The Schengen Visa has made traveling between its 25 member countries (22 European Union states and 3 non-EU members) much easier and less bureaucratic. Traveling on a Schengen Visa means that the visa holder can travel to any (or all) member countries using one single visa, thus avoiding the hassle and expense of obtaining individual visas for each country. This is particularly beneficial for persons who wish to visit several European countries on the same trip. The Schengen visa is a "visitor visa". It is issued to citizens of countries who are required to obtain a visa before entering Europe.

Schengen includes: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (excluding overseas territories), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands (excluding Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands), Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.  

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Hotel guest satisfaction has reached its highest level since 2006, according to the J.D. Power 2014 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study released Wednesday. The study, now in its 18th year, measures overall guest satisfaction across eight hotel segments: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, midscale full service, midscale, economy/budget, upper extended stay and extended stay. Seven key factors are examined in each segment: reservation, check-in/check-out, guestroom, food and beverage, hotel services, hotel facilities, and cost and fees.

Another overall key finding was that hotel brands perceived as being exciting and trendsetters received the highest number of positive recommendations, while those perceived as environmentally careless received the highest number of negative comments. The following hotel brands ranked highest in guest satisfaction in their respective segments:

• Luxury: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
• Upper upscale: Kimpton Hotels (for a second consecutive year)
• Upscale: Hilton Garden Inn
• Midscale Full Service: Holiday Inn (for a fourth consecutive year)
• Midscale: Drury Hotels (for a ninth consecutive year)
• Upper extended stay: Homewood Suites by Hilton

The Hong Kong-based company's 10th luxury hotel opened on a site that was built as the Hotel Majestic in 1908 and had since been taken over by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The hotel has 200 rooms and six restaurants and bars. The hotel was redeveloped by Qatar-based Katara Hospitality. Renovations cost $580 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Book through Protravel to receive exclusive amenities.

Book the NEW Four Seasons Dubai on Jumeirah Beach through your Protravel agent to receive these VIP amenities: Full American breakfast; Spa credit of $100.00 once during stay; Room upgrade of 1 category based on availability at check-in and Complimentary high-speed internet access.

With our corporate headquarters located on Madison Avenue in NYC, here are some of the apps our native New Yorkers use every day:

HopStop: Manhattan can be a daunting and intimidating city to traverse if you have no idea which direction is North or West. The free app will get you from point A to point B whether you're taking the bus, subway, walking or biking regardless of which borough or neighborhood you're trying to escape from.  

Exit Strategy: So, you've gone underground to take the train but you're not sure which car to board or which exit you need to take to get to where you're going, right? Depending on which train and which direction you're heading, this $3.99 app shows you which car you need to board if you're looking to make a fast exit out of the subway or transferring to a different train. Best of all, it works even when you're offline and includes bus maps for all five boroughs.

MenuPages: is what everyone relied on for restaurant reviews before Yelp hit the scene years ago. The app itself is pretty crap and buggy but it does have menus on hand for every restaurant I've ever looked up and it's free. It's integrated with Open Table, so you can make reservations straight from the Menu Pages app. The app works in NYC, SanFran, LA, Philly, Boston, Chicago, DC and South Florida.

NYArtBeat: The way to find out what's happening in the NY art scene 

NYC Subway 24-Hour KickMap Navigating the NY subway system has never been easier with this beautifully designed app. Great

Time Out New York: Need something fun to do right now? This app the shows you the coolest events closest to your location.

Central Park NYC Lite for iPod/iPhone Find a bathroom, read about the history, and never get lost in this 843 acre paradise.

While you might put travel agent right up there with VCR repair man, it urns out that -- even in a world where people coordinate their own vacation plans -- travel agents account for about one-third of the travel industry's revenue. Let their pull work for you.  

1. They know whether you're actually getting a good deal:
   Since 90 percent of the airline tickets you buy are for a domestic flight to see your parents, your knowledge of the relative value of a flight to London is, how shall we say, limited. A travel agent, however, books, 74 of those a day and will know immediately if the $600 whatever website told you is a "smoldering price" is actually reasonable.
2. Travel agents know where to go in a city, or know someone who does:
   It helps to have a reputable resource available who knows the best restaurants, dive bars, or cultural arenas without having to sift through a thousand ridiculous reviews about how the waitress didn't bring the table enough bread. Since they book trips all the time, and have traveled everywhere themselves, TA's know this stuff like the back of their hands. And if they don't, they're one call away from getting you an answer.
3. They've got your back when it comes to flight delays/cancellations:
   Try calling a website when your flight gets cancelled and the line to rebook stretches through the terminal. Even if you get through to the airline directly, they still don't have a clue who you are. Call your travel agent, though, and they'll get you squared away on another flight while you get squared away at the airport bar.
4. They can actually get seats together, on the same flight, for the same price:
   Rather than spend a week on a group text trying to coordinate your Winter vacay, only to book your flights separately online and find you're all sitting next to different people who clip their toenails (and paid different fares), a travel agent can get your entire group the same ticket price, with seats together, on the same flight.
5. They can get you VIP status: Hotel "sold out"? Restaurant supposedly booked for months? Yeah, that's no issue for a travel agent. Thanks to the relationships they maintain across the tourism industry, they can also score you tix to special tours, private tastings, and other events the Internet doesn't even know about. Or, if it does, has hidden so deep it'll take you hours to find out about them.
6. TAs do all the research for you: Websites don't seem to understand that when you say "search nearby airports," it doesn't mean "I'm totally fine with being the guy who asks my roommate for a ride to an airport 75 miles away so I can save $45".
7. They get better prices, first: That amazing flight your email update indicated was a "fresh new deal" was actually available to your travel agent last week, because they have better relationships with airlines and wholesalers. Which also means their prices are...ready for this...usually better than online. Especially for complicated or premium fares.
8. They do more than book flights: That African safari looks like a great time, but you do realize it requires a lot more legwork than just pressing "Buy Now" on the roundtrip ticket to Kinshasa, right? In addition to visas, you'll likely require a series of semi-crippling inoculations before you go, too. Unsure where to go for either visas or shots? Well, lo and behold, guess who can set both of those up for you? From airport meet-and-greets, transfers, tours, rental cars, cruises and spa reservations, let a pro do it for you.
9. They have insider fare access: Fun as it is planning your flight, calculating baggage, seat selection, and water fees, then repeating the whole process on the airline's website to see if it's cheaper, a travel agent can do the comparison shopping for you. And he or she can do it with any other airline that doesn't play the online search engine game.
10. No-hassle 24-hour change: Need to change your ticket? Instead of spending hours on hold listening to "all agents are currently busy", you can let your travel agent happily fix the ticket. Your call.