Business casual

With all the traveling Insider does, mostly in coach, dressing for a flight has gotten a lot like dressing for weekend grocery shopping: Comfort is key.

But according to a new survey by Fodor's, Insider and other like-minded travelers might be missing out on some special treatment.

Fodor's found that travelers believe they get better service in the air and on the road if they dress up a bit.

In fact, 77% of men and 68% of women said they get better service if they dress up while traveling for business.

Dressing up, Fodor's said, could be the key to getting the full can of soda or the "cherished upgrade."

But there were other reasons for donning something special, too:

Either way, the smart thing to do, according to the survey, is to not look as if you're going grocery shopping.

Sounds like smart business casual to Insider!

Photo madness
San Juan's Ritz-Carlton is known for the impressive collection of art work on display throughout the property. This even extends to the ashtrays, which resemble, and perhaps are, expensive Chinese urns.

As Insider practically sprawled on the lobby floor searching for the best angle to photograph these treasures, a bellman happened by. Somewhat embarrassed to be caught shooting ashtrays, we attempted an explanation.

His response left no doubt as to the hotel's emphasis on good employee manners.

"Oh, madam," he assured us, "most of our guests photograph the ashtrays."

Too many kids?
At Orlando Airport, it was announced at the TWA boarding gates that families with children will not get priority boarding, although passengers in the upper echelons of the Aviator's Club qualify for this perk.

The reason: There are just too many families with kids boarding planes at Orlando.

Venerable Virgin
With no fanfare -- yet -- Richard Branson's Virgin Group is quietly moving forward with plans to launch a major Web-based travel agency, headquartered in London.

Some poking around inside the Virgin.com Web site found an invitation to apply for jobs with the planned site.

The travel category inside the Jobs at Virgin section, clickable from the home page, tells visitors that Virgin "will be launching an on-line travel agency which will revolutionize the industry...by taking the hard work out of finding the best travel solution at the best price."

It continues: "Travelers will simply tell us what's important to them and we'll do the rest. We are currently building the team to launch this business."

Virgin spokespeople are staying mum on the details for now, but a source close to Virgin.com told Insider that the new site would bow "sometime later this year" and provide a wide range of offerings, "including its competitors' products."

Industry observers have long pondered Branson's noticeable absence in the on-line arena, particularly because the well-established Virgin brand already has considerable clout in the traditional business world.

One observer suggested that Branson has purposely delayed the launch of a major e-commerce initiative because he wanted to see "where all the chips were falling" from on-line players who jumped into the game earlier.

Virgin, with a goal of becoming "the first global brand name of the 21st century," already has businesses in aviation, rail, finance, soft drinks, music, mobile phones, vacation packages, cars, wine, publishing and clothing -- bridal wear to be exact.