Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hotel-occupancy tax of 9.25%, and hoteliers are allowed by the state to tack on an additional .51%
excise tax. Thus, expect taxes of about 13.93% to be added to your hotel bill.
Telephones
Many convenience groceries and packaging services sell
prepaid calling cards
in
denominations up to $50. Some public pay phones now accept American Express, MasterCard,
and Visa.
Local calls
made from most pay phones cost 50¢. Most long-distance and international
calls can be dialed directly from any phone.
To make calls within the United States and to
Canada,
dial 1 followed by the area code and the seven-digit number.
For other international
calls,
dial 011 followed by the country code, city code, and the number you are calling.
Calls to area codes
800, 888, 877,
and
866
are toll-free. However, calls to area codes
700
and
900
(chat lines, bulletin boards, “dating” services, and so on) can be expensive—charges of 95¢ to $3
or more per minute. Some numbers have minimum charges that can run $15 or more.
For
reversed-charge or collect calls,
and for person-to-person calls, dial the number 0 then the
area code and number; an operator will come on the line, and you should specify whether you are
calling collect, person-to-person, or both. If your operator-assisted call is international, ask for the
overseas operator.
For
directory assistance
(“Information”), dial 411 for local numbers and national numbers in the
U.S. and Canada. For dedicated long-distance information, dial 1, then the appropriate area code
plus 555-1212.
Generally, hotel surcharges on long-distance and local calls are astronomical, so you're better off
using your
cellphone
or a
public pay telephone.
Time
The continental United States is divided into four
time zones:
Eastern Standard Time (EST),
Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), and Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Alaska and Hawaii have their own zones. Hawaii is 2 hours behind Pacific Standard Time and 5
hours behind Eastern Standard Time. In other words, when it's noon in Hawaii, it's 2pm in Califor-
nia and 5pm in New York during Standard Time on the mainland.
Daylight saving time
takes effect at 2am the second Sunday in March until 2am the first Sunday
in November, except in Arizona, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Daylight saving
moves the clock 1 hour ahead of standard time. When daylight saving time is in effect on the main-
land, Hawaii is 3 hours behind the West Coast and 6 hours behind the East Coast; when it's noon
in Hawaii, it's 3pm in California and 6pm in New York.
Hawaii is east of the International Date Line, putting it on the same day as the U.S. mainland and
Canada, and a day behind Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
For help with time translations, and more, download our convenient Travel Tools app for your mo-
bile device. Go to
www.frommers.com/go/mobile
and click on the Travel Tools icon.
Tipping
Tips are a very important part of certain workers' income, and gratuities are the standard
way of showing appreciation for services provided. (Tipping is certainly not compulsory if the ser-
vice is poor!) In hotels, tip
bellhops
at least $1 per bag ($2-$3 per bag if you have a lot of lug-
gage) and tip the
chamber staff
$1 to $2 per day (more if you've left a disaster area for him or her
to clean up). Tip the
doorman
or
concierge
only if he or she has provided you with some specific
service (for example, calling a cab for you or obtaining difficult-to-get theater tickets). Tip the
valet-
parking attendant
$1 to $2 every time you get your car.
In restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, tip
service staff
15% to 20% of the check, tip
bartenders
10% to 15%, and tip
valet-parking attendants
$1 to $2 per vehicle.
