Be choosy when booking a bed.
Rooms in all price ranges are on the green bandwagon. Many Holiday Inns use CFL lightbulbs, and they all serve Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee. Marriott, InterContinental, Kimpton, Fairmont, and Sandals offer environmental programs; go to

Go paperless with your PDA.
Save a tree — and your back — by downloading travel guides, maps, and even boarding passes onto a handheld device. Lonely Planet sells travel content in “Pick & Mix Chapters” downloads, allowing you to buy only the information you need and view it on your PDA, and Rough Guides provides free downloads of cultural audio “iToors” for iPods. On domestic flights, Air Canada offers paperless tickets featuring scannable electronic bar codes that are sent to your cell phone or PDA. Continental Airlines is currently testing this technology.

Streamline your suitcase.
Even 10 extra pounds per passenger translates into the need for extra fuel, which can then lead to more carbon dioxide emissions. Pack light.

Towel off twice.
Use only the towels you need, hang them to dry, then reuse. Likewise, why have your sheets changed every day? Leave a note for housekeeping to skip changing the sheets and towels. Opting to use them again can save up to 30 gallons of water a day.

Bring your own shampoo — or take theirs.
Hotel soaps and bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion that have been opened — even if just for one use — are routinely tossed in the trash. Carry your own amenities in reusable travel containers. If you open one of theirs, toss it in your bag to be finished off at home and refilled for future trips.

Eat locally.
An American meal involves food flown in from, on average, five different countries, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Minimize food-transport pollution by choosing a restaurant that utilizes regional ingredients.

Drink locally.
If the tap water is safe, go ahead and drink it. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, while public water gets tested for contaminants thousands of times a year, bottled-water facilities may not test their products as frequently. Plus, a discarded plastic bottle can take years to biodegrade.

Walk, ride, or rent a hybrid.
Too far to walk? Hop on a bus or the subway. Most cities’ transportation-authority websites have a route-planner function; also try www.hopstop.com or www.subwaynavigator.com. If your trip requires a car, rent a hybrid (choose “hybrid” under “car options” at www.kayak.com) to reduce emissions by up to one-half. The next best option? Find a “green” car at www.hybrids.orbitz.com.

When the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa converts its 35,000-square-foot Ihilani Spa, it will become the first and only spa facility in the United States to be entirely allergy-friendly. The five Marriott Resort hotels in Hawaii all aim to be not just allergy-free, but also energy efficient, protective of native wildlife and responsible in their water use.

More information here.

What the airline should do for you: Passengers should check in with gate agents for frequent updates. It is not considered the airline’s fault if you miss a flight under these circumstances, but some will put you on the next flight if a seat is available.

Next time: Stay put until a new boarding time is announced and posted and then check back frequently.

What the airline should do for you: What it should do for you is one thing; what it will do for you may be nothing. The same $2,800 liability limit applies to damaged items (subject to depreciation). However airlines routinely deny all responsibility for certain classes of personal effects in checked baggage, including business items, valuable papers, jewelry, cameras, and electronics.

Next time: Pack valuables in a smaller bag within your suitcase so that they’re easy to remove and keep with you if necessary.

What the airline should do for you: U.S. law sets the maximum lost-luggage payment at $2,800 per passenger on a depreciated basis. There’s no federally mandated compensation for luggage that is only delayed, even if the delay is significant.

Next time: Pack as lightly as possible to avoid checking bags in the first place. If that’s not possible, carry on medicines, any valuable items, and a change of clothes. If you’ve acquired a valuable or breakable souvenir that you must bring on board, ship home any less fragile items you won’t need right away. Also, put your name, home address, and phone numbers both outside and inside your bags.

What the airline should do for you: Other airlines flying the exact route for which you hold a ticket are required by federal law to give you a standby seat for no more than an additional $50 each way.

Next time: Protect yourself by flying only those carriers in sound financial shape. Also pay with a credit card: According to federal law, if you buy an airline ticket (or anything, for that matter) and don’t get what you paid for, you can contest the charge and the credit-card company must delete it from your bill. However, you must contact your card issuer in writing within 60 days of seeing the charge on your bill — so if your ticket was purchased far in advance, it may be too late to complain when the carrier goes out of business.

What the airline should do for you: Nothing. If you want to pay for ultra cheap tickets then you run the risk of paying a hefty fee and a fare increase if your plans change.

Next time: Fly a budget carrier. Southwest Airlines is the only carrier that doesn’t levy a penalty on changing a nonrefundable ticket. Instead, they apply the ticket’s full value toward a future flight taken within a year of the original departure date. Most of the other discount carriers also have low change fees, but the standard carriers charge up to $100 for domestic-flight changes and $200 for international ones. Almost all airlines will make you pay any fare increases.

Also remember to drink plenty of bottled water. You’ll want to do this to make sure you don’t get kidney stones which result from dehydration and are common among pilots and frequent fliers. Also, for the first day, don’t eat anything with heavy sauces or anything that your body is going to have to work extra-hard to digest. Fruit, raw vegetables, and salads are all good choices.

What the airline should do for you: Usually airlines will let you trade in your tickets for the cheaper ones, though generally there is a change fee. And sometimes that fee, up to $200 per ticket for international flights, will be greater than any savings.

Next time: Fly an airline that doesn’t levy a large change fee in such cases.

Ask about your options.
Many airport waits can be made more enjoyable by asking insiders for advice. Stuck with your children at Boston’s Logan Airport? You can go to terminal C, where a baggage carousel–style slide anchors a play area. Tired of the same old food-court choices? In the Austin, Texas, airport, make a beeline for Salt Lick — it serves up some of the state’s best barbecue.

Exercise caution in duty-free shops.
Not everything in duty-free is a bargain. Find out what the item costs in your local department store first. And consider the three-ounce rule when stocking up on things like alcohol and olive oil. If you are transferring to another domestic flight after clearing customs in the United States, you’ll have to put your liquid duty-free purchases in a checked bag. And if you don’t have room in your suitcase, you’ll have to leave that big bottle of olive oil behind.

Spring for an afternoon in the lounge.
For a fee — usually about $50 a day, which you can pay on the spot — you can take advantage of the drinks, snacks, uncrowded bathrooms, and comfy chairs at most airline club lounges.