Technology and Travel

Blessings (and the occasional curse)

I think all of us have some sort of agreement that technology is a blessing and a curse. 

 Most days I find technology to be a huge blessing in my daily life. Especially here, writing, and having folks be able to read what I’m writing. Blessing. 

To be able to book travel pretty easily - including flights and accommodation - blessing. (Guys, I’m old enough to remember waiting on the phone to book airline tickets)

Being able to connect with so many people on social media (my only social media is Instagram but it has been such a blessing for me!) in a positive and encouraging way. I know this isn’t everyone’s experience but I take many steps to keep it as positive as possible and ruthlessly edit, unfollow, and delete what is not nurturing me. This is a blessing. 

However, I have become dependent on a certain technology and when it goes wrong, well, it becomes tough. 

Right now, I am going through a big issue with Airbnb and I have spent the last 8 days calling and emailing and getting bounced around to too many people to count. I have talked on the phone to at least 8 people. Nothing is resolved. And an hour ago I received another email from a new customer support person asking me “what seems to be the problem?” 

Super unhelpful to have explained my issue to 8 people and spent hours on the phone and have someone message me with no point of reference. Also, there are at least 16 emails in a thread about my issue and this person can’t see them? 

Fortunately, I am not having a safety issue or a problem with the accommodations I am currently in. The problem is an account issue but one that is concerning and needs to be resolved fairly soon for things to continue going well in my current travels. Right now I have no confidence that anyone is going to resolve it for me anytime soon. Maybe this has to do with lack of staff and not enough training. I don’t know. All I can say is that I’ve never experienced such a fail from Airbnb since beginning to use it in 2011. 

This feels a bit like a curse because I’ve come to depend on Airbnb as my main source for accommodation and the good customer service of the past. Now I have to work at figuring out a ‘Plan B’ if I can’t get this resolved. This is kind of stressful right in the middle of a trip. Ugh. 

But, we will put a pin in that Airbnb story for the moment. 

Now, I will share another recent incident and how technology created a WIN from a [potentially] nightmare scenario. 

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine was coming to visit me in Florence, Italy. This was a trip that we both looked forward to immensely for several months. My friend was keen to see “Michele’s Italy” and I had happily planned our 7 days together meticulously. We had dinner reservations, museum plans, outdoor adventures, and travel to Bologna, from Florence,  for food and wine experiences.

(Lambrusco for breakfast, bebés! IYKYK)

About a week before she was to arrive we were talking on the phone about her flight and arrival. She mentioned that she was a little nervous about the quick layover times in particular as she had two stops on her way to Florence and was checking luggage. 

I asked her if she had AirTags. She didn’t know what AirTags was so I explained. 

I had just purchased AirTags in 2022 myself for travel. AirTags allow you to see where your luggage (or other things, as they are not exclusively for luggage) is. They are super easy to set up to your phone and I was delighted to be able to see my luggage was at my airport after I landed and disembarked but before I got to the baggage areas. I know my friend has an iPhone so I highly recommended she purchase the AirTags and use them on this trip. 

[I will say that I’m not sure what the alternative is for Android users but I’m sure there are similar items to use with those phones.]

So, the day of her arrival came and her second flight from Paris was delayed a bit due to some fog in Florence but nothing too bad. She arrived in Florence about an hour late and texted me after leaving the plane with a screenshot of her AirTag tracker - her luggage seemed to still be in Paris. UGH. 

Indeed, her luggage didn’t make it (so distressing after 16 hours of travel). She worked with the airline and was told that she would receive updates as they looked for her luggage. She arrived at my apartment with a great attitude about it. Luckily, she had packed some clean items in her carry on and she was eager for coffee and to head out into beautiful Florence! We had a brilliant afternoon and evening and we both went to bed with the hope that her luggage would be delivered the next day. 

The next morning, indeed she received information that her luggage had been found and would be sent on to Florence. We headed out to enjoy our day and later that morning she was actually able to SEE on the AirTag tracker that her luggage was at the Florence airport - success! We anticipated a call or message any moment on when we could expect it. 

The hours passed and we didn’t hear anything - not from the airport or the airline. The phone number to the baggage desk is not manned all day and is only open for an hour (what?!?!) to calls. By midday she hadn’t even received any information that her luggage had even been delivered to the Florence airport (the only way she knew anything was from the AirTags locator) and we were losing our good attitudes. We had a train to Bologna the next day for a 3-day visit. 

Around 3 pm when we hadn’t heard anything AT ALL I suggested we get a cab to the airport and just go get her luggage. The AirTags showed the suitcase was IN the Florence airport. It would be worth the roundtrip taxi fare to just get her luggage. 

We grabbed a taxi to the airport and for some reason, I was super nervous - what if they put the luggage in a car and were out delivering it while we were riding to the airport? But my friend STILL hadn’t heard anything from the airline or airport that her luggage had even arrived in Florence or what next steps might be or when she could expect the luggage so, yeah. 

When we arrived at the airport, we went to the lost and found/baggage area. Again, I was nervous that somehow the bag wouldn’t be there - even though the tracker said it was there. My friend went to the window and gave them the number for the bag. A few minutes later I could hear a bag being rolled out and finally, she had it in her hands! 

My big takeaway here is that we have no idea when she would have heard anything about her bag or when it might have been delivered to her. We saw, on the tracker, that her bag was at Florence airport that morning. By 3:30 pm she still hadn’t gotten any information from her airline that her bag was even IN Florence, never mind when she might expect it to be delivered. Without the Airtag, we would be wondering if her bag was still in Paris! That’s a big fail for the airline. But a big success for technology! It made our time together so much more relaxed that she could have her luggage and clean clothes and all the things - especially as we were traveling within the country - and she was only there for a few days. When she left, she had two stops on the way back as well and her luggage made it the whole way. Isn’t that the way things go? 

When I left Florence for the next leg of my trip to the UK, the first thing I did when I disembarked the plane in London was get on the airport wi-fi and boot up my Airtag tracker with held breath…..yep! My luggage was in London Gatwick airport. Such a relief as I was only in London for 2 days before hopping a train to Scotland. 

I’ve heard so many luggage horror stories in 2022. Airlines are struggling with service. Listen, I don’t blame people for not wanting those jobs. I feel like the airline staff deserves a giant raise for dealing with people. I’ve witnessed people behaving so SO badly. I’ve been grateful to not have to personally witness some of the worst of the worst of what has circulated on the internet in the travel world for airline attendants - customer service/desk staff - airport staff. No matter how frustrated I am I make sure to not take it out on the poor person who is trying to help me to the best of their ability. 

I am being kind of lecturing here but I implore you to be KIND. And also, get to the airport with plenty of time to do what you need to do and not put it on someone who works the desk to sort out your poor planning. 

My poor planning should not be someone else’s emergency….but if I need help that was unforeseeable I remind myself to be calm and KIND. 

Right now, I’m struggling with 8 days (!!!!!!) of calls, emails, and no one helping me at Airbnb. This sucks but also in the grand scheme of things: I will figure out a plan B if I have to. It is not the end of the world. 

So, Friends - get your AirTags and track your luggage! It is an incredible resource on so many levels as you can see from this particular story. 

Until next time…