When people ask me for advice on reaching the "green segment," I always say the same thing: green consumers still want a good deal. When eco-friendly products first hit the market, there was a misguided belief that customers were willing to pay a "green premium" for a more sustainable product.

At Travelocity we believe that you should be able to go green and save some green while you're at it.

Right now, we're running a green hotel sale that highlights eco-friendly hotels with great customer reviews. You can save up to 30% on these green hotels that dazzle their visitors with luxe amenities, personalized service, and gorgeous rooms.

The JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort and Spa is offering a $600 per night resort credit when you book a $600 per night room rate starting August 1, 2010. The resort credit can be used to enjoy all the resort has to offer including drinks, dining, golf, the spa and gift shop.

The resort is nestled in the Tucson Mountains and surrounded by Saguaro cactus, hiking trails, horseback riding trails. There's a complimentary Tequila toast in the bar every night. The 4.5-star resort gets great customer reviews.

Click here for more deals on Tucson hotels.

My dream trip changes according to my mood. Sometimes I dream of seeing the Northern Lights—from a hot tub near the Arctic Circle. Other times, I imagine myself staying in one of those glass-bottomed bungalows in Tahiti, a giant sunset touching upon the waves in front of me and a school of fish swimming beneath my feet. But I’ve got to admit, once I saw the five amazing dream trips that Travelocity is giving away right now, I’m considering changing my mind to riding a wine train through Chile, exploring New Zealand’s fjords, shopping atop the Alps in Switzerland, taking photographs along the beaches of Cape Town in South Africa, and experiencing what a space shuttle launch might be like at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

There’s a lot of buzz here in New York this week about a newly passed bill that makes renting an apartment for less than 30 days illegal. Other than possibly being a small triumph for hotels, it seems like a lose-lose law; certainly travelers looking for an affordable place to stay, and New Yorkers looking to rent out their places while they travel, are out of luck.

I’ve never rented out my apartment, preferring to remain in the good graces of co-ops and roommates, but I’ve stayed in rentals in other cities, and as a budget traveler, I wonder: what would I have done if the only option was a hotel? At times, most likely I would have skipped to the next destination. And that isn’t even in places where hotel rates come anywhere close to those in Manhattan.

If you've been dreaming of a little fun in the sun, but you're nervous about the oil spill's path, we've got the perfect solution. Today, Travelocity announced its Gulf Beach Guarantee. If you travel by September 10, 2010 and stay at one of the more than 180 participating hotels, you can receive a refund for any/all unused nights if the government closes a beach within 20 miles of your resort.

Check it out! www.travelocity.com/gulfguarantee

As you can see from this interactive map, the oil spill has only impacted very specific areas at this time. (You can use your cursor to "grab" the map and move it around. Plus, you can zoom in and out.)

People are always asking me if there's anything to do in Orlando outside the theme parks. Is there ever! Watch and learn about all the great things Orlando has to offer visitors -- in addition to the legendary theme parks.

Holy guacamole! The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, just announced the hotel industry’s newest unusual perk: guests can now sign up to serve as Guest Guacamologist during the hotel's evening guacamologist ritual. Guests interested in playing sous-chef to the professional guacamologist need only call the hotel's public relations department for a complimentary slot slicing avocados.

This unusual opportunity brought to mind a few other favorite weird hotel perks:

When most people hear Waldorf Astoria, they think of the famed hotel on New York City's Park Avenue. And when most people think of Orlando hotels, rarely does old-school luxury come to mind. Enter the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, owned by Hilton Worldwide and only the second hotel in the world to open under the Waldorf Astoria name.

When people hear that I'm the manager of Travelocity's Green Hotel Directory, they often ask, What makes a green hotel green? Well, I'm glad you asked. There's a fair amount of skepticism about green certification programs and confusion about what it means to be eco-friendly. For instance, it takes a lot more than not washing the linens every day for a hotel to make it into our Directory.

That's why I thought it'd be interesting to profile one of our green hotel partners for a case study. The Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California is making incredible strides on their path to going green and these measures add up to a big impact.