating fares that isn’t immediately transparent.

But pricing a cross-country flight and a local, instate trip up interstate 85 the same? That’s not helping the airlines’ PR.

Putting a first-class cabin on regional jets puts them more in line with the “exPlus” product United has been offering on its larger regional jets for a few years now. (No Economy Plus, though.)

It’s a good thing for upgraders. And the economy seats on the newly-delivered planes will eke out an additional inch of legroom, due to slimline seats.

That means new upgrade opportunities, yes, but… American is removing mainline aircraft — the ones with real first-class cabins — and replacing them with CRJs.

And some of those routes, especially from Chicago, are high-density:

American Eagle will offer First Class service from its Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) hubs. From Chicago, customers will experience First Class service on flights to Atlanta, Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., Newark, N.J., George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Salt Lake City. From DFW, customers can fly First Class to Cleveland, Milwaukee, Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Bentonville/Springdale, Ark., and Little Rock, Ark.

Atlanta? DC? Newark? Yikes. It’s getting harder and harder to avoid regional jets.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it’s great that the CRJ product is being improved, and this sounds like a meaningful improvement. On the other hand, CRJs are inferior to mainline: more likely to be canceled, more prone to turbulence, smaller overhead bins, no ovens (for the first class peeps)… the list goes on.

At least there will be hot nuts!

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Hotel-point redemption rates vary, based on the “tiers” of the property. And those tiers are tied to the average room rate at the property. Roadside motel? Low tier. Ultra-luxe resort? Upper tier. Seems straightforward.

And when the rates go up, the tier typically goes up, and the points required for a reward room go up, too. But when the rates go down, the tier typically goes down too. (This is perhaps how hotel points differ most from airline miles.)

Except this year. Starwood left its tiers where they were for the coming year, despite hotel rates’ incredibly deflationary record this past year. And then they try to spin it as a great thing they’re doing for their customers. It’s like telling an American traveler to Europe that you’ll cut them a great deal by charging him the USD-EUR exchange rate from December 2009 on a visit in February 2010… when the euro has dropped from 1.50 to 1.35. Gee, thanks.

Pitching it over to Gary:

Rates were down close to 20%, Starwood members expected points prices to fall, too. But Starwood apparently had other plans, and tried to spin not raising prices as a huge win for members. ‘We expect hotel prices to go up, but we aren’t going to sock you for that now. Because we love you.’
[...]
Some of [last year's] increases should have been reversed — based on the value proposition as Starwood has articulated it — after the worst hotel revenue year ever. But they weren’t. Starwood Preferred Guest is swallowing the difference. And telling you to thank them for it.

Starwood still has a large number of lovely properties, place I actually want to redeem to be at. But their points are relatively hard to earn through stays, and those points are worth less as hotel points prices remain the same but rates have fallen. They seem to be taking the wrong competitive approach, when Hyatt seems to be doing nothing but adding value to its program.

Amen.

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Upgraded: Wifi on Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines will put wi-fi on all its aircraft, using Aircell’s service, which is sold under the Gogo name.

Downgraded: Rental car deals
Blame Toyota. The carmaker’s huge recall took out about 8% of vehicles of the American rental car fleet. Yes, recall repairs are being done, but the rates aren’t pulling back too quickly. That is, unless you’re doing a one-way rental from Florida to … well, anywhere.

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Seriously.

The image above shows the pink signage that will demarcate the testosterone-free zone on the restroom doors.

I’ve been skeptical of airline marketing targeted to a single gender for a while. (You may recall my skepticism of the efforts by American Airlines to create a website targeted at women. Granted, they’ve improved the site and made it less… lavender.) But this takes it to another level.

Restrooms are scarce resources on aircraft. Taking one lavatory out of commission for half the people on the plane means a greater likelihood of people (men) milling about in the aisles, waiting for a free loo. Better hope there’s no turbulence.

What’s driving this? The airline says it’s a response to “numerous requests from passengers for this service.” But what’s driving passengers to want this? Are men leaving that much of a mess? Was it the seat that was left up? Was the seat left down when it should have been up? Have the relations between the sexes gotten so bad that we can’t live in harmony in-flight?

So what do you think? Is this a great idea? A dumb gimmick? Something in between? Hit the comments.

Via Today in the Sky