W Hotels Participate In (RED) Program To Help Eliminate AIDS In Africa

Starting December 1, 2008, W Hotels across America will join companies like Apple, American Express, Converse, Dell, Hallmark, Starbucks and Gap, and begin supporting a unique charitable cause known as "(RED)'. 

This organization invites companies to offer a special product or promotion to their customers, and then donate a percentage of their profits to (RED), which is dedicated to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

As a traveler, if you stay at any W Hotel between December 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, and mention Promo Code: WYB when making your reservation (866-924-8719 / or online), you become part of (RED)'s worldwide effort to raise awareness and money for the Global Fund.

Participating in this W Hotel promotion won't cost you anything extra to book a room, but as a hotel guest, you'll automatically receive a six month membership to (RED)Wire - a new digital magazine and online music service that delivers exclusive music from top artists like John Legend, Death Cab For Cutie, Elvis Costello and Sheryl Crow. Normally, there's a $5.00 per month fee for membership, of which $2.50 is donated to the (RED) cause. To learn more about (RED)Wire, visit www.joinredwire.com.

Your membership package when you visit a W Hotel will also include a limited edition USB drive that features DELL inspired artwork from African artist Joseph Amedokpo.

Upon check-in at a W Hotel (when you participate in this program), you'll also receive two complementary drinks, plus the guest room accommodations you reserve when making your reservation.  

So, next time you're looking for a fun and trendy hotel, consider staying at a W Hotel and participating in this program so your business also winds up helping a very worthwhile cause. For more information about (RED), visit www.joinred.com. 

According to the (RED) organization, "Every time you buy a (RED) product or service, at no extra cost to you, the company who makes that product will give up to fifty (50) percent of its profit to buy and distribute antiretroviral medicine to our brothers and sisters dying of AIDS in Africa....Every dollar goes straight to Africa. Straight to the people who need it...(RED) is an answer to an emergency. An answer that is working. Over 2.5 million people have been impacted in just two years....Your (RED) purchases have helped provide lifesaving antiretroviral treatment for nearly 80,000 people in Rwanda, Swaziland, Ghana and Lesotho."

In today's tough economy, many hotels are offering promotions that reward travelers. Free gas cards, extra frequent flier miles or free meals are among these incentives. It's very refreshing, however, to see a major hotel chain, like W Hotels, take an active role working with a worthwhile charitable cause, plus reward its guests for each of their visits.

CLEAR Offers A Quick Way To Get Through Long Airport Security Lines

If you're fed up with those long lines at airport security checkpoints, for $199.00 per year, you can become a member of the CLEAR program, which will allow you to fly through these lines in under five (5) minutes. 

Sure, you'll still need to have your carry-on bags put through an X-ray machine, and you'll walk through a metal detector, but when you participate in the CLEAR program, you'll be entitled to utilize special lanes at security checkpoints (within participating airports), and your screening process will be quicker than passing through TSA security checkpoints, plus there will be no wait.

Currently, CLEAR is offered at 21 major U.S. airports, including LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports in New York. By the end of 2009, Steven Brill, the founder and CEO of Verified Identity Pass, Inc., the company which offers CLEAR, reports upwards of 40 airports will be participating in the program. Additional venues, including sports arenas and train stations, where security bottlenecks often occur, are also starting to participate in this program.

Brill also stated that the company has developed technology that will allow passengers to keep their shoes on when passing through airport security checkpoints. This technology will be introduced shortly, once it's approved by the TSA. 

After completing an online application, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. will verify each applicant's identity at a CLEAR kiosk, and then have their fingerprints and iris eye scan data encoded onto their personalized CLEAR membership card.

Brill explained that the application process takes just minutes, and the identity verification process is done within three to five business days. For frequent travelers who leave from or visit participating airports often, being a CLEAR member can save them up to an hour per trip waiting in long airport security checkpoint lines.

Unfortunately, members still often need to wait in line to check in at their airline's ticket counter and, if applicable, check their luggage. Yet, CLEAR members report that the time savings they do experience each time they use their card makes the annual membership fee well worth it.

The $199.00 annual membership fee applies to individual members, however, family and corporate discounts are available, as are discounts if you pre-pay for a multi-year membership.

If you're interested in becoming a CLEAR member, visit the CLEAR kiosk at any participating airport, call (866) 848-2415, or visit www.FlyClear.com.