Travel + Remote Work Briefing — November 9, 2026

Planning ahead is the theme of today's briefing, from the immediate to the seasonal. Kraków is in mourning after a shooting in its old-town square, UK pet owners are watching a draft deal that would revive pet passports, AI agents are starting to handle real hotel bookings, and a new price index points winter budgets toward France. Each story changes what is worth confirming before you move.

What should travellers in Kraków know after the Main Market Square shooting?

Travellers in Kraków should follow local authorities' instructions and monitor local media, as the UK's travel advice for Poland says, while the city observes a mourning period through Wednesday, 11 November.

According to Travel Tomorrow, an alleged far-right extremist drove into the main market square in Kraków on Saturday, 7 November, at around 3pm and shot people from inside a car. The outlet reported at least six people dead and 16 injured, and said it was unclear whether those figures include three people found dead at the suspect's house or the suspect, who was wounded in a gunfight with police. Reports cited by the outlet say the suspect used an automatic weapon.

Travel Tomorrow reported that victims include Polish and international citizens, including one British man among the dead. It said Poland's Interior Ministry named five wounded foreign nationals from Austria, Britain, Germany, Portugal and Russia.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has posted an update on its Poland travel advice page. It says "There has been a shooting in Kraków's Main Market Square" and that "Local police have reported that the perpetrator has been detained." Its guidance reads: "If you're in the immediate area follow the advice of local authorities and monitor local media."

Travel Tomorrow reported that Mayor Łukasz Gibała declared a mourning period from Sunday, 8 November, through Wednesday, 11 November. Flags are at half-mast, official events are cancelled, and many cultural institutions are closed or cancelling events. The outlet advised visitors to check directly with organisers about planned cultural events. A condolence book is in the lobby of Kraków City Hall, and an online version is available via krakow.pl.

Why it matters for remote workers and nomads: This paragraph is our read, not reporting. If you are based in Kraków, check the FCDO page or your own government's advisory for Poland before making plans, and let family or colleagues know you are safe. If you have a booking or a coworking day in the old town this week, confirm with the venue first, since closures and cancellations are likely during the mourning period. If you are heading to Poland soon, keep your plans flexible and keep checking official advisories. It is also a good moment to confirm your travel insurance and connectivity setup, which our guide to staying connected and insured while working abroad walks through.

Are pet passports coming back for UK pets traveling to the EU?

A draft UK-EU agreement would bring back pet passports for travel from the UK to EU countries, but it is not in force, and the UK government says an animal health certificate is still required until it takes effect.

According to Travel Tomorrow, the draft sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement proposes making pet passports valid again for travel from the UK to EU countries. The outlet describes the text as a 200-page draft and points to an EU-UK summit on 20 November, though it also says approval is expected at the end of November, so the exact timing is unclear.

The change would replace the current setup. Since 2021, Travel Tomorrow reports, owners have needed an Animal Health Certificate for each trip, issued no more than 10 days before travel and costing £100 to £300. The outlet says the old pet passport cost around £100 and was valid for life.

The official UK position is more cautious on timing. A GOV.UK page for the veterinary sector says pet owners will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for EU travel, but that "owners will still need an animal health certificate for their dog, cat or ferret" when traveling from Great Britain to an EU country in the meantime. It also says: "It is our intention that the agreement will take effect in mid-2027." The page adds that detailed requirements and exact timings are still being finalized.

Travel Tomorrow also notes that Ireland, Finland, Malta and Norway require dogs to be treated for tapeworm 1 to 5 days before entering from the UK. Nothing in the sources we reviewed says that would change.

Why it matters for remote workers and nomads: This paragraph is our read, not reporting. Treat the passport return as a future convenience, not something to plan a trip around. If you move between the UK and the EU with a pet, build the certificate's timing and cost into each crossing, and check the official GOV.UK pet travel pages before you book. Pair that with a flexible itinerary, such as the one in our fall shoulder-season Europe guide, so a vet appointment slipping does not wreck your route.

Can you book Expedia hotels through an AI agent yet?

Yes, in the U.S.: Meta's Muse agent can now book Expedia hotels, but changes still go through Expedia's support, and the AI results Expedia is proudest of are happening inside its own apps.

Skift reports that the integration covers natural-language search and booking, but not cancellations or rebooking. Because Expedia is the merchant of record, changes can be made through Expedia's customer support. In Skift's test, Muse could book only pay-now rates; pay-at-property listings required the agent to use its built-in browser on Expedia's site. Payments run through Stripe Link, Meta's default option, even when a traveler links an Expedia account. Linking is optional but unlocks member pricing, which cut the cost by more than $100 versus guest mode in one Skift test listing.

On Expedia's third-quarter earnings call, PYMNTS reports, CEO Ariane Gorin said agentic AI is most useful for discovery and that travelers still prefer trusted brands where they know they'll be taken care of if something goes wrong. She said agent traffic is high intent but volume is still too small to draw conclusions. Muse gets access to Expedia's prices and content and can either complete a booking or send the traveler to Expedia, according to PYMNTS.

The in-house numbers are stronger. PYMNTS reports that travelers who used Expedia's new activity agent were twice as likely to book an activity within seven days, and that the Vrbo voice agent resolved over 15% of inbound contacts in its first two months. Skift also reports that Booking Holdings CFO Ewout Steenbergen said LLM referrals are "significantly less than 1%" of Booking.com room nights, though accelerating in recent weeks.

Why it matters for remote workers and nomads: This paragraph is our read, not reporting. Treat an AI agent as a fast shortlist tool, not a finished booking process. Before you pay, compare the agent's price against the booking site directly, check whether the rate is pay-now or pay-at-property, and read the cancellation terms yourself, since changes may need a human anyway. If you work from the road, a flexible rate matters more than a few dollars saved. Our guide to using AI to plan and budget a trip covers how to pair these tools with your own price checks.

Which European ski resorts are the cheapest this winter?

France dominates the cheapest end of Holidu's new ski price index: nine of the 10 lowest-cost resorts are French, led by Roubion les Buisses at €40.50 per person per day, according to Euronews Travel.

The ranking, produced by the holiday-rental search engine Holidu, covers 265 European resorts with at least 20 km of slopes. Euronews reports that the daily figure combines the median holiday-rental price per person per night with the price of an adult one-day lift pass, averaged across a high-season week (21-27 December 2026) and a low-season week (22-28 March 2027).

After Roubion les Buisses (30 km of slopes), the top five are Réallon at €42.95, Gresse en Vercors at €49.00, Le Mourtis at €51.50 and Sierra de Béjar in Spain at €53.00. Euronews says Roubion les Buisses charges €20 for a one-day lift pass in both seasons, with accommodation at €15-26 per person per night.

At the other end, Zermatt in Switzerland is the most expensive at €303.86 per person per day, followed by Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy at €290.50. Among the 10 priciest, Italy and Austria each have four resorts and Switzerland has two.

Holidu's methodology page for its previous edition, which covered the 2025/26 season, describes the same basic approach: median nightly accommodation from Holidu's internal database plus day lift-pass prices, with the final ranking an average of peak and off-peak costs. That earlier index ranked Roubion les Buisses fifth at €47.00 per day and Réallon third at €45.00, so the cheapest tier has shifted from one year to the next. Note that Holidu is a rental platform, and its index draws on its own listings database.

Why it matters for remote workers and nomads: This paragraph is our read, not reporting. Treat the index as a starting point for a short list, not a verdict. It prices a one-day lift pass plus a night's rental, which is a ski-holiday budget, not a work-month budget. Before you commit, check each resort's monthly rental rates, internet quality, and the cost of getting there. If you are planning a longer stay, our guide to long-term stays and coworking for remote travelers covers how to compare those trade-offs. Low-season weeks may suit you better if your schedule is flexible.

What to watch

• Kraków's mourning period, which runs through Wednesday, 11 November, and any further official travel advice for Poland.
• The EU-UK summit on 20 November and whether the draft SPS agreement, including the pet passport change, is approved.
• Whether AI agents like Muse add cancellation and rebooking support for travel bookings.