Tips & Hacks
Whether you're dreaming of a sprawling Caribbean resort or wondering if artificial intelligence should plan your next vacation, the global travel landscape is shifting faster than ever. In this episode of No Tourists Allowed, Mike and James break down the reality of mega all-inclusive resorts, the explosive rise of agentic AI in travel booking, and how current geopolitical events are reshaping global flight routes. Tune in to discover how to stretch your vacation dollar, confidently navigate international safety advisories, and uncover hidden gem destinations away from the typical tourist traps.
The guys kick things off with a firsthand review of the enormous Hard Rock Resort in Punta Cana, sharing expert tips on balancing all-inclusive convenience with authentic local culture. The conversation then pivots to a massive industry debate: will the new wave of "agentic AI" finally replace human travel advisors, or is the ultimate travel planning strategy a hybrid of futuristic tech and human empathy? They also unpack how Middle Eastern conflicts and localized weather events in Jamaica are impacting the broader travel industry. You'll have to listen to hear their top recommendations for safe, off-the-beaten-path travel escapes—and learn exactly which popular Mexican tourist city you should cross off your itinerary this season.
Don't forget to check the show notes for the link to enter our exclusive giveaway for a free three-night vacation to a luxury all-inclusive resort in Mexico! Hit subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and please leave us a review to help other wanderlust-driven travelers find the show.
Episode Resources:
Introduction and Recent Travels
Mike Putman:
Hello, I'm Mike Putman.
James Ferrara:
And I'm James Ferrara. Welcome to No Tourists Allowed.
Mike Putman:
Yes, just freshly back with a little bit of a tan and a little bit of a sunburn. James, you got some water?
James Ferrara:
I'm peeling already.
Mike Putman:
What a great time in the Dominican Republic. There was lots of sunshine and a needed break from the cold weather.
James Ferrara:
The Dominican Republic has great weather, doesn’t it? We were in Punta Cana. It was warm, hot even, but comfortable most of the time. Being on the ocean helps with the breeze.
Punta Cana is really a beautiful place. It has a lot of big resorts. It can be very touristy, so you have to pick and choose your experiences like anything else. But we were staying at the Hard Rock, an enormous resort. I think it is the biggest resort I've ever been to.
Mike Putman:
It's got to be. I'm not sure if it's bigger than the Moon Palace, which is a sister property. If you consider all the resorts at Moon Palace, I think you might be right.
I didn't know this until we got back, but that Hard Rock originally opened as a Moon Palace before it turned into a Hard Rock. They are actually in the process of building another Moon Palace in Punta Cana, which is going to open late May or early June.
Exploring the Hard Rock Resort Punta Cana
James Ferrara:
This place is beautiful. It is a small city, and it felt to me like it takes 20 minutes to walk anywhere there. Thankfully, they have a golf cart system where you can get picked up all around, like a bus route. I didn't seem to find them when I needed them.
Mike Putman:
I didn't step on a single golf cart.
James Ferrara:
There is a lot of walking. There are pools everywhere, tons of different beach areas, and lots of restaurants, so you're never too far from where you need to be.
There's a casino and a main building with the lobby and lots of stores. They really do pay off the Hard Rock theme. You walk in the room and the TVs are programmed to come on really loud. I kept scrambling for the remotes to lower the music.
The good news is they have great playlists with classic Queen, big hair bands, and famous rock and roll. Pat Benatar was playing, which was really fun. I loved the music and the live performances everywhere. There's a nightclub and a theater for bigger shows. I didn't get over there myself because I got waylaid by the casino a few times.
Overall, it is quite an operation. Mike and I ate out quite a bit and enjoyed some pretty good food too.
Geography and Logistics of the Dominican Republic
Mike Putman:
For people who haven't been to the Dominican Republic, the geography is interesting. The Dominican Republic is on an island called Hispaniola. The island is divided into two countries: Haiti on one end and the Dominican Republic on the other.
There’s not really any overlapping; people are not jumping back and forth across the border. There is constant political unrest in Haiti, but that does not affect the Dominican Republic. There is a lot of really tight security, and it’s a beautiful island.
There are many nonstop flights from the East Coast—New York, South Florida, Atlanta, and Charlotte. The flight from Charlotte to Punta Cana is about three hours once you're in the air.
It's a relatively small airport and easy to get in and out of. They have automated passport security, so that process goes through relatively quickly. Depending upon where you're staying, we were north of Bávaro, which is the Punta Cana area. It was about a 20-minute drive, and the roads were in amazing shape.
James Ferrara:
The Dominican Republic has it together. It’s been a very stable place for a long time and the infrastructure is very good.
It is such an interesting contrast because the other half of the island, Haiti, has had a sad history of corruption and natural disasters. Haiti is also very beautiful, but it has had a tough time of it. The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, seems to be stable and well-maintained. It's a great experience.
Dining and Amenities in All-Inclusive Resorts
Mike Putman:
You can get to a resort that has nine or ten restaurants, so there is something for everybody. There's a Japanese teppanyaki steakhouse and Japanese cuisine. There is a Brazilian churrascaria, a regular steakhouse, and an Italian restaurant.
James Ferrara:
Churrascaria. Or like Rodizio, as they call it in Argentina, where they come around the restaurant with the big skewers of meat.
Mike Putman:
All kinds of really nice dining is included. Your drinks are all included. There are some up-charges if you want a bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne, but if you are okay drinking the regular champagne, there's no charge.
There is 24-hour room service, and all the rooms are suites. I stayed in what they call the standard room, and it has an oversized shower and a huge bathroom. The veranda balcony was about the size of a normal hotel room with comfortable seating outside. It was incredible.
James Ferrara:
Did you have a jacuzzi on your balcony?
Mike Putman:
I think all the rooms have jacuzzi tubs either on the balcony or in the rooms. I did not use it, as I've got one at home.
James Ferrara:
Oh, come on, fess up to it. You were out there in the middle of the night.
Mike Putman:
Listen, I've got a bigger one at home that I've used maybe five times in 20 years. But it’s a great resort and I highly recommend it.
Balancing All-Inclusive Convenience with Local Culture
James Ferrara:
You know that I'm not typically an all-inclusive fan because not all-inclusives are equal. There are a lot of them where the food and the service can be mediocre because everything is included.
Traveling for business, I've had to stay in middle-of-the-road all-inclusives and I developed an attitude about them. But as I got older and visited more upscale, exclusive ones, my opinion changed. This was a very good experience.
You cannot beat the convenience of having everything there for you: entertainment, food, the casino, the beach, pools, and golf courses. It's a tremendous value and a way to stretch your vacation dollar.
My other objection has been that a lot of people don't leave the resort. Here at No Tourists Allowed, we espouse something very different. We want people to have a good sense of place and an authentic travel experience.
The good ones, like the Hard Rock, do a good job of bringing the local culture into the resort. When we went to breakfast at the buffet, there was a section labeled "Dominicana" for a typical Dominican breakfast.
It would make my cardiologist cringe, but it was fried cheese, plantains, mofongo, and what they call salami—which is big, thick sausage sliced and grilled. It was absolutely delicious.
They had vendors for locally made artwork and souvenirs, and lots of local music from the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean. You definitely get a good sense of the culture. But I recommend that when you go to these resorts, you reserve a little time to go off-property for sightseeing or meals. Even though everything's already paid for, it just gives you a better experience.
Mike Putman:
Absolutely. Lucky for me, I had a chance to go spend the day fishing with one of my friends down there. We had a nice day out on the ocean and were successful. The time away from the resort was nice, too.
The Rise of Agentic AI in the Travel Industry
James, I have to tell you, being away for roughly a week and coming back to all the news about what is happening in AI and travel with this agentic AI movement, things are moving at breakneck speed.
James Ferrara:
I agree.
Mike Putman:
We're going through a time in the industry where there's a lot of potential radical change. We'll see what sticks as a long-term strategy within the travel distribution space.
These LLMs are really displacing a lot of the search traffic that used to go to Google. It's opening up another avenue of distribution. Companies are getting smart and making connections directly with those LLMs in the form of plug-ins or skills to advance technology.
What people can do with AI is pretty remarkable. I think we'll see a lot more of that coming out in the next couple of months. People say this is going to be the end of travel distribution as we know it, but it always comes back to being additive. It’s not necessarily the end-all.
James Ferrara:
I've heard for 35 years that technology will replace travel agents. The big one was in the late 90s when online travel agencies like Travelocity and Expedia were predicted to be the end of agents.
Like Mark Twain supposedly said, the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. They didn't replace travel agents; they played a role, but they didn't replace human beings.
There have been pendulum swings in both directions over the decades. These tools are valuable, but the question is who should be using them and for what. My view is that as a traveler, you can use these tools to explore, but you should still use a human being to book your travel.
Technology cannot be curious or empathetic. It cannot communicate with you and understand your needs and preferences the way a human being can. My perfect use of this technology is for travelers to go to a human travel agent who is supported by these tools.
Let that travel agent be the editor between the technology and the customer to ensure the best possible experience. That's how we've deployed it at my company.
The latest changes are that these technologies now actually take action. We've deployed a new product called InteleJoe. It's an intelligent chatbot. Today, you ask InteleJoe how to do something; tomorrow, InteleJoe just does it for you.
We are starting to deploy agentic AI. It's AI that has agency and takes action for you, rather than just delivering information. We’ve seen some really cool examples coming out of this next generation of technology.
Mike Putman:
Absolutely. There are points which the agentic AI can do really well and certain points that it can't. We can debate that further down the road as things continue to evolve.
James Ferrara:
What an exciting time for all of us to be involved in travel with this transformational technology. The opportunities are endless.
The Enduring Importance of Human Travel Advisors
Mike Putman:
I think back to when I started as a travel agent in the days of brick and mortar. Someone would walk in the door and say they want to go somewhere warm, or they want to go on a safari.
This was pre-internet. You had to be a dynamic resource. You had to have bits of knowledge about Machu Picchu or where to suggest someone go in February.
The great thing about the agentic product InteleTravel has rolled out is that an agent who may not have much experience can use this AI. It can take in information about whether they are taking kids or how long they want to travel and then come back with a specific set of recommendations.
Once they decide on a place, it can suggest specific hotels. Even though that agent has never been to Machu Picchu, they can come off as an expert.
James Ferrara:
I'll give you an example. I was looking at this with Susan Petrillo, the Chief Information Officer at InteleTravel. We were looking at the destination discovery phase.
We used an example of a young couple with kids who want to go someplace warm within a four-hour flight and are interested in art and food. The system suggested Florida, specifically Orlando, Miami, and Key West.
When we looked at Miami, it suggested seven or eight different neighborhoods, including Coconut Grove, South Beach, and Wynwood. Mike and I know about Wynwood, but not everyone knows it is famous for murals, galleries, and cool restaurants.
I thought it was interesting that the system identified Wynwood. I asked Susan if the system was capable of granular recommendations outside of major destinations and the answer is yes. It comes up with places I've never been.
It is very empowering for travelers to do that exploration on their own. But when it comes down to choosing a hotel, timing, and weather, you really need a human being to help you.
Geopolitical Impacts on Global Travel
Mike Putman:
Agreed. Let's switch gears. 2026 has started off with some tough news for the travel business regarding geopolitical events.
On our last episode, we talked about the impact of what's going on in Mexico and Jamaica. Now we have a significant conflict in the Middle East causing disruption. There is a lot of international traffic that goes through the Middle East.
Several Middle Eastern airlines have global reach. If you were going from the U.S. to Singapore, you might fly on Qatar or Emirates. For the most part, those flights have stopped or are being shuffled around, which causes flux even for travel not using the Middle East as a destination.
James Ferrara:
We are rebooking a lot of itineraries. Flights to Thailand that were connecting through Dubai or the Middle East have to be rebooked.
Dubai itself has been such an important destination, along with Abu Dhabi, Turkey, and Jordan. Israel has been off the list for a while, although we did have a group of travel agents go on a learning trip there in January.
Egypt is outside the conflict, but there are restrictions and people are afraid to go to the region in general. Saudi Arabia has been spending billions of dollars to develop tourism and that seems to be on hold as well.
If you have a trip booked through a tour operator to these areas, most are offering waivers and allowing travelers to change their plans. We don't know how long this will go on.
My advice is that you should not take anyone's advice about whether a country is safe. You should only go to official government advisories, like the U.S. State Department or information coming from your supplier. Don't get your information from social media; get it from official sources.
Regional Travel Safety and Destinations to Watch
Mike Putman:
You have to be careful with our own State Department because they can be very aggressive. If you followed everything they said, there would have been no travel to Jamaica for the last 15 years. You have to take that with a grain of salt. But if you don't hear it here on No Tourists Allowed, that’s your boat.
James Ferrara:
People need to travel regardless; we have a mandate and wanderlust. You can't really go to the Middle East at the moment, but you can go to Jamaica. Most of Jamaica is fine. The area affected by the hurricane last year was Montego Bay.
Mike Putman:
The south side was actually hit even harder than Montego Bay.
James Ferrara:
There are not many resorts there, but Sandals does have a big resort down there. Even in Montego Bay, some resorts are open and the rest will open later this year.
Announcements said April or May, but I’ve heard it might take longer. Jamaica is coming back. As for Mexico, I would stay away from Puerto Vallarta for now, but Mexico is a huge place. You could go to Cancun and be a thousand miles from Puerto Vallarta.
There are plenty of places in Mexico to have a great time. We need to go there because the demand is so high. We tend to get stuck on the same 20 or 30 destinations, which isn't good for the planet. Open up your mind, talk to a travel advisor, and go someplace new.
Giveaways and Off-the-Beaten-Path Recommendations
Mike Putman:
One lucky winner will be able to take a guest on a free vacation compliments of No Tourists Allowed, and that vacation is going to be to Mexico.
If you haven't registered, please go to notouristsallowed.com and sign up for our giveaway for a three-night trip to an all-inclusive in Mexico.
James Ferrara:
We promise it won't be Puerto Vallarta.
Mike Putman:
It will not be Puerto Vallarta. You will have a wonderful time and experience unlimited drinks, food, and activities. Go to the website and sign up.
James Ferrara:
I'm a bookworm, so next time we are going to talk about some of the best travel books that have come out in the last year. I can't wait.
Mike Putman:
I look forward to that as well. All of our podcasts are available wherever you find your podcasts. You can subscribe or listen to favorites on Apple, Google, and Spotify. You can also find our library on the website.
James Ferrara:
Mike, throw out one destination people should go to that is off the beaten track for this spring.
Mike Putman:
I would have to ask a lot of defining questions, but if you've never been to Costa Rica, it is beautiful, safe, and natural. It's a good place for our listeners because the ethos is strong. You see authentic people and experiences rather than just souvenir shops.
James Ferrara:
There are so many lesser-known islands in the Caribbean, like Bequia, Virgin Gorda, Nevis, or St. Kitts. Some have really interesting heritage. They are not the ones you normally hear about, and they are really wonderful.
Mike Putman:
Virgin Gorda is one of my favorites.
James Ferrara:
Thank you guys for being with us. Join us next time for the best travel books of 2025. Thanks for being with us at No Tourists Allowed.
Mike Putman:
Thank you. Bye-bye.
