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Tiny cabins, locals-only hotel deals + 7 more Texas travel tips in June

Getaway Piney Woods boasts 40 tiny cabins spread across 99 acres of remote, beautiful Texas land.

Photo courtesy of Getaway Piney Woods

Ah, summer. The days are long, the nights short, and the heat unforgiving. Sometimes, it's just not enough to hang around at home on the weekends when you could be spending time exploring a different city or small town. Need help deciding where to take a quick vacation, road trip, or staycation? Here are nine events and happenings to help plan a fun-filled getaway in June.

Around Texas

All Hotel ZaZa locations in Texas are giving a $100 credit for hotel spa services, room service, poolside snacks or drinks, and more during stays from now until Monday, September 2, with the promo code "ROADTRIP." The hotel chain is also partnering with Austin-based hot sauce brand Yellowbird to spice up their food and beverage menu with the addition of summer corn fritters and two new cocktails: Little Birdie and Spicy Sundown.

In the Hill Country

ICYMI: The highly anticipated Camp Landa RV Resort recently opened in downtown New Braunfels just in time for the city's popular summer vacation season. The resort brings classic 1960s "Great American Getaway" vibes throughout its RV sites and Cozy Cabins, offering fun outdoor amenities like a heated pool with a swim-up bar, a dog park, pickleball courts, and more. Rates for back-in RV sites begin at $62.86 in June, and Cozy Cabins are available starting at $174 per night.

Texas wine-lovers who want to spend more time in Johnson City will appreciate Carter Creek Winery Resort and Spa's new "A Taste of Hill Country" curated experience. The package provides overnight accommodations in one of the resort's deluxe villas, lavish resort spa amenities, and three premium wine tastings at Carter Creek Winery, William Chris Vineyards, and Lost Draw Cellars. Starting rates for the "A Taste of Hill Country" package begin at $139 per night. Reservations can be booked via Carter Creek's website or by calling 1-855-386-0052.

In Austin

European-inspired resort Commodore Perry Estate is launching a locals-only offer this summer, but for all Texans: A 30 percent discount on the best available rate, and a $100 dining credit for Lutie's, the estate's on-site farm-to-table restaurant. But for those coming in from out of town, "The Austin Escape" package alternatively offers a $150 resort credit and an on-property Mercedez Benz for the duration of the stay. Last, but not least, "The Suite Escape" will provide a 15 percent discount on any suite booking, a $150 resort credit, daily breakfast, and an exclusive San Saba amenity. Nightly rates begin at $449 for a room, and $961 for a suite, and can be booked online via aubergeresorts.com.

In Houston

Rusk House Serviced Apartments, a brand new accommodation for long-term stays in Houston, opened in mid-May in the heart of downtown. Guests can book weeklong stays in luxurious and furnished one or two-bedroom apartments that come with fully equipped kitchens, bathroom amenities, wifi, and more. Each apartment combines the best of both worlds by offering the comfort and convenience of home with hotel-style amenities like housekeeping, coffee, same day dry cleaning, and on-site dining options. Opening rates begin at $199 per night, with special rates based on the length of a guest's stay.

In Round Top

Going on vacation doesn't have to mean getting on a plane or going on a long drive. In fact, Dallasites can escape the city bustle with a relatively short (3.5 hour) drive to Round Top for a small town getaway. For visitors who can't get enough of Round Top's charming atmosphere, several boutique hotels are offering up to 25 percent off weeknight stays from Sunday through Thursday with the promo code "SUMMER25." Hotels participating in the summer special include Red Antler Luxury Bungalows, Hotel Lulu, Wander Inn, Round Top Inn, Round Top Motel, Kobza Haus. The Frenchie will offer the special for August-only stays. Travelers can book their stays by calling their hotel of choice, or visiting their websites.

Across North Texas

Texican Court in Irving is offering an exclusive Six Flags Over Texas In Arlington package for thrill-seeking dynamic duos looking to get away for the weekend during the summer. In addition to overnight accommodations for two at the hotel, the special will offer guests two tickets to Six Flags (a short 20-30 minute drive away), complimentary breakfast at Two Mules Cantina, and free hotel parking. Nightly rates for the Six Flags package begin at $252.

Travelers looking to enjoy the beauty of Texas nature can head to Larue and disconnect at Getaway Piney Woods, a collection of 40 tiny cabins sprawled across 99 acres of land located 1.5 hours outside Dallas. Each cabin comes with all the relaxing amenities you need to unplug from city life – including a cellphone lockbox – so you can plug into a rejuvenating stay without distraction. Bring a book, a guitar, or a portable speaker and reconnect with what makes you happy. Rates at Getaway Piney Woods begin at $139 per night in June. Read more about the experience in this story.

Back by popular demand: Backyard Unplugged nights at the Hotel Drover in Fort Worth are returning every Friday and Saturday night from 7-10 pm, all summer long. Hotel guests and visitors are invited to this free public event, which features special themed events every month, live music, and exclusive cocktails. June's lineup of musicians include Cory Michael (June 7), Scotty Issacs (June 8), Michael Lisenby (June 14), Sarah Schafer (June 15), and more.

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Airline News

American Airlines to take things up a notch at DFW Airport

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

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Fort Worth-based American Airlines is making changes at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), its largest hub and hometown airport, including departure times spread throughout the day.

DFW has an outsized impact on the rest of the airline’s operation and on the journeys of the nearly 700,000 customers the airline serves every day across its global network. More customers and more bags travel and connect through DFW every day than any other airport in American's network. What's good for DFW is good for everyone.

More banks
For more than a decade, American’s schedule at DFW has been concentrated across nine banks, or large clusters of flights across the operating day. As all airline bank structures do, this times large groups of flights together, coordinating arrivals and departures, and ultimately, coordinating quick and seamless connections.

Beginning in April — and visible in the airline’s schedules starting December 27 — American’s DFW operation is evolving to a 13-bank structure, providing more certainty to the airline’s average 100,000 peak daily customers traveling on the more than 930 average peak DFW daily departing flights.

With this structural schedule change, customers will find more departure options in highly desired time windows and fewer early morning departures to DFW.

American is also making an investment in block time for flights to and from DFW. (Block time is the total scheduled time between pushback from the departure gate to arrival at the destination gate.) The goal is more on-time departures, which lead to more on-time arrivals and fewer delays.

Connections
They're also working on improving connection times, making it easier to connect through DFW. The new structure should reduce the concentration of very short connection times.

Customers on the go such as business travelers can still book tight connections when time matters — but the schedule enhancements will now provide more options for a stress-free experience with more time between flights. Reflowing their schedule means fewer air traffic delays and more on-time departures and arrivals.

By spreading out its DFW flight schedule across the day, the airline is also spreading out customer volume, including everything from local customers arriving in parking garages, checking in at lobbies, and clearing security, to connecting customers making their way through American’s terminals to their next flights.

Terminals
Other improvements include modernizing American’s facilities and airport terminals, including Terminal A and C Pier extensions adding nine incremental gates.

They're also adding Terminal F to be completed in 2030, with 31 new gates that can accommodate increased widebody capacity, state-of-the-art baggage technology, dedicated premium lounges, Flagship check-in, and a new U.S. Customs facility.

New programs in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection include TSA PreCheck Touchless ID — allowing customers at DFW (and 16 other locations across American’s U.S. network) to use facial recognition technology for more secure and efficient identity verification.

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