Travel desk with Fionn Davenport

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Next year will be all about the homestay, with more and more holidaymakers opting to rent a room in someone's home rather than stay at a hotel or a self-catering apartment. The idea is to immerse yourself in the local culture and benefit from the expertise of the host family. To this end, homestay.com is a new Irish online booking site with more than 15,000 homestay homes in more than 30 countries throughout the world. Ireland's stunning landscape, including the Gap of Dunloe (above), is proving a big draw to tourists interested in the homestay option.

MICHAEL O'LEARY'S CHRISTMAS GIFT
It seems that Michael O'Leary is genuinely concerned that his long-established policy of not caring whether his customers are peeved or not, is actually affecting the health of Ryanair. This week the airline announced that excess baggage charges are being halved from €20 to €10 – bringing the carrier in line with other low-cost airlines like easyjet, Wizz Air and BMI Regional.

Ryanair's Robin Kiely has called the cut "an early Christmas present" for its passengers.

THE WORLD'S BEST HOTEL?
It seems that Michael O'Leary is genuinely concerned that his long-established policy of not caring whether his customers are peeved or not, is actually affecting the health of Ryanair. This week the airline announced that excess baggage charges are being halved from €20 to €10 – bringing the carrier in line with other low-cost airlines like easyjet, Wizz Air and BMI Regional.

Ryanair’s Robin Kiely has called the cut “an early Christmas present” for its passengers.

TOP OF THE LIST
In annual readership surveys conducted in 2013 by US travel magazine Global Traveler (globaltravelerusa.com), Ireland has come out top of the list for "best tourism destination". It's the second year in a row that we've been so recognised, and it's a bit of a big deal: the December 10th awards ceremony in Los Angeles was attended by travel industry leaders, who will surely be taking note of where people like going to. And 2013 has been a pretty good year for US tourists to Ireland – over one million came – contributing about $1 billion to the Irish economy.

COMBINED AIRLINE
In annual readership surveys conducted in 2013 by US travel magazine Global Traveler (globaltravelerusa.com), Ireland has come out top of the list for "best tourism destination". It's the second year in a row that we've been so recognised, and it's a bit of a big deal: the December 10th awards ceremony in Los Angeles was attended by travel industry leaders, who will surely be taking note of where people like going to. And 2013 has been a pretty good year for US tourists to Ireland – over one million came – contributing about $1 billion to the Irish economy.

SWITCH ON
According to new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), warnings about switching off personal electronic devices (smartphones, tablets and e-readers), during takeoff and landing are redundant. Studies show PEDs are safe once they're kept in flight mode. The US Federal Aviation Authority has changed its policies, but despite the new EASA guidelines, it will be up to airlines to update their rules – and that means applying for a change in procedure to their respective national regulators, which in the Irish case is the Irish Aviation Authority.

DEALS OF THE WEEK
€299 : 7 nights in Tenerife at the Laguna Park II, Playa de las Americas, dep January 10 (falconholidays.ie)
€479: 7 nights in Sharm El Sheik at the Tropicana Jasmine, Red Sea Riviera, dep January 14 (thomsonholidays.ie)
€629: 7 nights in Morocco at the Iberostar Founty Beach Hotel, Agadir, dep January 11, 18 or 25 (sunway.ie)

FIVE CELEBRITY HOTELS
So many tourists come to Dublin thinking there's a chance they might glimpse Bono or The Edge making sure everything is tip-top at the Clarence, their four-star bolt-hole on the quays. They're inevitably disappointed. Here are five more hotels not visited by their celebrity owners:

Cromlix House Hotel, Dunblane
Andy Murray bought this Victorian pile and the plan is to convert it into a 15-room boutique hotel that will open in spring 2014, giving it time to sort out its teething problems ahead of the Ryder Cup, to be hosted in nearby Gleneagles. cromlix.com

Greenwich Hotel, New York
It's a while since Robert De Niro turned in a tour-de-force acting performance; part of the reason might be that he's distracted by his other interests, which include this stylish Tribeca hotel. Fab rooms that just get fabber the more you pay. thegreenwichhotel.com

Hotel Villa Angela, Taormina, Sicily
While on tour in 1995, Simple Minds' Jim Kerr was so taken with Taormina that he invested in a property. The result is the Hotel Villa Angela, with views of the sea and countryside. hotelvillaangela.com

Hotel Rival, Stockholm
In the middle of trendy Södermalm, this is a refurbished retro-chic gem of a place. The rooms have old Swedish movie posters to look at and teddies to cuddle, and the bar is a popular watering hole. Its owner? Abba's Benny Anderson. rival.se

Cypress Inn, Carmel, California
Doris Day's big passion is animal rights, so when she and business partner Dennis LeVett acquired this landmark 1929 boutique hotel in the mid-1980s they insisted pets be given virtually the same rights and access as their guest owners. cypress-inn.com