Seth Kugel

Wrote about this 11-story-high message from @mundano_sp, @Alkorap1 and @standearth to @Cargill urging them to keep their promise to end deforestation in their Brazilian soy supply chain. Cargill says it is. 📷@victormoriyama nytimes.com/2024/10/23/tra…

A man rented a car from Budget at Geneva airport and was charged $595 when he returned it a few hours(or was it just 10 minutes?) early. nytimes.com/2026/03/26/tra…

You can only dispute a credit card charge "within 60 days of the charge appearing on your statement." But you reserved that flight or hotel months in advance and now need to get your money back. Are you out of luck? (No.) nytimes.com/2026/03/05/tra…

The contemporary art and palm tree paradise of Inhotim, Brazil, is number 24 on the @nytimestravel list of 52 Places to Go in 2026. It should be #1. Here's a video in English and Portuguese (with English subtitles) of when my mom and I went in 2024. youtube.com/watch?v=15pNRJ…

Air France lost a Team USA fencer's equipment bag on his way to a Grand Prix tournament in Tunisia. For months, he followed every bizarre, inconsistent instruction they sent him – even providing a receipt for his boxer briefs – but never got reimbursed. nytimes.com/2025/10/30/tra…

A larger-than-life Brazilian archaeologist who transformed an impoverished region of the country died last week, and though I never met her personally, I did get to write the obit. nytimes.com/2025/06/10/sci…

Whose responsibility is it when luggage disappears from the carousel? I got no comment from six of the seven biggest U.S. carriers, as well as JFK airport. Kudos to @AmericanAir for saying "it's ours." nytimes.com/2025/06/05/tra…

A cruise ship charged two passengers for a whale-watching excursion without their permission and then refused to refund them when they missed a deadline to back out. They won't be doing that anymore! nytimes.com/2025/05/15/tra…

What are the pros and cons of voluntarily giving up your seat on an overbooked flight? Here's one more for the "cons" side: nytimes.com/2025/04/24/tra…

For my @nytimestravel column, I resolve disputes between travelers and (usually) big corporations. Today, it's a very small (and admirably stubborn, but definitely wrong) non-profit. Have an issue for the column? Reach me at trippedup@nytimes.com. nytimes.com/2025/03/06/tra…

If your Airbnb is burglarized, you better have insurance because the company will only cover you if you meet very specific conditions...and not always then, either. nytimes.com/2025/02/13/tra… by me via @nytimestravel

Brazen (and suspiciously thin?) Brazilian thieves are robbing pharmacies at gunpoint for #ozempic. nytimes.com/2025/02/15/wor…

Over the last ten years, hundreds of Portuguese-speaking foreigners have started creating content for Brazilians. Why do Brazilians love (and occasionally hate) us so much? I interviewed nine of the more thoughtful "gringos" to find out. youtube.com/watch?v=wObq5I…

You technically cannot sue airlines in small claims courts, but when you do it works pretty well. That and what the Trump administration better not cut from DOT, in my end-of-year column. nytimes.com/2024/12/12/tra…

Budget hit a traveler with a $450 fee to for a rental car returned with routine dirt and a few kid footprints on the back of the driver’s seat. Today’s @nytimestravel column may be my last - if Budget will hire me to clean cars for $450, that is. nytimes.com/2024/10/29/tra…

What happens if your short-term rental is canceled last minute? Will the company spring for a comparable replacement at last-minute prices or will you be stuck with a refund that won’t cover a hotel? nytimes.com/2024/09/19/tra… #airbnb #vrbo #travel ⁦@nytimestravel⁩

nytimes.com/2024/08/29/tra… The worst case scenario when you accidentally click on a duplicitous Google ad bought by an unscrupulous New Jersey-based travel agency owner who goes by the pseudonym Alec Baldwin.

Summer travel warning: When a merchant uses a portable credit card reader, insert or tap the card yourself or at least watch the screen carefully. Otherwise, you might end up getting charged, say, $1000 or more for a tank of gas in Los Cabos. nytimes.com/2024/06/06/tra…

Does this mean that if you buy a cruise directly from the cruise line, you are not covered if said cruise line goes bankrupt? That's a) bonkers and b) the topic of my column today in @nytimestravel. nytimes.com/2024/05/16/tra…

Let's play lawyer. A travel insurance policy covers "Bankruptcy or Default of an airline, cruise line, tour operator or other travel provider (other than the Travel Supplier, tour operator, travel agency, organization or firm from whom You purchased Your Travel Arrangements)."