Sunday, January 31, 2010

Dog Friendly Hotel

from unknown author.....

a man wrote a letter to a small hotel in Midwest town which he planned to visit on vacation. He wrote "I would like very much to bring my pet dog with me. He is well groomed and very well behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"

An immediate reply came from the hotel owner who said "I have been operating this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal the towels, bedclothes, silverware or pictures off the walls. I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly. And I have never had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed your dog is welcome at my hotel, and if your dog will vouch for you, you're welcome to stay here too!"

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Manhattan musings

It has been a long time since I was in Manhattan. I just spent 4 days there and here are my observations

1. Good job to the NYC Mayor for mandating hybrid taxis by end of 2010. NYC taxis must keep FORD in business making hybrid escapes.
2. Good job to NYC for requiring taxis to not be older than 4 years. Make's San Diego look bad, since our taxis seem to be required to be old, have shotty maintenance and scary, unsafe drivers.
3. Bobby Flay's Bar Americain on 52nd & Broadway is convenient to Times Square and delicious. If it is Monday night, I recommend the honey fried chicken.
4. United's PS service (non stop LAX or SFO to JFK) really is great. Maybe all their flights should be done so well? Just like an international flight. And the "hollywood star sightings"aint so bad either! I saw Nick Jonas on my flight (nice how people respected he was "off duty" and did not mob him) and I understand KISS was on a flight on same day I was. If it is good enough for Gene Simmons, its good enough for me!

Hotel industry update

Luxury hotels are reporting an uptick in occupancy, but not from group business, leisure travelers. Overall, hotels rates are down 24% this past year and analysts expect them to fall further as overall occupancy continues to reduce.
This is good news for the traveler as hotel rates stay lower but what is even better is that many more hotels are now offering free internet and free breakfast as part of their value add's, especially with groups. With lower revenues, hotels don't want to give up these revenue sources but they are finding that to stay competitive and retain market share, it is what travelers are saying they need. (who doesnt travel with a computer nowadays) I remember when the new bedding packages were all the rage.... and should be. Comfortable beds are important. But I really like these perks too!

airplane toilets

Get out your change! Coming sooner than you may think, at least one airline (Ryan Air based in Ireland) is in talks to retrofit their 737's with pay toilets. In addition, they are reducing the number of toilets from 3 to 1 so they can add 6 more coach seats. The airline claims these retrofits will only be used on flights less than 2 hours long.
ANA has already been actively reminding passengers in gate area to use the toilet before boarding (yes, they have a toilet agent talking to passengers waiting in boarding area). ANA's school of thought is less weight will mean better fuel efficiency for flight.
With self service kiosks, reduction of services, fees for every thing..... passengers are now just self loading freight.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

TSA tries to assuage privacy concerns about full-body scans

This is a good article and video from the Washington Post about the full body scanners being deployed.

go to www.washingtonpost.com and search for TSA full body scanners

Monday, January 4, 2010

Continental CEO to forego pay, bonuses until airline turns profit

Now that United and Continental are marketing partners and it is obvious they are deepening thier ties (and the airline differences are becoming vividly clear), I hope United's CEO takes notice to this gesture. It has always irked me that airlines are crying "no profit, raise fares, fees" and find ways to milk every penny from travelers and travel agencies but yet the airline management are as well paid as all the investment bankers that became addicted to government bailout money. (can you say economic freebasing?)

By Ann Keeton Jan 04, 2010
CHICAGO - Continental Airlines Inc.'s new chief executive, Jeffrey Smisek, said Monday he won't take a salary or an annual bonus until the Houston airline records a full-year profit.

In a letter to employees, Smisek said that "I am not asking you or anyone else to reduce their pay. What I am asking is that you join me in making Continental profitable again."

According to a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Smisek's annual salary, as of Jan. 1, 2010, is $730,000. The filing said Smisek's retirement and stock purchase plans "will be impacted by his salary and annual bonus waiver."

Along with other major U.S. airlines, Continental is expected to report a loss for 2009, as the recession sharply cut passenger traffic last year. Going into 2010, air traffic is slowly recovering, but the price of fuel, the single- biggest expense for airlines, is on the rise.

Executive compensation has been a bone of contention at some other carriers, where rank-and-file employees gave up salary and benefits earlier in the past decade to keep financially weak airlines flying.

Smisek, who has been president of Continental, took over as chairman and CEO following the resignation of Larry Kellner, who left the airline industry at the end of last year.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires

fun & laughter and smiles in EU airport

Just when the US is talking about making airports such drudgery, leave it to the Europeans to interject some much needed fun & laughter. I emplore you to watch this video and remember to SMILE. http://bit.ly/7XkQto