Last chance to get that 30% discount
An Elliott Confidential PRO membership gets you an exclusive Confidentially story in every issue and full access to Backchannel, our private forum, where I answer your consumer questions. You also get keys to the vault and all of my books, including How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler, plus an invitation to my ad-free write-up of every destination I visit.
I said this 30% off deal would end last week. Then a lot of you wrote in asking for more time, so I extended it.
Today it ends — and this time I mean it. (There’s a story further down about retailers that keep moving their own discount deadlines, which is a good reason for me not to move mine again.)
Please join us.

Three seats left — or thirty? The truth is out there. (Illustration by Dustin Elliott)
⏳ A clock that never runs out — One of our readers asked an airline supervisor an easy question: were there really only three business class seats left, the way the website said? The supervisor told him the site might not reflect what was available. Nobody in this country makes a travel company prove a scarcity claim before it goes up on your screen. Shouldn’t somebody?
On Backchannel, Carol Rawson sat on an Avelo plane at Tweed New Haven for seven hours before the flight died. Avelo blames the weather.
Confidentially: Two class actions in Washington say a retailer’s “sale ends tonight” email often means nothing of the kind. One names Orvis, the other Hickory Farms. So what is a deadline worth? — Christopher Elliott
FEATURED ARTICLE
Only 3 airline seats left? Prove it.
Joshua Clouette asked an airline supervisor how many business class seats were really left on his flight. The website said three. The supervisor said the site might not reflect what was available. So who checks?
OUR UNDERWRITER
Internova Travel Group is one of the world’s largest travel services companies, bringing together a portfolio of leading brands that deliver high-touch, personalized travel expertise to leisure, corporate and entertainment clients. Through its distinctive divisions, Internova manages leisure, business and franchise operations and represents more than 100,000 travel advisors across 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries worldwide.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
Only 3 airline seats left? Prove it.
Joshua Clouette’s airline website said only three business class seats were left. A supervisor told him the site might not reflect what was available. Regulators in Britain and Hungary have gone after scarcity claims, but no U.S. agency has brought a case against a travel company over one.
Are tourist taxes fair — or are you being taken for a ride?
Edinburgh, Barcelona, Japan and Kyoto all raised what visitors pay this year, and Europe’s ETIAS fee nearly tripled before the system launched. Some destinations publish where the money goes, while others charge foreign visitors $100 more for the same view.
How conservationists and visitors are saving endangered wallabies in Melbourne
The Southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby went down to 39 animals on the Australian mainland, and a predator-proof fence an hour outside Melbourne now protects about 80% of what’s left. The foundation running the sanctuary has one request for the tourists and corporate groups paying for the recovery: stop calling the animals cute.
Can GE really send the same broken part eight times?
Paul Clarke’s GE Profile ice maker needed one component, and GE Parts shipped the same impeller motor and three-blade propeller eight times with the blades snapped off, inside a sealed bag that held no broken pieces. Four months in, the Assurant warranty that would cover the appliance still can’t start, because the approved vendor has no working part to install.
Airbnb promised a refund for a noisy rental. Then it went quiet.
Tatsuyuki Morishita’s Toronto rental was advertised as peaceful, and the unit above woke him at 4 a.m. through most of a two-month stay. An Airbnb agent reviewed his recordings, confirmed AirCover covered him and committed in writing to refund 12 unused nights plus 30% of the 20 nights he stayed, then the file passed to agents who denied he was eligible at all.
Can your internet provider charge you for equipment you already own?
Zachary Scott owned the modem and router he used on his Cox Communications account for years. When his military orders sent him from Virginia to Hawaii, Cox billed him $252 for equipment it says he kept, then referred the unpaid charge to a collections agency. A $240 delinquency is now on his credit report.
Refundable booking? You may not get all your money back
William Farrer read terms promising a New Orleans hotel room was refundable for a limited period, then got an email seconds after booking saying the period had closed on his $3,228. Agencies now subtract a $30 distribution charge and their own cancellation fees from rates still advertised as refundable, and small hotels bill back the cost of sending the money home.
OUR UNDERWRITER
Travelex Insurance Services is a leading travel insurance provider in the United States with over 55 years combined industry expertise of helping people dream, explore and travel with confidence. We offer comprehensive travel insurance plans with optional upgrades allowing travelers to customize the plans to fit their needs. Compare plans, get a quote and buy online at Travelexinsurance.com.
💬 What you’re asking on Backchannel

Stuck on the tarmac.
Carol Rawson’s family of five sat on an Avelo plane at Tweed New Haven for seven hours on Aug. 7 before the airline canceled the flight to Fort Lauderdale. They paid for hotels, meals, a rental car and a new flight home out of Philadelphia two days later, and Avelo says weather and air traffic control put all of it beyond its control. Does the three-hour tarmac rule change that? Here’s our team’s advice on Backchannel.
OUR UNDERWRITER
TravelInsurance.com makes it fast and easy to compare and buy travel insurance online from top-rated providers. Our unbiased comparison engine allows travelers to read reviews, compare pricing and benefits and buy the right policy with a price guarantee, every time. Compare and buy travel insurance now at TravelInsurance.com.
CONFIDENTIALLY
Information and insights for Elliott Confidential PRO subscribers

Hurry, the offer ends today — or does it?
Orvis and Hickory Farms accused of crying wolf in your inbox
The deals are expiring, so act now!
When a retailer tells you a sale ends tonight, you’d assume it means tonight. Two class actions in federal court in Seattle say some companies don’t mean it at all.
The rest of this exclusive report is for members only.
Behind this line: what the Orvis and Hickory Farms complaints actually allege, down to the subject lines and the dates, and the change Washington lawmakers made in June that most coverage of these cases skipped. Plus five ways to tell a real deadline from a sales tool, and what to save if you live in Washington.
A Members Only story like this runs in every issue, along with Backchannel and the vault. Annual membership is 30% off through this link.
