Just stumbled across this thread.... and wanted to take 5 minutes to express hakaras hatov to Dan and JJ.
I just happened to run into JJ at LGA yesterday, and he was chatting with someone else, and I went over to introduce myself after 10 years or so of lurking on DDF/DDMS. The other person asked me how much I've thought I've saved using DD over the years.... my initial reaction was to say that it was definitely in the "thousands" of dollars.
Of course, I thought about it after I walked away - as much as I am an admitted points/miles beginner, whatever I know I've learned from this site - using CC signup bonuses to take my family to Israel, as an example; or my all-time favorite - going to Israel for $330. (Pre-Covid, I had even booked my son's trip to EY for his yeshiva year on air serbia for $240 or so).
But more importantly, I've also gained a lot from DDF. Trip inspirations and ideas, restaurant recs. For example, not only do I not think I'd have ever gone to Panama before reading about it on DDF, but my trip would never have been anywhere near as good, had I not read other people's TRs, and posts. (... which is why I wrote a really long TR about Panama myself).
But more importantly, DDF helps frum travelers be frum. There probably aren't too many other sites where a traveler to a different city can get kosher food and minyan information so easily. Case in point....
In June 2018 I was driving from NY to my nephew's bar mitzvah in Detroit, on a day that happened to be my Dad's Yarhzeit. Because of one of my son's graduations, I couldn't leave NY before 8-9 pm, and was wondering how to balance both the driving and managing to get a minyan to say kaddish. I posted on DDF, and within 2-3 hours I had several suggestions about how to pull it off, where to stay, where to daven, and where to eat. All told, I managed Ma'ariv in Teaneck, Shacharis in Cleveland, and Mincha in Detroit - not sure how I would have pulled it off without the help of the people on DDF.
So thank you Dan and JJ for all that you do!