The holiday shopping season is in full swing, and I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that November 29th is Small Business Saturday ... a day directing the focus on small, local, and independent businesses.

So while you recover from "Black Friday" and gear up…

When I first heard the phrase "boutique hostel," I figured it was a bit of marketing gimmickry at work. I mean, hostels were bottom-of-the-barrel, right? I suspected the word "boutique" was in line to replace "charming" and "lots of character" for describing accommodation that wasn't quite up to par.

Well, this summer I got a taste of modern hosteling,…