36 Hours in Philadelphia: Recession Edition

Every so often, the New York Times publishes a travel feature called “36 Hours in —-,” featuring a weekend-long itinerary for a specific city. We think they may have missed a few things in the recession – a look at Philadelphia, for one.

When Ben Franklin first arrived in Philadelphia, he only carried a spare change of clothes and a loaf of bread under each arm. If being poor in Philly is good enough for America’s Founding Father, it’s good enough for you. It would be so much fun to see Independence Hall, or the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an Eagles game or even a skyscraper, but we’re going to be responsible about our vacation and stick to West Philadelphia, home of row houses, the Market-Frankford Line and some of the most dangerous street corners this side of midnight…

Recession Briefing: Flying the Private Skies Again

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Gingerly, some business travelers are venturing back into private aircraft after the battered economy — and a public outcry against that perk of fat cats, the corporate jet — walloped the general aviation industry starting in 2008. (New York Times)

The longest and deepest U.S. economic slump in seven decades has been dubbed the “Great Recession” by the Associated Press. The AP Stylebook Online notified subscribers this month it had added the term as a reference for the downturn that began in December 2007. (Bloomberg)

Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January and struggled to make ends meet with reduced resources and bleak job prospects, according to a Gallup poll released on Tuesday. (Reuters)…

Creative Travel on Less Than $300

Just because you’re eager to get away doesn’t mean you’ll need to spend a fortune. Sometimes a weekend-long scenic hike is all you need to unwind. Check out 10 LearnVest ideas for weekend getaways that cost less than $300:

Head To A Bed-And-Breakfast.
We far prefer a solid B&B to a pricey hotel. In our experience, the rooms at a B&B are more uniquely decorated, and can cost as little as half of what we’d pay at a hotel. Recently, we found a B&B room in Portland, Oregon for $79. Compare that to $164 for the same type room at a hotel. (Plus, we get breakfast!)

Cruise Last-Minute Deals.
If you live near a port, sign up for last-minute cruise getaways from CruiseDirect. We found a three-day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas for only $43 per day!

Go Business Casual.
Opt for a business hotel in a nearby city for the weekend. Since they cater to the business crowd that usually stays during the week, weekend stays are sometimes as much as 50% off. Search sites like Starwoods.com or Hilton for hotels in specific cities…

Nine Secrets for Economical Eating in Europe

With airlines offering downturn flight deals, it’s hard to resist the temptation to splurge on that European vacation—especially if you received a nice severance package to go along with your layoff.

But for the food lover, eating your way through Europe can cost a pretty penny and a half. (Start thinking about exchange rates now.) Fortunately, the recession traveler can enjoy fine cuisine on a dime by learning the European secrets of economical eating.

1. Discover the Axis of Pastry

While some other regions of the world are home to less tasty elements, Europe has the glorious Axis of Pastry: France, Italy and Austria. Sweets are not only cheap, they are downright divine. In cities where the cafés are as ornate as neighboring Baroque churches, enjoy the confections while admiring the Murano chandeliers. Skip the expensive coffee at…

5 Affordable Warm Winter Getaways

According to a recent poll on winter travel trends, more than half of the people responded that they planned on hitting the road—or the air—between December and the end of March. After all, ‘tis the season for gift-giving and splurging—as long as you’ve been good and spent the previous 11 months saving money and not wasting it. So, if you’ve been saving, here are a few fantastic destinations to help you ring in the New Year, escape the winter and, of course, take advantage of some great deals.

Going to California

No, not the chilly northern part of the Golden State where the weather is reliably unreliable. Head straight to the sunny, Mediterranean-like Hollywood (there’s a reason why the original movie moguls moved to southern California to build their empire). Stay at the luxe Sheraton Universal Hotel, which recently underwent a $30 million renovation, for only $239 per night. You’ll feel like an A-lister. Enjoy the free breakfast and chill out poolside with the would-be starlets; then use the money you saved from the free breakfast and go window-shopping—emphasis on the window part—at nearby Rodeo Drive…

Upgrade Economics: 5 Steps to Getting a Better Hotel Room

The Great Recession is changing the established principles of economics. Fortunately for the budget traveler, the laws of the hotel room upgrade are now working in our favor.

It comes down to the basic principles of price discrimination—the practice of charging different prices for the same goods or services to different consumer groups. For the budget traveler in a recession, this translates to “You can stay at a Ritz for Motel 6 prices.”

When luxury hotels can’t fill their rooms, they sell their cheapest to discount travel websites. But with the junior suites empty, sometimes all it takes is a friendly smile and some nice feedback for a frugal traveler get the upgrade of a lifetime. So throw out the Rick Steves book and live in luxury while the recession is still going strong, with these five rules:

1. Book Through a Discount Site

Sidestep.com should become your travel homepage. Spend time on travel meta-search engines and read the reviews. Keep in mind that many hotels have incorrect star ratings, so examine pictures and maps carefully. And this is key: Book a hotel room one or two price levels down from the actual room you really want…

10 Sneaky Tips for Flying Fee-Free in Europe

If Dante were writing today, he would have designed the tenth circle of hell after the Pisa Airport. While it’s often advertised as the “Florence” Airport by some European budget airlines, it’s actually about 50 miles away, waiting to punish you with outlandish excess baggage fees.

Europe has a number of airlines that offer if not luxurious travel, at least insanely cheap fares. Easyjet, Ryanair, and the lesser known copycats offer flights for as little as a few dollars. They don’t tell you that you’ll have to wake up at 3:00 am to catch a bus to some remote European town and wait in line for two hours before boarding something that resembles an aircraft. And they aren’t big on reminding you about the countless extra fees they can charge, especially for luggage.

I’ve learned the rules of frugal flying the hard way. I’ve been stranded on buses in Slovakia and had rough landings through flocks of birds in Lithuania. But if you’re crafty, prepared, and desperate for a European vacation, the experience can feel like a victory, especially after flying round-trip on $35…

The Recession Refugee

We looked like a mini-United Nations. There was Dorji, an older Asian male with an inviting smile and organized desk. Eshagh, the 15 year-old class clown, couldn’t stop laughing and barely made it past “Ich.” Hussein demonstrated his extensive vocabulary by speaking for five minutes about kitchen utensils.

Introductions took 40 minutes because none of us spoke the same language. Yet, we all found ourselves in Vienna, Austria, taking Beginners German for similar reasons. Theirs became apparent on the third day of the course, when we learned how to say our nationalities.

“Ich komme aus Afghanistan!” I come from Afghanistan.

Ich komme aus Somalia!

Mongolia!

Angola!

Then came my awkward, unexpected announcement: “Ich komme aus den U.S.A..”

Complain, Complain, Complain

If you’ve ever sat on hold with the cable company for 40 minutes while you tried to get an issue resolved, you already understand the agony involved in most customer service interactions. But with more and more people cutting down on non-essential costs—like cable, gym memberships, and weekly blow-outs at the salon, to name a few—due to the recession, an increasing number of companies are ramping up their customer service efforts as a way to keep people coming back for more…

Downturnaround Deals:

Every week, we post a handful of online deals hand-picked for Recessionwire readers by the nice people over at Savings.com. Feel free to pass them along to your friends. And if there’s something you’d like to see, let us know!

Get an exclusive 20% off your entire order of fabulous beauty products at Bliss. (See more Bliss Coupons.)

Get 20% off sitewide at Sephora. (See more Sephora Coupons.)

Take 10% off hotel bookings at CheapTickets. (See more Cheaptickets coupons.)…