Rental Cars May Soon Be Safer Thanks to an Angry Mom

At HotelHaiku.com, everything you need to know about a hotel is described in 17 syllables. That's the premise anyway. Or perhaps "gimmick" is the more appropriate word? HotelHaiku is a niche site that highlights highly unusual hotels around the world, and yes, the write-ups of each property consist solely of a traditional three-line haiku poem: five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables. As of now there are over 70 hotels listed on the site. For instance, there's 9 Hours, an ultra-modern capsule hotel in Kyoto, Japan, described here: Check-in then shower / Fall asleep in your capsule / Prepare then check-out Maybe that's enough of a description for some travelers. Well, that and, presumably, the implicit endorsement of the tastemakers at HotelHaiku. In our recent "World's Weirdest Hotels" feature, though, you'd learn a lot more about this same property, including that it has "amenities you would expect from a four-star hotel (rain-forest showerheads, complimentary mineral water, pillows specially designed to ensure healthy posture during sleep)." Also, that "each capsule includes a computerized-lighting/alarm-clock system to facilitate sleeping and waking." Sweden's Treehotel also gets the haiku treatment: Nesting with the birds / In the forest canopy / Where tree lovers flock That one's also in our "Weird" story, only with a whole lot more detail. Here's some: Fixed about 20 feet up in the trees of the Harads woods are five separate "rooms" that each offer distinct tree-house experiences. The Bird's Nest is exactly what it sounds like, with a wild twig exterior on grand scale. The Mirrorcube is a square unit that reflects its surroundings, doubling as a kind of forest camouflage. (Bird lovers, don't fret—it's covered in an infrared film that's visible to our feathered friends, to avoid crashes.) The UFO evokes a spinning spaceship from just about any '60s sci-fi movie. Each structure is only accessible by an individual ladder, staircase, or bridge, so to wander among them is to stroll the forest floor. Even so, HotelHaiku is a neat starting point for tracking down one-of-a-kind lodging. If you're bored by cookie-cutter chain hotels, give the site a look. Just don't end your research there, obviously. UnusualHotelsoftheWorld is another good resource, as is our "World's Weirdest Hotels" feature and our Hotels section as a whole. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: World's Weirdest Hotels The Dirty Truth About Hotel Ratings 26 Gorgeous Hotels You Won't Believe Are Under $150

Weddings, reunions, graduations, new babies, business trips. Are you taking fewer leisure vacations because of the time and money you devote to obligation travel? According to a recent survey commissioned by Hotwire.com, 41 percent of traveling U.S. adults spend the majority of their vacation budget on obligation travel. And 89 percent of respondents said they would take more leisure trips if they had the time and the money to do so. For its American Travel Behavior Survey, Hotwire commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct an online survey of 2,127 U.S. adults from July 27-29, 2011. According to the survey, 94 percent of respondents said that they would take one more trip than they already had planned if they could afford it. The solution, suggests Hotwire, is combining the obligation travel with leisure time. Work sending you to a conference in Orlando? Bring the spouse and kids so they can enjoy some time at the local theme parks. Family reunion back home? Try to tack on a weekend getaway for some time away from everything — and everyone. But there are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. If it's a personal trip, a family event or gathering, travelers still have to find the time and money to get there, and any extra time spent away is just that, more time and money. That said, if you're already paying for a flight somewhere, it might be more economical to just add on some extra time rather than book an entirely separate flight and vacation elsewhere. If there is a business trip element, there are potential savings to be had on at least one person's transportation costs and possibly the accommodations, depending on the business trip. But then, the person working might be unavailable for part or all of the trip. What about you? Do you feel like most of your travel is devoted to obligation trips? Do you try to turn some of those trips into potential leisure getaways? What, in your opinion, are the advantages and disadvantages in doing so? More from Budget Travel: Is There an Easy Way to Get Through Security With a Little One? Do High Gas Prices Mean the End of Road Trips? 3 Ways to Use Facebook to Travel Smarter

We’re sometimes so quick to call a travel destination "a land of contradictions," the phrase has all but lost its meaning. Except, maybe, where Myanmar is concerned. Never heard of Myanmar? Maybe that’s because the country of about 48 million is also—and better—known as Burma. Don’t know where it is? Look in South Asia between the Bay of Bengal and China. Why should you consider traveling there? Gorgeous empty beaches (such as Ngapali, on the Bay of Bengal), boutique hotels, and a welcoming Buddhist culture that prizes civility and devotion. And that’s where Myanmar’s big contradiction comes in. Until recently, its peaceful population was ruled by a military dictatorship that suppressed free speech and political opposition, jailing more than 1,000 dissidents and opponents. Since 1990 the U.S. has had no ambassador to Myanmar, and the country’s pro–democracy leaders urged an international travel boycott. But things are changing fast. In response to economic sanctions and regional pressures, Myanmar held elections in 2010 and its first civilian president took office last year. Hundreds of political prisoners have been released and parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 1. In January, the U.S. restored full diplomatic ties to Myanmar. The move was seen as a reward for the country’s strides toward a freer society. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton paid a visit in December—the first by a senior U.S. official in 50 years—and U.S. Congressmen and diplomats from Western Europe are now regularly traveling there. On the other hand, despite the thaw in relations, the U.S. still insists that Myanmar’s 2010 elections were neither free nor fair, and an ethnic civil war rages in the northern hills, where Burmese soldiers fire mortar rounds on villages and burn and loot homes. Does the restoration of full relations with Myanmar mean you should consider it as a travel destination? In 2010, while the travel boycott was still in effect, only about 16,000 U.S. citizens traveled there, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism; travel–industry attention and anecdotal evidence from package–tour companies such as Friendly Planet and General Tour World Traveler suggest that that number will rise. (Twelve–day package tours that include airfare can be had for less than $3,000). Last December, after Secretary Clinton’s visit, This Just In asked “Would You Go to Myanmar?” Now that full diplomatic relations have been restored, are you any more likely to go? —Robert Firpo-Cappiello MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL To Go or Not to Go: 11 Places With a Bad Rap 8 Worst-Case Travel Scenarios The Ultimate Guide to Travel Apps

Following the recent hurricane season, environmental inspection teams have analyzed the coastlines impacted by the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the BP oil spill) to check for additional impact, and the results show gradual improvements across the region. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality last month completed a 40-mile shoreline oil spill inspection, or 111 segments of shoreline, of which three segments need additional cleaning and monitoring. In Florida, 39 miles of shoreline were inspected and it was found that 1.75 miles were still impacted by tarballs that were then collected leaving a remaining one-quarter of a mile of beach that needs continued cleanup. "Florida’s response team is committed to ensuring our shorelines and beaches are clean and remain free from oil," said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard. "We will continue to work diligently with BP, the Coast Guard, the federal trustees and our fellow Gulf states on these important response efforts." The inspections were focused on areas that were known to have been previously impacted by the oil spill. Across the Gulf states, some 320 miles of shoreline were selected for post-hurricane season shoreline inspections. So, if you thought that more than a year and a half after the BP Deepwater Horizon spill on April 20, 2010 off the Louisiana coast, which gushed more than 50,000 gallons of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico before the well was capped on July 15 and then permanently closed up on Sept. 19 has been forgotten, you're wrong. Response and recovery efforts continue and can be tracked at RestoreTheGulf.gov. A Shoreline Clean-up Completion Plan written by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Gulf states, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of the Interior and BP was signed on Nov. 2, 2011. The plan promise that the cleanup will continue until all of the areas impacted by the spill no longer need response. There is also a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force that was created by President Obama in October 2010, which continues to work towards Gulf Coast ecosystem restoration. As for destinations that line the Gulf, tourism hot spots like New Orleans have seen positive growth and recovery since the devastating spill. By the end of 2010, New Orleans had already proved that the spill did not have a negative impact on tourism, with the Big Easy welcoming 8.3 million visitors, compared to 7.5 million in 2009 (New Orleans has not yet released its 2011 figures). The city also recorded $5.3 million in tourism revenue in 2010, the highest in the city’s history. What are your concerns about the ongoing recovery efforts? Do you think the entities involved are doing enough to ensure the restoration of the areas impacted by the oil? Let us know by commenting below. More from Budget Travel: Katrina, BP: New Orleans is back Are you Less Likely to Cruise? Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2011