Flying Fourth of July weekend or later this summer? Pack your patience and this game plan. Y ou know travelers are in for a bumpy Fourth of July weekend when airlines and the U.S. government begin pointing fingers at each other in the days ahead of the holiday. For months, travelers have been dealing with above-normal levels of flight delays and cancellations, with airlines chopping more than 15% of scheduled summer flights due to staffing shortages and other operational issues. Unfortunately, experts see more of the same on the horizon. “Looking at the past few weeks, I don't think there's any reason to think that things are going to go especially smoothly this weekend,” says Scott Keyes, co-founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights , an airfare deals newsletter with more than two million subscribers. “With 11 million travelers expected to fly over July Fourth, we are expecting a busy holiday weekend and travelers should be prepared for potential disruptions,” says Hayley … [Read more...] about The Smart Traveler’s Survival Playbook For Summer Flight Cancellations
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Adobe Survey Shows Consumers Will Spend Big On Prime Day And Summer Sales
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Amazon’s AMZN Prime Day sales event, and other summer deals, are expected to entice a majority of consumers to open their wallets and spend, in spite of concerns about inflation and the economy, according to findings in an Adobe ADBE Commerce study released today. Adobe Commerce is predicting that online spending for summer deals likely will be strong because 61% of consumers surveyed in June said they were looking forward to Prime Day and other summer sale events. Of those who plan to shop for Prime Day and other retail deals, 76% said they will spend more or the same amount as last year, when Prime Day broke records for spending. Amazon’s summer Prime Day sale is a two-day event this year, scheduled for July 12 and 13. The Adobe commerce report is more optimistic about Prime Day spending than many analysts who fear the annual sales event is losing momentum. Amazon recently told select third-party … [Read more...] about Adobe Survey Shows Consumers Will Spend Big On Prime Day And Summer Sales
The Quirky $8 Million Fashion Business That Started at a Rave
They met. They danced. One thing led to another, and before long a relationship--and a business model--was born: Bobby Farahi, 41, and Shaudi "Shoddy" Lynn, 28, leveraged his business acumen and her fashion sense to design and import edgy, risqué outfits and sell them on a website called Dollskill.com ("Doll "for playing dress-up, "kill" to make "doll" sound edgy). They got married two years ago, and last year they rang up $7.6 million in sales, earning them the No. 33 spot on the Inc. 500 , an annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Here, Farahi tells the story of how their relationship became so profitable: She was a DJ. I was partying. We met at a rave in LA and started dating. I had just sold my last business, Multivision (a broadcast monitoring service), and was looking for the next thing. She was traveling a ton, but wasn't really making much money off the DJ thing. Actually, she was making more money selling clothes on eBay. … [Read more...] about The Quirky $8 Million Fashion Business That Started at a Rave
How Blackjack Helped Jeff Ma Sell His Startups to Yahoo, Virgin, and Twitter
In 1998, on a riverboat casino on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana, the MIT Blackjack Team took the house for $80,000 in just a few hours. It was just one of many such big nights for Jeff Ma, who was a member from 1993 through 2001. Ma says he won about $2 million during that period, and his story was adapted into Ben Mezrich's book Bringing Down the House and the film 21 . Eventually, the casinos refused to let the team--which won so frequently by using sophisticated (and perfectly legal) card-counting techniques--play anymore. But Ma's story was far from over. He used his skills at blackjack to launch, build, and sell three different startups. After selling the first two to Yahoo and Virgin, earlier this month he sold developer-management tool tenXer to Twitter for close to $50 million. Inc . caught up with Ma to talk about the skills he transferred from the casino table to the boardroom table. Blackjack and entrepreneurship Like many startups, the MIT … [Read more...] about How Blackjack Helped Jeff Ma Sell His Startups to Yahoo, Virgin, and Twitter
Bob Dylan & Elvis Stay True
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In the last few weeks, I’ve had two cultural experiences that I’m still trying to get my head around: Bob Dylan on his ‘Rough and Ready Ways” Tour and Baz Luhrmann's “Elvis.” Each, in their singular way, speaks to the struggle for authenticity in one’s art. Bob Dylan, who recently turned 81, performed three nights at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. I attended the first night’s performance: Dylan spent most of the night behind the piano, occasionally venturing beside his piano to sing, play harp, and occasionally play guitar. He was clean-shaven and still has a full head of hair (although it can’t really be that dark). Dylan was dressed in one of his Western suits. Whether this was an actual Nudie confection or another’s – it spoke to Dylan being of the West, and at the same time, being a creature of Showbiz with a nod to those other rhinestone cowboys such as Hank Williams. Dylan didn’t seem as sure footed on stage as he … [Read more...] about Bob Dylan & Elvis Stay True
A Plastic-Free Bee-Friendly Hotel In Tuscany For Your Next Italy Vacation
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin From the shady terrace of the poolside bar, guests of Castelfalfi Resort can gaze across the verdant landscape of the hotel's 2700-acre estate over to the restored medieval castle in the adjacent village. Having undergone an aesthetic and sustainable revamp, the five-star resort has opened its doors to summer visitors with a stylish new interior design and an impressive roster of activities in the stunning natural surroundings. Castelfalfi lies equidistant between the art cities of Florence and Siena, deep in the Tuscan countryside . The complex comprises a recently constructed hotel with 120 rooms, a spa and two pools, situated just down the road from the historic village of Castelfalfi. The hamlet, which was a ruin just a couple of decades ago, has been fully restored and its houses sold to new occupants. Together, the hotel and village, along with villas for rent dotted around the estate, give guests a … [Read more...] about A Plastic-Free Bee-Friendly Hotel In Tuscany For Your Next Italy Vacation
Hong Kong has ‘risen from the ashes’, China’s Xi says on rare visit
China's President Xi Jinping speaks upon his arrival via high-speed rail, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022. - A + A HONG KONG (June 30): Hong Kong has overcome its challenges and "risen from the ashes", China's President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, as he arrived in the former British colony to celebrate 25 years since its return to Chinese rule. Xi is to swear in the global financial hub's new leader, John Lee, on Friday during his first visit to the city since 2017, which is also his first known trip outside the mainland in more than two years, amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Wearing masks, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, stepped off a high-speed train to be greeted by children waving flowers and Chinese and Hong Kong flags who chanted, "Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome" in Mandarin. "Hong Kong has withstood severe tests again and again, overcoming challenges one by one," Xi … [Read more...] about Hong Kong has ‘risen from the ashes’, China’s Xi says on rare visit
Japan faces twin threats of power shortage, drought amid heatwave
Tokyo is now battling its most severe heatwave for the month of June since records began in 1875. PHOTO: REUTERS TOKYO — A smothering heatwave now blanketing Japan is not only causing a power crunch in the country but is also raising fears of a drought. Wide areas in western Japan are now facing a crippling water shortage following the shortest rainy season on record, with water levels in dams less than half of what they would be in an average year. Municipalities like the cities of Matsuyama and Shikokuchuo in Ehime prefecture have begun to call on residents to ration water. Top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news briefing on Tuesday that the government has a “strong sense of crisis” over the impact on water supply if the current heatwave were to continue. The risk of a drought, however, remains low in eastern Japan as there was heavy rainfall in the mountainous areas north of Tokyo. But eastern Japan is grappling with the spectre of a power crunch. … [Read more...] about Japan faces twin threats of power shortage, drought amid heatwave