Jeanne Leblanc of the Hartford Courant blogs today in Coach Class about the availability of hotel wi-fi and her experience with wildly varying fees at similarly-priced hotels. Jumping off of her post, I have two suggestions for travelers:

1. Check out TravelPost.com’s Hotel Chain Internet Access Guide for the standard Internet policies in place at U.S. hotel chains. That way, you’ll know in advance what you’re going to have to shell out to get online.

2. If you’re traveling with a companion, consider springing for an Apple AirportExpress. Since the device turns any wired Internet connection into a wireless one, multiple laptops can use the Internet while paying just one connection fee.

Want to see Steve Nash in person? The Phoenix Suns’ point guard will be appearing in person for a roast at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona on Oct. 12, 2007. Joining in the festivities is a roster of celebrity guests, including Wayne Gretzky. Tickets to the event won’t come cheap. We’re talking $1,500 a person just to hang in the audience and $4,000 per couple for event tickets and overnight accommodations. Of course, you could just show up to mingle outside with the legions of fans who are sure to be on hand for the event.

If you were to visit Scottsdale’s Hotel Valley Ho, you’d be pleased to find Red Flower bath amenities in Terrazzo tile bathrooms outfitted with sexy translucent walls. You’d also want to sample a Mai Tai at Trader Vic’s and nurse your hangover from the night’s festivities in one of the posh poolside cabanas.

Steve Nash Celebrity Roast Featuring a Performance by John Legend

Summer may have come to its official end last weekend, but you can still make the sun work for you during cooler months. Case in point: the Solio Hybrid Charger. This handy little eco-gadget can be charged using a conventional outlet or the sun and then used to power up handheld devices, cell phones, iPods, etc. One hour of sun supposedly gives this little guy enough power to play an iPod for an hour or talk for 25 minutes on a mobile phone. The snazzy fan design makes the most out of this device’s tiny size. Great for juicing up your favorite travel electronics on the go, wherever you happen to be.

Solio Universal Hybrid Charger

Delta, delta, delta, can I help ya, help ya, help ya? The answer to that question - should you be calling the airline (and not the sorority) in search of an easier way to reach China from the East Coast - would be a resounding yes. In what’s big news for Delta. The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that Delta has won approval to fly non-stop between Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport and Shanghai, China beginning in March 2008.

Delta Cleared for China Route

Oh it’s gonna be cold in December (if this global warming thing ever chills out), but ye New Englanders could be hopping down to Florida for only $10 come Dec. 17, 2007. How can this be, you may be asking yourself. Skybus, the low-cost carrier based out of Columbus, is launching routes from Boston-Portsmouth to Jacksonville-Daytona Beach and Punta Gorda-Ft. Myers just in time for the winter doldrums. Skybus always sells at least 10 tickets for $10 on each of its flights. You’ll have to buy early to grab these low fares.

Excuse me, I’m here with the Smith party of four for seven o’clock. That’s what you may soon be saying at an airport security checkpoint near you, if a plan the Transportation Security Administration is considering becomes a reality. According to TSA Chief Kip Hawley, “It’s like Open Table, only for checkpoints.” Sounds promising. If Dante had lived and written today, I am sure waiting in airport security would have made it into one of his lovely circles, though I’m not sure what sin they’d be punishment for….

But I digress. Interestingly, the article linked below goes on to note that travelers with reservations would likely need to arrive at the airport 20 to 30 minutes earlier than regular travelers. So what, I have to ask, is the point? The only reason I would make a reservation is to knock 20 or 30 minutes off my total travel time, not add that amount to it.

If the TSA can implement a program in which reservations for airport security make as much of a difference as appointments do at the DMV, then I’m sold. But if it’s going to mean more time at the airport instead of less, then I’ll take my chances the old-fashioned way. Even if it does, at times, feel like hell.

TSA Considers Reservations for Airport Security

To celebrate the addition of its DC route, Virgin America is offering fare deals for tickets booked by Sept. 27, 2007. You can score one-way cross country fares on the new airline for as little as $119.

Virgin America Washington DC Fare Sale

Proving that, given enough time, pretty much anything can become hip, Berlin’s Ostel hotel is grabbing attention not only for its low nightly rates, but for its collection of communist-era East German ephemera and old school Eastern bloc decor. Whether or not the interior design sounds particularly appetizing, the budget-friendly rates, which start at 9 euro/person for a bunk in a shared room, are sure to please visitors to Berlin who’d rather sink their funds into exploring the city. And while the dizzying wallpaper, framed photographs of political bigwigs and so ugly they’re cool furnishings are straight outta the Cold War, the hostel hotel is quick to point out that its beds and plumbing are completely up to date.

Stylish Budget Hotel Trend in Berlin

If there’s anything hotels could use more of these days, it’s power outlets. During my last trip, I had to rotate between charging my cell phone, laptop and using the lamp in my room. Here’s a travel-sized accessory that will remedy the problem - and maybe even make you some friends at the airport (who doesn’t love an extra power outlet in an airport waiting area?): Monster’s Outlets To Go. It’s small, creates four outlets from one and even has a cord control feature that makes it ideal for slim briefcases and laptop bags.

Lest you think Big Brother is snoozing his way through the new millennium, think again. A group of California (of course) activists alleges that the U.S. government routinely collects data about U.S. citizens traveling overseas through its Automated Targeting System, which ostensibly compiled information gleaned from individual travelers to “help border officials distinguish potential terrorists from innocent people,” according to the story linked below. The activists requested official copies of their own travel records (I am assuming through FOIA) only to find the government had noted things like books found in their luggage. Then again, the activist was carrying a book about drugs and drug rights. So yeah, next time you travel abroad, you might want to leave your marijuana leaf t-shirt, tattered copy of the Communist Manifesto and last year’s Halloween pics where you’re dressed up as Bin Laden safely at home.

U.S Watching Travelers’ Habits, Books