Can a Chain Hotel Pull Off Boutique-Style Amenities?

The Swiss have come up with a new recreational vehicle, or camper van, in apparent homage to the legend of Captains Kirk and Picard. About as long as 1960s Volkswagen van, the Ecco can double in living space by flipping open "like a Swiss Army knife." There's a flip-out deck, expandable walls, and fold-down seats. It can sleep a family of five. The Ecco is powered by electricity, which means you need to be near a power source to plug it in at night. An eight-hour charge supposedly lasts a full day, providing enough juice to reach highway-driving speeds. In the auto world, just about everyone lies to you. Is this concept car legit, do you think? The three-wheeled, teardrop-shaped vehicle seems to have little clearance off the ground. No off-roading in it, for sure. And if a tire blows out, what do you do? The Swiss company NAU promises to put the Ecco on sale in 2014, but hasn't suggested a price. We have to doubt this will ever exist in real-life. But then again, neither did the Enterprise. We still dig both. SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL 5 Road-Tested Tips from an RV Rookie Japan May Give Away 10,000 Flights to Foreigners The 787 Dreamliner Debuts This Month Where to Fly the Superjumbo A380l

The weekend of October 15-16 marks the ninth annual Open House New York Weekend, when regular Joes and Janes can get guided tours of some of New York City’s most famous buildings and monuments, as well as special reservations-only access to city spots normally off-limits to visitors. There’s a $5 fee for these top-secret spots, but all other tours are free. So what’s on the list? Anything you can imagine. Spread across all five boroughs, locations include the catacombs of Brooklyn’s famed Green-Wood Cemetery, the closed-to-the-public third phase of Manhattan’s High Line Park, Louis Armstrong’s home in Queens, the azalea gardens at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, and even a Tibetan art museum in Staten Island. How can you get involved? Check out the full list here. For those sites requiring reservations, act fast, as spots tend to sell out quickly. As of press time, there are still dozens of destinations with openings. And many museums and historical sites will be offering first-come, first-served tours—no reservations required. If you could get behind-the-scenes access to any space in New York City, where would you go? MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: New York's Best-Kept Secrets 50 Reasons You Love New York City Great Classic Buildings

Escorted touring — that age-old form of travel by which you hop onto a bus for a mostly inclusive sightseeing vacation — is in the midst of a bit of an identity crisis. And that's partly because it's not quite clear whether you, the traveler, still want to travel on the same type of tour your parents and grandparents traveled on. Consequently, travel companies are torn between pushing the classic benefits and appeal of an escorted tour — the ease, efficiency and educational aspects — or creating and marketing a whole new generation of touring, one which caters to travelers' increasing desire to globe-trot on their own with a small group of friends, family or other like-minded individuals. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('28bb6bbb-80f7-4b5e-b469-762700a91058');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)Consequently, two iconic tour brands, Globus and Trafalgar, have just launched their marketing campaigns for 2012 with two completely different takes on touring. "The tour can have a complete rebirth," said Jennifer Halboth, director of marketing at Globus. "People understand what a tour is. So we're calling it a tour because that's what it is … And it's pretty damn good the way it is." The campaign revolves around the concept of the "world’s great misconceptions," explained Halboth, ticking off notions such as that Napolean was short (Halboth points out that at five feet and seven inches, he wasn't actually that short for his time). It uses that to segue into misconceptions about touring, including that tours aren't for baby boomers, they're for older passengers, and that tour goers spend the majority of their time on a motorcoach ("less than 20 percent of your time on tour is on a coach," said Halboth). Combating other misconceptions, Globus points out that 80 percent of its travelers are boomers or younger, based on a survey of past passengers. And the brand's most popular multi-country tour, European Tapestry, has an average passenger age of 44. Trafalgar is taking a slightly different approach to the evolving perception of touring. An escorted tour, said Trafalgar President Paul Wiseman, "does not represent the enhanced experiences that we're representing … we're transforming the product." As part of that transformation, some of the new features of Trafalgar's 2012 tours include a "Be My Guest" culinary experience, in which a local family hosts tour guests for a meal. Additionally, Trafalgar is doubling the size of its At Leisure program, which launched two years ago as trips with more free time built-in for travelers to go off and explore on their own. Wiseman said that Trafalgar is actively removing the term "escorted tour" from all the brochure and marketing materials and replacing it with terms like "vacation" and "experiences." What about you? What are your perceptions of an escorted tour? Have you been on one? Would you take one? Why or why not? Let us know by voting in our poll or commenting below. More from Budget Travel: Has your trip ever been saved by a stranger? 10 Coolest Small Towns in America 2011 Fresh-Air Fun in Europe: 3 New Outdoor Sights