'Fake' your vacation
In the social-media age, posting your vacation is arguably more important than actually going. Nebraska-based photo-editing service Fake a Vacation is an example. For as little as $20, users can purchase a package of photos they can use to trick their friends and followers into thinking that they actually went on a trip. Fake a Vacation will even educate you on the destination so you can answer people's questions. Destinations include Disneyland, the Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Niagara Falls and Orlando. The concept is cringeworthy, but according to a recent study by Jetcost, 14% of adults have lied about their vacations, and 10% have posted a fake photo on social media.
TravelPulse
Delta testing free Wi-Fi
Delta Air Lines is testing free Wi-Fi on some U.S. flights, a step toward permanent rollout of the service. The airline started by offering complimentary internet connections on 55 domestic flights. The pilot program will run for two weeks to gather feedback and study passenger behavior when using the in-flight Wi-Fi. There's no way for customers to know until the day of travel whether their flight is included in the pilot, as the routes change daily. Delta said it will send customers on eligible flights an e-mail or message through its smartphone app ahead of time. During the experiment, passengers won't be able to use streaming services, such as Netflix or Hulu, and will be limited to web searching, e-mail, messaging and social media.
Kristen Leigh Painter
REI Adventures on sale
With REI Adventures, save $1,000 on its New Zealand Biking — Trails of the South Island trip and $200 on its Backpacking Joshua Tree National Park journey. The nine-day New Zealand cycling trip costs $3,999 per person double, including taxes, for members departing late 2019 through early 2020. For late 2020 travel, the trip costs $4,299 for members. The four-day Joshua Tree backpacking trip costs $899 for members; departures through fall 2020. Book by May 27. A lifetime membership costs $20. Price includes accommodations, some meals, guides and transportation, gear and more (1-800-622-2236, rei.com/adventures).
Washington Post
Google shores up travel
In the online travel world, Google isn't a go-to destination like Expedia, Priceline and TripAdvisor. Aiming to change that, Google will launch a more unified travel product to integrate flight and hotel search functions, while organizing users' travel plans and saving research. The new offerings, which were rolled out last year on smartphones and are now available on desktops, will be hosted at google.com/travel. Google also plans to surface more travel data on Google Maps, and incorporate hotel and restaurant reservations. That could be a threat to Expedia and Booking Holdings, which owns Priceline. Last year Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom called Google his company's most important rival.
Bloomberg News
Drink like a fish at SeaWorld
For those sweating in a hot theme park, here are welcome words: free beer. SeaWorld Orlando said its summer promotion of giving away beer will run May 25 through Sept. 2. VisitÂors can claim one complimentary, 14-ounce domestic beer per day at Mama's Pretzel Kitchen Patio Bar from 10:30 a.m. until one hour before closing. The promotion is a nod to SeaWorld's history, when the company was owned by Anheuser-Busch.
Orlando Sentinel
Francis Ford Coppola debuts 'Megalopolis' in Cannes, and the reviews are in
Judge considers dismissing indictment against Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting of cinematographer
PEN America, facing criticism over its response to the Mideast war, gathers for annual gala
