Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in tested hotel rooms

In the most comprehensive testing of hotel cleanliness in Canadian history, CBC Marketplace uncovered some disturbing findings. In a test of 54 hotels across six major hotel chains, every hotel contained some form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Specifically, the findings of C. difficile and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were extremely alarming. C. difficile and MRSA are not rare bugs, with an estimated 5% of the population carrying MRSA without showing symptoms. However, these super bugs can pose a great threat to those with weakened immune systems.

Marketplace’s test found the worst bacterial hot spots in hotel rooms to be: bed comforters, bathroom faucets, and TV remotes. It also recorded hidden camera footage of maids using cleaning techniques that would actually help spread bacteria.

If you think about lack of sanitation and the sheer volume of people coming and going in hotels, these bacterial contaminations aren’t all that surprising. When you start finding these antibiotic-resistant bacteria, then you start realizing that this is a real issue that needs to be addressed.

As scary as these findings might be for consumers, this study brings light to the matter of hotel cleanliness. It is clear that cleaning practices in hotels need to be drastically ratified. This study has already driven some of the studied hotel chains to re-train and update cleaning procedures and protocols. Let’s hope that studies like this one continue to address the issue and force hotels to examine their cleaning standards and ratify them if need be.

Book your trip to Albuquerque, N.M. before 12/31 and receive a $25 per night credit

Albuquerque, New Mexico is the largest city in beautiful New Mexico. It has great history, culture, and cuisine, among other things. It has also been proclaimed the Ballooning Capital of the World and offers breath taking hot air balloon rides above the beautiful city.

In an effort to showcase its fine city, the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced this offer: simply book your group by December 31, 2013 and receive up to $25 per room night to be credited back to your group’s bottom line. Contact the POTHOS travel team for additional details.

To get a taste of New Mexico’s fine cuisine, give this delicious Pork & Red Chile Tamales recipe a try:

 Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork butt, trimmed of excess fat
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Water
• 4 cups red chile sauce
• About 2 pounds of masa
• At least 36 softened corn husks, plus 36 strips for tying

Directions:
Arrange the pork butt in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stockpot. Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt. Add enough cold water to cover by several inches. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 2 hours.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board and allow it to rest 20 minutes. Using two forks, shred the meat. In a bowl, combine 2 cups of the shredded pork with enough New Mexico red chile sauce to thoroughly moisten the meat. To assemble the tamales, spread about 1/2 cup masa onto the center of each corn husk. Spoon some of the shredded pork filling down the center of the dough. Fold and tie the tamale; repeat with the remaining ingredients and husks.

Steam the tamales for 1 hour and serve slathered with the remaining New Mexico red chile sauce.

Makes about 24 tamales.

 

Delta, American, and United Airlines adding more lie-flat seats

Three domestic airlines have decided to add to their availability of lie-flat seats on transcontinental flights. Delta, American, and United airlines have all announced plans to add additional full flat-bed seats to its Business Class.

Delta has announced that beginning in March 2013, it will be offering 26 full flat-beds in its Business Class on its Boeing 767 aircraft and 16 full flat-beds on its Boeing 757 aircraft operating between New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

American Airlines has also announced plans to upgrade seating. Starting in November 2013 they expect to receive orders of new Airbus A321 aircrafts that will feature a first class cabin with 10 to 20 fully lie-flat seats. The A 321’s are set to replace American’s Boeing 767-200s currently flying between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

United Airlines is also in the midst of modifying its premium class seating for flights between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco. United plans on replacing 12 United First P.S. seats with 28 new 180-degree lie-flat seats. These newly upgraded seats will be enjoyed by customers starting in January and United expects a complete rollout of the seats by October 2013.

A huge collective sigh of relief can be heard across the country by frequent cross-country fliers. The domestic skies are about to get much more comfortable for those who can afford it.

US Airway flight attendants hold protests

US Airway flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight-Attendants-CWA (AFA), held protests at four airports yesterday (November 14^th). The flight attendants are protesting after management failed to negotiate a single contract for the more than 6,700 flight attendants. America West and US Airways merged in 2005 but the merger is still incomplete and flight attendants are working under separate contracts in separate operations.

The major gripe for these workers is that while US Airways profits continue to soar, pre-merger America West flight attendants have not seen a contract improvement since 1999. These workers are continuing to work on outdated contracts they reached during the airline’s bankruptcy.

US Airways flight attendants protest at Charlotte Douglas

This unified protest shows that the flight attendants are willing to take action to see change. In the event of a strike, US Airways flight attendants would utilize CHAOS tactics- which stands for Create Havoc Around Our System. This would include intermittent strikes called without warning to the traveling public or management.

This becomes a big issue as Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways, eyes a merger with American Airlines. He must first work with his current US Airways employees and settle the unfinished business from the first merger before concentrating on a second merger with American Airlines. A strike does not seem to be imminent, but with its flight attendants compensation roughly equivalent to what it was in 1996, US Airways should focus on keeping its hard working employees content.

Seeking surgery abroad?

With many Americans struggling to find affordable health care, recent years have seen a boost in the medical tourism industry. Regions such as Argentina, Dubai, Singapore, and especially Thailand, are all prospering from this profitable source of new business.

Although medical tourism is not a new concept, its growing popularity is fairly new. According to the Medical Tourism Association and Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, as many as 1.6 million Americans will travel this year for medical needs- spending billions of dollars in the process. Compare that to 2007, where only an estimated 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care. This trend is gaining a lot of momentum and the number of Americans traveling abroad for medical care should continue to rise.

One of the most important and popular destinations for medical tourism is Thailand. First class hospitals, high class medical technology, topnotch physicians, significantly lower treatment costs, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world have driven Thailand to the forefront of international medical tourism. You can find a wide range of treatments, including: dental work, cosmetic surgery, Lasik, and bypass operations to name a few, all at a fraction of the cost as the same procedure here in the U.S. Over 1 million international medical tourists are expected to travel to the Land of Smiles next year for their medical needs.

Here at POTHOS, we have made it our business to provide medical tourists with a stress-free and cost saving medical trip to Thailand.

To learn more about medical tourism in Thailand, please visit us at our websites:

                http://www.medicaltourismthailand.biz/home/?page_id=6

                http://pothos.us/

Holiday travel for 2012 is booming

Procrastinator’s beware: holiday travel is booking up early this year. The number of airline tickets sold for Christmas and New Year’s is up more than 50% from a year ago. Airfare and hotel prices are rising sharply for the holidays. Although demand is increasing, airlines plan on avoiding adding capacity. To compound things further, it is estimated that 73% of those intending to travel over the holidays have yet to book their travel plans. All of this equates to bad news for travelers who leave their booking to the last minute.

The average airplane ticket price sold so far for Christmas travel is $797. That is an increase of about 4% from last year, and we are still 7 weeks away from Christmas. These prices will continue rising. Hotels are also seeing a boom in holiday booking. Some hotels in New York are already sold out for Thanksgiving weekend and inching closer to being sold out for Christmas week. For example, the Hampton Inn New York has a limited amount of rooms left and these are going for a rate of $418 per night during Christmas week.

The Holiday season is a perfect time for us to unwind a bit and enjoy time with the ones we love. Do not be priced out of a trip because of procrastination. If you wait too long, airfare may be all booked up or the few seats remaining will be at a hefty premium. Avoiding this hassle by booking early this holiday season is highly advised.

To get a jump start on your holiday booking, contact your POTHOS travel team by phone: (619) 546-0621 or email: travel@pothos.us.

The Airbus A350 set to enter service in 2014

With the success of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, Airbus has responded by developing the Airbus A350. The A350 will have three different variants: the A350-800, A350-900, and the A350-1000. It will carry 250 to 350 passengers, depending on the variant.

The A350 incorporates major changes from its predecessor, the A330. Passengers will have more headroom, larger overhead storage space and wider panoramic windows than current Airbus models. Another one of the major improvements will be fuel efficiency. The A350 is said to lower operating costs by 8% compared to operating the Boeing 787.

The launch customer for the A350 will be Qatar Airways. Qatar Air has ordered 80 aircrafts, while 561 orders have been placed all together for the new aircraft. Domestic airlines United Airlines, US Airways, and Hawaiian Airlines have all placed orders for the A350. The A350 is scheduled to enter airline service sometime in mid to late 2014.

Virgin America: a hit that is losing money

One of America’s favorite Airlines is struggling financially. Virgin Airlines regularly shows up at or near the top of most surveys and awards for best airline in the U.S. Unfortunately for Virgin America, it is far from the best at making money.

Take a quick glance at its website and you will find a long list of travel awards it has won since starting its operations in 2007. In a time where airlines are pushing for more fees and fewer perks, Virgin America stands out for its high marks in style, comfort, and service. Virgin America has stylish aircraft interior designs, great in-flight technology, and a young and energetic staff that provides world class service.

With all of the pros mentioned above, it is hard to imagine that a company that is so well liked would not be one of the most profitable airlines. Sadly, this is not the case. In the first quarter of this year alone, Virgin America posted a $49 million loss. In its five years of operation, Virgin America has recorded a net loss of $671.3 million.

There are a number of reasons for these losses. First of all, Virgin America is still in its infancy and does not have a large network of routes. This makes it difficult to attract business travelers to fly Virgin America. While it is not able to attract many business travelers, it also struggles to attract the leisure traveler. Low price tends to be one of the most important factors to leisure travelers. Since Virgin America offers a premium product (leather seats, live TV, in-flight Wi-Fi, etc.), its flights aren’t as cheap as low cost carriers such as Southwest and Alaska Airlines.

Virgin America continues to be a loved Airline by many. If it can bring its financials in line with its exemplary style, innovation, and service, it can become a very successful Airline. Virgin America just received $150 million in funding from investors and it expects 2012 to be the company’s first profitable year. Virgin America will be an interesting airline to keep an eye on to see if it can become a profitable company.