Recent news that , facing the driver, has led to fears that the car rental agency could be creeping on its clients.听

The cameras have been in the cars for about a year听but weren鈥檛 publically addressed until a 听in the Telegraph picked up on Hertz renters complaining in online forums. Then, despite a hasty reassurance from Hertz that the cameras were meant only to improve customer service and, as of yet,听, surveillance paranoia set in.

Main Street听 between Hertz and certain small, independent agencies that track GPS data鈥攖o determine, for instance, if a customer is driving too fast, off-road, or across borders.听CNET 听that Hertz could similarly use video surveillance against drivers who violate its policies.

It all sounds feasible, but let鈥檚 put down the torches and pitchforks and consider these accusations a little more realistically. 鈥淭racking to see if a few people are misusing the car is not worth our time and money,鈥� says Richard Broome, vice president of corporate affairs and communications at Hertz. The real intent for the cameras, Broome said, would be for customers to talk face-to-face with a service rep. If and when the cameras begin working鈥攁s of now there鈥檚 no timeframe for activating them鈥攁 driver will be able to speak to a customer service rep directly through the car if they get into an accident, break down, or become lost. No cellphone required.

Besides, he says, the camera has a : It only works when the driver willingly turns it on.

So Hertz says it isn鈥檛 spying. And it听probably isn鈥檛,听because consent laws protect consumers in these cases. Legally, rental companies may use cameras or GPS data as they please,听including selling that information, so long as customers are well notified beforehand. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 not clearly explained, they鈥檙e going to be violating people鈥檚 reasonable expectation of privacy,鈥� says Paul Bland, executive director of , a public advocacy law firm.听

That should mean no fine print, which isn鈥檛 necessary now since the cameras are inoperable. But the controversy illustrates a point that has become increasingly clear as traditional businesses go digital: Quality customer service is inseparably tied up with privacy. The in-car camera feature would be only a small addition to Hertz鈥檚 , which seeks to unify digital platforms.听

Through NeverLost, you can plan your itinerary at home, plug your driving destination听into the cloud, and access it on the dashboard navigator. It makes for a seamless user experience鈥攂ut it also requires giving more data to the rental company. Its system collects more than the standard credit card and ID info: It knows exactly where you plan to be, when, and,听perhaps in the near future,听how you look along the way.听

That means Hertz is taking a risk. On the one hand, Hertz could be pioneering a new system in navigational safety, but on the other,听as with any new technology鈥攅specially one perceived as invasive to privacy鈥攖he company runs the risk of rejection by the market.

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When your flight is delayed, it鈥檚 only natural to want to blame the airline. And a few weeks ago, it seemed we could finally pin down the most blameworthy carriers. (BTS), part of the U.S Department of Transportation, released last year鈥檚 on-time performance data for every major American airline. Hawaiian Airlines topped the list 听at 92 percent on time while Delta was the most punctual of the heavyweight carriers at 86 percent (a delay is measured as 15 minutes or more off schedule).

Just don鈥檛 pay too much attention to the ranking. The report fails to account for that regional carriers like SkyWest that operate鈥攖o little publicity or public knowledge鈥攎any of the flights passengers take with the big-name carriers. According to the听, these feeder airlines operated 61 percent of American, Delta, United, and US Airways flights in 2011. Without accounting for this data, the entire ranking is suspect.听

More significantly, the list understates a basic factor: Airports, not airlines, are responsible for many flight delays. Look closely at the , and you鈥檒l find that only a quarter of delays can be directly attributed to the carriers themselves. Most airlines also fare similarly by this rubric. In general, three to seven percent of their flights fall victim to 鈥淎ir Carrier Delay.鈥� (By this statistic, Virgin America was the most punctual major airline of 2014 at 3.3 percent). The more common culprit is the 鈥淣ational Aviation System,鈥� which controls air traffic and airport operations.

How can you really blame airlines? The single biggest cause (over a third of delays) receives the vague designation of 鈥淎ircraft Arriving Late,鈥� which can be caused by anything from extreme weather to airline personnel issues. Economist from the University of New Mexico points out that this category affects bigger carriers with a quick-turnaround revenue-miles model most severely. For airlines like Southwest, who tightly schedule successive flights for each plane, one delay will cause a ripple effect.

Because certain airlines tend to fly from certain airports, it makes no sense to create an aggregated master list. But if you understand the whole picture, the BTS stats can still be a useful tool. Before you book, go to the and compare carriers at a particular airport to determine the likelihood that your flight will be delayed.

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Why did Marriott, a top-three global hotel chain with no particular emphasis on the adventure-travel niche, just to let guests borrow Hero4 cameras at 18 of their Caribbean and Latin American locations?

鈥淚t鈥檚 low-hanging fruit,鈥� says Daniel Kelsay, GoPro鈥檚 Resort and Camp marketing manager. 鈥淢arriott鈥檚 guests have always taken videos, and they love to share them, but Marriott could never harness it. It鈥檚 basically free marketing.鈥�

As Kelsay says, it鈥檚 about social media, or, in other words, free customer-generated advertising. Marriot wants guests to upload images to their Facebook and Instagram accounts using the #TravelBrilliantly handle. No surprise there. Plenty of hotels to upload their photos using specific hashtags. And Marriott鈥檚 partnership with a camera company to facilitate that makes sense, too.

That said, the choice of GoPro鈥攐ver other camera brands or even smartphones鈥攊s curious. If Marriott was only looking for guests to upload their photos without the fear of ruining their camera phones, they could have provided guests with shockproof and waterproof cases for their smartphones (like the ). After all, that would be the easiest way to get guests to upload images to social media.

It appears the real reason Marriott partnered with GoPro, and vice versa, is branding. Marriott wants to be associated with the adventure travel niche, an industry that between 2009 and 2013 grew from an $89 billion to a $263 billion sector, according to the .

鈥淣o one straps on a GoPro to go to the mall,鈥� said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. 鈥淭he point being that nature, culture, and activity bring more meaning to travel than sitting around or buying stuff.鈥�

On the flip side, GoPro isn鈥檛 afraid to branch out into new markets. The skiers, mountain bikers, and adventure junkies are all hooked on their products. Now, they鈥檙e aiming for a much wider audience.

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Nationwide, the price of gasoline is 鈥攖he lowest it’s been since about听April 2009. But this massive dip in oil prices hasn鈥檛 affected airfares, even though fuel is an airline鈥檚 second largest expense. Why? With planes already filled to capacity, .

Still, with our greenback doing better against the Euro than it has in the last decade, more people are 听to experience a cheaper Europe. (Some travel agents are reporting a 30 percent increase in European bookings from 2013 to 2014.) And that means crowds.

So while most of the country is looking across the Atlantic, now’s the perfect time to start looking around the homefront. If you live anywhere in America, the truth is that you really don鈥檛 need to hop on a plane to find an outdoor adventure. There鈥檚 probably one just a car (or bus or train) ride away.听

Before you book that pricey flight to a far-off land, consider what makes the radius around home鈥攐r one of your favorite cities鈥攁 worthy destination. To nudge you in the right direction, take a look at some of these urban-centric outdoor options for the fitness and fresh-air enthusiast.

New York City

As temperatures rise, take a few days in nature to restore your sanity. Head north on I-87 and explore the hiking trails and climbing spots in the Shawangunks (a.k.a. the Gunks) for a weekend, or head east from the city to grab the great surf out in Montauk. Those without a car can ride the Metro-North Hudson Line up to Breakneck Ridge, an intensely steep, somewhat technical but still rewarding hike with a marquee view of the Hudson Valley.

You can also keep to boroughs. The city itself offers killer runs (road or trail), , bike rides (there’s even mountain-ish biking in Manhattan if you head up to ), and swimming in the ocean.听

Chicago

Surprise! This Midwestern city is surrounded by outdoor opportunties.听Even if you can’t wait for the ice to melt, take a road trip through Wisconsin听and see the majestic ice caves of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Or plan a spring or summer fishing trip on Michigan’s Muskegon River (picture 20-pound steelheads), kiteboarding out at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (where you can also camp) or bomb the 30 miles of singletrack trails in Wisconsin鈥檚 Kettle Moraine State Forest.

When the ice starts melting and Lake Michigan begins to shimmer again, there’s nothing better than running or biking up the 18-mile Lakefront Trail. As a shady alternative, hit the Des Plaines River Trail a bit farther north. Then cool off at Ohio Street Beach on Lake Michigan.

Seattle

If you live in Seattle and still haven’t driven the Olympic Peninsula Loop, do so immediately. While you’re there鈥攆eeling rejuvenated and ambitious鈥攖ake an extra couple days to tackle the South Coast Route, one of America’s best overnight beach hikes.

Downtown is a great hub for cycling routes (try the Mercer Island Loop.) Between the Arboretum and Discovery Park, there’s enough open green space in Seattle to make you fall in love with your city again. Or you can always hop in your vehicle and make the 20-minute drive to the 38 miles of trails in Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. Hike the 1,595 feet to the top for photogenic views of downtown. Or skip the park and keep driving into the Cascades where you can camp, hike, and bike for weeks on end.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles just gained a National Monument: the San Gabriel Mountains. Throw your bike in the trunk, drive to the base of the San Gabriels, and ride 38 beautiful, uninterrupted miles on the River Bike trail until you hit the Pacific. Or drive up and bring your tent鈥攖here鈥檚 hiking and camping .

Mountain bikers, hang back in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area where you鈥檒l find 150 miles of trails just for you.

Miami

Surfcasting, snorkeling, mountain biking, Key lime pie, cocktails in South Beach, and Little Havana in 48 hours? We know how. Alternatively, spend those two days at Oleta River State Park, fishing, kayaking, and sleeping in a little cabin.

If you have more time, and want to really soak in the city, know that Miami runs one of the nation’s best . A little more than an hour outside of town, take a day to explore Everglades National Park. Rent a bike to conquer the Shark Valley Bike Trail. If you go in the morning, you鈥檒l breeze past gators getting their fill of morning sun.

San Francisco

At sunset, drive up to the Berkeley hills to behold (in a single view) the San Francisco skyline, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, Mt. Tam, and the iconic cranes on the Port of Oakland from Grizzly Peak Boulevard. While you鈥檙e out there, run or hike the fire trails, a winding network cut out of the lush forests.

Road-trip possibilities abound. Try heading north through Eureka, then up to the incomparable Lost Coast for a backpacking excursion. Or if you head south, aim for Pinnacles National Park and scale some wild rock formations.

Austin

If you live in Austin, you live in close proximity to some of the best rock climbing in the U.S. Take the Route 30 bus to the Barton Creek Greenbelt, home to more than 15 climbing spots.

Afterwards, you鈥檒l want to plunge into some cold water. Nearest by is the Deep Eddy Pool, a spring-fed swimming hole with enough room for laps.

Or don鈥檛 plunge鈥攆loat. Austin鈥檚 got one of the best SUP and rowing scenes in the U.S. Head over to Ladybird lake for an active day out on the water.

And don鈥檛 forget your two wheels. Just southwest of downtown you鈥檒l find Barton Springs and a seven-mile network of bike and hike trails.听

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Spirit Airlines is offering 8,000 free air miles to anyone who completes its first-ever 鈥溾€� survey. The questionnaire allows passengers to rant about the profusion of things that annoy them about air travel, but really it鈥檚 a forum for the no-frills airline to justify its policies and take a dig at its competitors. The questions regard air travel in general, but since respondents are most likely Spirit Airlines passengers or those familiar with the carrier, it鈥檚 not a stretch to infer that most of the complaints apply to Spirit itself.

The first 28,205 responses principally bashed the airline鈥檚 seats. Spirit addresses the issue on its website: 鈥淲e think about seats differently. We put a few more on each plane to lower fares for everyone.鈥� Fees were the second-most frequent grievance. Spirit鈥檚 take: 鈥淭o us they鈥檙e not fees. We think of them as options.鈥� The main objective, apparently, is to instruct respondents on why their complaints are misinformed.

Another goal: disperse blame across fellow airlines. In the survey, Spirit asks, 鈥淲ho blames who for what?鈥� (their grammatical error, not ours) and goes on to attribute specific complaints to the competition. 鈥淭his seems to be a very clever way to heap negativity on competitors, under the guise of something 鈥榝air,鈥欌€� writes Neal Roese, professor of marketing at Northwestern. 鈥淚n fact, the word 鈥榟ate鈥� seems to be associated much more with other airlines over the course of the web ad than with Spirit.鈥�

Spirit employed its hate-dispersion tactic most blatantly in the third infographic: 鈥淎lthough Spirit hosted the giveaway鈥�60% of the total hate went to other airlines! Huzzah!鈥� The implication, though, is that 40 percent of the hate was directed at Spirit, more than three times the amount aimed at the runner-up (Delta).

Professor Lars Perner of the University of Southern California found the report troubling. 鈥淭here is a fair amount of humor involved. I worry that it might suggest that the concerns are minor and that there is not a serious problem that needs to be addressed.鈥� This attitude is best illustrated by a recent interview with . 鈥淚f you want the truth鈥ou watch what people do, you don鈥檛 listen to what they say,鈥� Baldanza observed. 鈥淎nd what people do is fill our planes every day.鈥�

The 鈥淪tate of the Hate鈥� campaign isn鈥檛 a symptom of economic desperation. Over the last two quarters, Spirit Airlines鈥� net income has from $37.8 million to $73.9 million. Their business model, which cuts airfare to the bare minimum and charges for all additional services, is evidently successful.

Why? Well, if you鈥檙e flying with Spirit, you鈥檙e probably boarding much quicker than on other airlines. The fee for carry-on luggage is higher than checked luggage, which means less fussing in the aisle during boarding time, a bonus reflected in the survey results. (Boarding is listed among the least common reasons for anti-Spirit vitriol.)

If you can bear the Spirit experience, this is your chance to rack up 8,000 free air miles by . It鈥檚 also a prime opportunity to add to the report鈥檚 tally on the word 鈥渇uck,鈥� which currently stands at a meager 75.

And finally, always research your airline鈥檚 travel fees before buying鈥攅specially with Spirit, which will charge you for everything besides a cramped seat.

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If you heard recently that the best day to buy airline tickets is a Sunday, close to 57 days before the flight, you were misinformed. That tidbit came from an based on data from hundreds of millions of round-trip ticket purchases between January 2013 and July 2014.

What followed in the media was a series of doubtful interpretations masking an ugly truth: it keeps getting more expensive to fly, no matter when you purchase your ticket.

Notably, the statistics show the daily average price of tickets bought (Domestic: Sunday, $432; Monday, $503; Tuesday, $497; Wednesday, $498; Thursday, $501; Friday, $502; Saturday), and the . The ACR press release underscores two conclusions from this data, echoed the same day in the : 1. 鈥淪unday is the best day to find low fares,鈥� and 2. 鈥淭he cheapest time to buy domestic trips was 57 days鈥攁bout two months鈥攂efore departure.鈥�

Commenters on the WSJ story were quick to point out the dubious logic behind the first conclusion. Weekend buyers are primarily vacationers, while weekday averages include higher-spending business travelers. In other words, the customers are different on the weekends, not the actual prices. Moreover, the that these day-to-day differences are so miniscule, and summarize such a massive and varied set of data (think route-to-route particularities), that the averages simply aren鈥檛 helpful.

Conventional wisdom holds that the best deals arrive on Tuesdays, and the WSJ provides worthy evidence for this: , a service that pings you when discounts arise, says they ping the most on Tuesdays; and airline executives say they traditionally gauge weekend sales on Monday, deciding accordingly on markdowns for Tuesday鈥檚 ads. As for the assertion that Sundays offer the cheapest flights, there鈥檚 only feeble evidence.

The ARC figures on advanced purchasing also inspired its portion of half-baked analysis. 听of the Univesity of New Mexico听finds the “57-day threshold,鈥� as the WSJ calls it, essentially arbitrary.

If you look closely at , you鈥檒l see domestic prices hovering just above the $400 line for more than a month. Those little crests and troughs reflect individual days, wavering between cheaper weekend buying and more expensive workweek buying. From the graph, we see that in general prices remain pretty stagnant for several weeks鈥攕o that 57-day mark is fairly irrelevant.

In any case, these claims are just a sideshow distracting us from the bigger picture: prices keep climbing. Chuck Thackston of the ARC听: 鈥淭he lowest average ticket price was about 19 percept lower than the overall average, which is significantly more savings than the 6 percent below average ticket price that we showed in the prior study on 2011 tickets.鈥�

What Thackston does not mention is the astounding increase in the average price of domestic flights over the same period, from $358 in to $496 this year. This can largely be attributed to the over the past few years. With diminished competition and fully loaded airplanes (check out ), airlines have commanding leverage over the common flier. The ARC, an 鈥渁n airline-owned company serving the travel industry,鈥� has no reason to draw attention to this fact.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying, 鈥楲ook! You鈥檙e getting a bigger discount,鈥� Dixon remarks, 鈥渨hile the economics say, 鈥楴o, they鈥檙e getting a bigger profit.鈥欌€� Basically, it鈥檚 easy for airlines to offer big discounts when they鈥檝e jacked up the prices overall. Thackston suggests there are 13% 鈥渕ore savings鈥� in 2014. In context, even a 25% discount wouldn鈥檛 match prices in 2011.

Ultimately, when booking flights, follow this simple advice from the Cranky Flier: 鈥淟ook for flights when you need to book them. If you鈥檙e happy with the price, buy the ticket. If not, then keep checking back later and see if the fare has gone down鈥�. Trying to play this game of booking on a specific day to save a buck is not a reliable way to find cheap fares.鈥�

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FIFA with the Olympic Committee on Tuesday, assuring IOC vice president Craig Reedie that the World Cup in Qatar will not clash with the 2022 Winter Games.

The confusion arose earlier this month when FIFA president Sepp Blatter raised the possibility of holding the 2022 World Cup in January and February instead of the customary June and July. Astounded by this suggestion, Gian Franco Kasper of the International Ski Federation spoke out. 鈥淚t happened only two years ago that FIFA realized it might be warm in the summertime in Qatar,鈥� he said . 鈥淔IFA, please stay out of our winter months鈥�. If you are sweating or not, that鈥檚 not our problem.鈥�

FIFA vowed Tuesday that the events will not overlap, though it still hasn鈥檛 set definitive dates for Qatar. The IOC is pushing for November and December, but it鈥檚 just as likely FIFA will schedule it for the spring.

Meanwhile, the IOC will announce the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics in July. Oslo withdrew its bid this month, leaving only Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, as candidates. The resounding lack of public support for Olympic bids this year is credited to the price of the Sochi Games, which ran somewhere around $51 billion.

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Kawasaki just debuted the . The Ninja H2R packs a 300-horsepower punch in a supercharged four-cylinder engine. That鈥檚 nearly the equivalent power of the pickup, and it blows all the other superbikes out of the water. (The 听and , the bike’s closest street-legal competitors,听can’t produce even 200 horsepower.)听

So how fast can you go when you unleash 300 horses from a motorcycle? Well, a Kawasaki R&D rider he surpassed 210 mph in the H2R鈥檚 鈥攖he eleventh episode of an ongoing video-series unveiling.

You might wonder why Kawasaki built a 300-horsepower motorcycle. Frankly, no one seems to know. Perhaps just to tickle our imaginations. More within the realm of reason, however, Kawasaki has promised a street-legal version of the H2R at 200 horsepower鈥攕till topping any other bike on the market.

$TBT,

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A Beijing-based travel agency received a 鈥減anicked鈥� phone call Thursday from its partners in North Korea, claiming 鈥渁ll borders will be completely sealed,鈥� . The North Korean government鈥檚 apparent motive is to prevent Ebola from entering the country.

Currently, no cases of Ebola have been reported in North Korea, nor in Beijing, the main gateway to North Korea. The ban on tourism arose unexpectedly, without any official announcement: 鈥淭hree days ago, they said that anybody who鈥檚 been to West Africa would have to provide a doctor鈥檚 certificate stating that they don鈥檛 have Ebola,鈥� a travel operator . 鈥淎nd then today, they just said no foreign tourists at all.鈥�

North Korean tourism has grown rapidly of late. The state continues to develop luxury resorts, including a outside Wonsan City, largely . Roughly 6,000 Western tourists visit the country per year, an over the past decade.

No details are available concerning the duration or exclusivity of the ban, which begins Friday. In response to the 2003 SARS epidemic, North Korea completely sealed its borders for a four-month period.

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Developers in Grand Prairie, Texas, will soon break ground on a 350,000-square-foot indoor ski facility and hotel, .

The will offer seven different slopes, from beginner to expert, featuring the longest indoor ski run in the world (300 feet tall and 1,200 feet long), an Olympic halfpipe and terrain park, and forest runs as steep as 28 degrees. At the base of the slopes, plans include a four-star, 300-room Hard Rock Hotel with two restaurants and a theater.

The whole project should cost $215 million. Sherman Thurston, co-chairman of the Grand Alps Group, that he鈥檚 building similar facilities in Spain, Brazil, and Malaysia.

Grand Prairie, on average, . The snow dome will remain a cool 28 degrees at all times.

Construction is set to begin in the coming year and is estimated to finish in 2018. Notably, two other ski developments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area folded in the past decade, one during the financial collapse in 2009.

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