Rental cars: Hertz changes its loyalty program

Not since Velcro has there been much innovation in how people tie their shoes. But since May, travelers looking to quickly slip in and out of their shoes at airport security have a new product to try: U-Laces. Ordinary shoes use 36-inch laces that crisscross through the eyelets, but U-Laces are a set of six pairs of tiny strips that run horizontally across your shoes, with a tie lace up at the top.What this means is that they "lock in and pop out" easily. Pulling off your shoes at a TSA checkpoint suddenly becomes quick. U-Laces come in a multitude of colors, sure to match your various pairs of shoes.The company's website tries to appeal to kids by showing rainbow-colored collections, but you can get your U-Laces all in the same, businesslike color, too. u-lace.com. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Electric bike rentals smooth out sightseeing 5 airport innovations worth praising Cruises: New website predicts when you should book

Crowne Plaza is testing out a new program that aims to give weary travelers a way to deal with snoring guests -- without resorting to earplugs. The "snore absorption room," as Crowne Plaza calls it, is designed to help minimize the snores inside and nearby a guest's room through the use of sound-proof walls, anti-snore bed wedges, sound-absorbing headboards, anti-snore pillows, white noise machines, and even "snore patrol" monitors roaming the hotel hallways. What does a snore patroller do? The monitors periodically stroll through the hotel's designated quiet areas with volume-measuring meters. If a monitor detects guests sawing wood or making other noises after a certain hour, the monitor will knock on the door and ask guests to keep it down. The need for a snore patrol seems like an indication that all the rooms' anti-snore technology doesn't work all that well. But a spokesperson for InterContinental, which owns Crowne Plaza, told ABC News that the rooms, which were being tested recently at select properties in Europe and the Middle East, are up to the task: The hi-tech rooms were extremely popular with guests throughout the initial trial period, the company said. "The room was fully booked throughout the trial week in many of the participating hotels across Europe. Some markets have even extended the service due to demand," said Caroline Counihan, a spokeswoman for the InterContinental Hotel Group. Be that as it may, it'd be nice to hear just how well actual guests slept. When announcing the new rooms, Crowne Plaza released info stating that half of UK couples complain that their vacations can be ruined due to a snoring partner. If these rooms really can help save one's vacation, then these are rooms that'll truly be in demand. Crowne Plaza says it could begin expanding the snore absorption concept to more hotels and regions soon after the trial periods are over and feedback is gathered and analyzed. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: What do you value most in a hotel? Would you skip hotel housekeeping for a $5 credit? Quiz: Name That Hotel Chain

Part of my job here at Budget Travel is to answer reader feedback, often in the form of comments, questions, complaints, requests and suggestions. Lately, I've been noticing a number of readers asking for more coverage in the area of Solo Travel, particularly for female travelers. Being a single twenty–something female traveler, I've rounded up some of my favorite websites in the hope that they might be helpful to you as well. There are quite a few websites that cater to female solo travelers. The one I keep coming back to is Women on the Road, "inspiration and advice for women who love to travel solo." Think of this as the everything–you–always–wanted–to–know–about-solo–travel–but–were–afraid–to–ask website. Travel writer Beth Whitman's Wanderlust And Lipstick offers important tips regarding how to choose your destination, how to make the best of a lonely dining experience, and a great list of do's and don'ts regarding overall travel safety. Journeywoman features many of the same topics, but focuses more on destination–based safety tips, as well as advice for those interested in cruising, jogging, or falling in love on the road. If the idea of being alone seems intimidating, you could always pair up with a kindred spirit by seeking out fellow travelers on a message board or by using social media (ie. Twitter and Facebook) to see who else is interested in traveling to your destination. TravBuddy is one way to "meet travelers, share advice" before you leave, while other websites like Meet Travelers peg themselves as the place to "meet locals while you travel and meet travelers when you're at home." Solo Female Traveler has a great article, "Ten Solo Travel Myths Debunked," to help ease any doubts you might have before you go. In addition to those, we've posted some articles in the past with helpful tips from everything to packing and staying in touch while you're away to a handy list of travel companies who are friendly to solo travelers. My first solo trip was a three-day stint in Washington D.C. back in April of 2011. I hopped on a budget bus from New York City and four hours later was taking in the sights of our nation's Capitol for the first time. I looked through a number of websites—mainly Trip Advisor and Google Maps—to determine which sites to see and managed to snag a cheap room in nearby Alexandria, just a 30–45 minute DC Metro ride away. It was a great experience for me, getting a chance to pick out whatever I wanted to do and see whatever I felt like seeing whenever I wanted to see it. The freedom was almost overwhelming at first, but I soon became the boss of my own trip and realized that if I can do it in one city, I could certainly do it in another, no matter how foreign or exotic it might seem on my own. I would encourage everyone to try traveling by themselves at least once, if only just to take yourself out for a spin. Where have your solo adventures taken you? Please feel free to share any advice or websites you use for solo travel ideas. Happy travels!

For that matter, either option is better than using a currency conversion service at the airport or train station. BT readers always want to get the most bang for the buck, so it's no surprise we always field questions regarding which currency exchange method yields the traveler the most local cash. Generally speaking, our advice has always been to use a credit card first, and withdraw cash at an overseas ATM second. A new study from CardHub says that advice is right on the money, excuse the pun. The study compares the rates and fees assessed by credit card companies, the 15 largest banks in the U.S., and the world's largest currency exchange operator, Travelex. In order to compare apples to apples, all of the data was collected on the same day last month, and the currency exchange in question involved changing $300 into euros. Visa edged MasterCard slightly for the best rates, and if the traveler was using a card that didn't tack on additional fees -- some Capital One, Citibank, and Chase cards are examples -- either Visa or MasterCard provide better exchange rates than any bank surveyed. Overall, banks' exchange rates were 7.9 percent poorer than no-fee credit cards. Among the banks, Northern Trust and Harris Bank offered the best rates, while U.S. Bank and Fifth Third Bank had the worst. Worst of all, however, was Travelex. CardHub gathered rates from the service's John F. Kennedy International airport location, and they were 14.7 percent higher than a credit card with no international exchange fees. But before you go paying for everything overseas with your credit card, assuming you're getting the best rates, take a close look at your card. Most cards, in fact, assess currency conversion fees of 1 to 3 percent -- and if your card does, you might be better off simply hitting an ATM in the country you're visiting. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL What Your Bank Won't Tell You About Currency Conversion 4 Foreign Exchange Apps You Need Citibank and Chase drop foreign exchange fees on some cards