If you choose a hotel based on glowing online comments, you may be relying on bogus or insufficient information. That assessment came from Market Metrix, a San Francisco Bay Area hotel market research company, in a study that found as many as 40 percent of reviews could be made up or even paid for by the hotels. And if the comments are real, the study said, reviews could be skewed because hotel guests with bad experiences are three times more likely to write a review than those who had a good or neutral experience. Earlier this month, TripAdvisor, one of the world's largest travel websites, defended the value of online reviews with a survey of 2,739 visitors that found 98 percent said TripAdvisor hotel reviews accurately reflected their experience.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Sandy canceled almost a fifth of U.S. flights

Superstorm Sandy turned out to be one of the most disruptive forces on air travel in recent memory. According to FlightStats.com, which tracks airline on-time performance, almost 20 percent of flights on U.S. carriers were canceled in the days after Sandy struck the East Coast. By contrast, Hurricane Katrina led to the cancellation of about 2.5 percent of the nation's flights.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Solo travelers can find wealth of info on site

Connecting Solo Travel Network, at www.cstn.org, is a solid source for solo travelers that offers trip reports, trips that waive the single supplement, advice and more. It's free to look, but for in-depth info, a subscription costs $28 a year. Charging means the site does not have to take advertising.

DETROIT FREE PRESS

TSA might not approve your holiday leftovers

The TSA puts cranberry sauce in the same category as shampoo. It's not allowed on board a flight, unless you can squeeze it into a 3.4-ounce bottle that will fit in a quart-size bag.

WASHINGTON POST