Travel Industry

According to a new survey from AirPlus International, a global provider of corporate travel payment solutions, more than 60 percent of the travel management professionals it surveyed are not aware of the U.S. Travel Promotion Act. There’s no good news to follow that: 29 percent of those who have heard of it are unsure of the details, 53 percent were unsure how the money collected would be used and another 73 percent believe other countries will be glad to reciprocate on fees for U.S. travelers.

Ouch.

The breakdown

For the record, the TPA will create a non-profit corporation and a new Office of Travel Promotion within the Department of Commerce. The funding comes from charging $10 per visa waiver and the private sector will match the money dollar for dollar (20 percent cash, 80 percent goods and services).

“This Act will certainly have an impact on the travel industry overall, not just business travel … Clearly, the results indicate that there is not enough awareness of the Act,” says Richard Crum, AirPlus’ president.

But don’t mistake ignorance for rejection. Acceptance among those who do know the score is running high:

• “I think it’s very much what everyone envisioned,” Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association told his trade press. “It’s a no-brainer. It’s a win-win situation; doesn’t cost the government anything. It attracts more people and creates more jobs.”

Graph of responses

• Oxford Economics estimates anywhere from $1.8 billion to $4 billion of new revenue will be brought to the U.S. These estimates are based on the revenue that was generated in comparable campaigns in other countries. Studies in the U.S. show that previous one-off travel campaigns have pulled in $117 for every $1 invested.

Perhaps the folks answering AirPlus’ survey have tapped into Europe’s reaction to the looming law. According to VIPs in the European Union, “The key is these procedures are irksome, and making them more irksome is generally risky. Travelers don’t care if it’s $10 or $20, the whole business is just an additional procedure.”

The bill is now in the Senate for approval.

Photography: AirPlus Community

Hosting the Olympics isn’t exactly all that its made out to be, in terms of visitors and tourism. Turns out that Vancouver and Whistler are suffering from something known as the ‘Olympic Avoidance Effect.’

The Westin Resort & Spa in Whistler

Hotel occupancy rates have tanked in Whistler and Vancouver in advance of the games, with year on year rates down by as much as 9.5%. The Westin Resort & Spa in Whistler is struggling to overcome a measly 10% occupancy rate, as of last week.

The drop in visitors is mostly attributed to American travelers hesitant to cross the border for fear of getting caught up in the bedlam and construction of the preparations for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

With a woeful occupancy rate months ahead of the games, and the virtual certainity of an even bigger drop after the games, the only way the hotels in Vancouver and Whistler could have made up for the loss would have been high prices and occupancy during the Olympics. The occupancy they have, the prices not so much.

VANOC – the Olympic organizing committee, has a pact in place with most hotels under which they have all agreed to limit rates for Olympic visitors. To make matters worse, some of the hotels in Vancouver, who didn’t sign on to the pact, have gone rogue and are now fleecing travelers for as much as possible.

One of these hotels is The Robsonstrasse in downtown Vancouver. This hotel, which usually calls itself a discount hotel, is charging as much as $1200 for a suite which normally goes for $280, according to an article in the Globe & Mail. Media reports about how hard it is to get hotel rooms and the steep prices mentioned ($450 to $700) have turned off non-Olympic visitors well in advance of the games.

To clarify – these rates are only for the duration of the games (Feb 12-28, 2010), and mostly because all the cheap rooms have already been booked for these dates. But the stories add to the perception of chaos and price gouging, which non-Olympic travelers don’t want to get mixed up in.

End game – Other the high occupancy for the duration, the Olympic Games have created more problems than revenue for area hotels.

Westin Photo courtesy Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Related posts:-
Olympic Spat – Quality Inn Vancouver Franchise Fight
The Olympic Effect – Chicago Lost, but Chicago Tourism Strikes Gold

Jane Seymour

How many godmothers does one ship need?

Before you answer, please recall that Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship. And thus just one person to break the bottle of champagne on its bow was never going to do.

So no less than seven celebrities were chosen to take part in the formal naming ceremony on November 30 (one for each neighborhood onboard) No official word on why RCCL chose these women, but assumptions are easy:

Gloria Estefan: She lives in the Miami area, where the ship will launch most of its cruises. Always a good idea to invite the home crowd.

Jane Seymour: Everyone wants their ship to convey the elegance and sophistication of a former Bond girl, and the resorcefulness of a Dr. Quinn.

Keisha Knight Pulliam

Michele Kwan: Known for her grace under pressure, Michele knows how to devote herself to the nitty-gritty details it takes to reach the big stage.

Keisha Knight Pulliam: Let’s face it. Everyone loved Rudy on The Cosby Show, and officials want that same loveableness to rub off on their new ship. And, so far, she hasn’t robbed a liquor store.

Daisy Fuentes: I’m stumped. Maybe they want to remind folks to drink a few glasses of milk during their cruise?

Dara Torres: Duh, she can stay afloat in water. It’s surprising all ships don’t recruit swimmers for their godmothers (or godfathers). Station her on the bow, boys.

Daisy Fuentes

The main idea, as anyone can piece together from this list, is to select folks who will draw a crowd to the ship. Make that a positive crowd, because Adam Lambert has proven he can create a buzz, but perhaps not the kind you want associated with your brand-spanking new ship.

But after someone sweeps up the broken glass and the crowd moves on to dinner, who remembers the hoopla even a year later? For instance, can you name these ships’ godmothers? (answers below)

1. Carnival Dream: Hint, she starred in Mystic River. Yah, that didn’t help me much, either.

2. Norwegian Dawn: She told the crowd “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that size doesn’t matter.” Most men over 40 still know her as Lassie.

3. RCCL Serenade: She made a big whoop out of the opportunity, as usual.

4. Crown Princess: Who’ve have thought a convicted felon would bounce back like this?

5. HAL Zaandam: The sisters sure appealed to the teenybopper crowd — but since they don’t have money or permission to go cruisin’, it was an odd choice.

6. Disney Wonder: They took the fairy part seriously.

1. Marcia Gay Harden, 2. Kim Cattrall, 3. Whoopi Goldberg, 4. Martha Stweart, 5. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, 6. Tinkerbell.

Photography: Alan Light, photocology, got milk? ads

Zagat’s 2009 Airline Survey, covering 16 domestic & 73 international airlines and 30 domestic airports, confirms the decline of air travel, with 33% of respondents saying they’re flying less. In the domestic airline categories, Jetblue, Virgin America and Continental got the highest scores.

Zagat Airline Survey

This is the third annual airline survey done by Zagat. A comparison of this year’s survey with the past two years showed that travelers were taking an average of 19.7 flights per year in 2007, which tanked to 16.3 in 2008 and ended up at 16.6 in 2009.

Comparisons of the relative percentages of business & leisure travel showed that business travel declined from 64% in 2007 to 61% in 2009, while leisure flights gained from 35% to 39% in 2009.

Bookings made by travel agents dropped precariously from 17% in 2007 to 8% in 2009, while bookings made directly through airlines’ websites rose from 60% to 64%. Travel websites showed no change at 15%, while booking through work went up from 2% to 8%.

Virgin America topped the charts for midsize domestic airlines in both the premium & economy class categories, with scores of 24 and 21 respectively, and Virgin Atlantic came in first for international in-flight entertainment.

Jetblue took the awards for best in-flight entertainment and most green airline amongst domestic airlines. Jetblue also topped the large domestic economy class category with a score of 19.

Robin Hayes, executive vice president and chief commercial officer for JetBlue, said that they were excited that “our customers and Zagat’s surveyors have recognized us as their carrier of choice for two years in a row.”

Continental came in first with a score of 21 for large domestic premium class, while Singapore Airlines came in first for both premium and economy class categories under International airlines, with scores of 28 and 24 respectively.  As for the airports, Portland Int’l came in first, while New York’s LaGuardia came in last.

For more information about the survey and to see the full results, visit – www.zagat.com/airline

The 2009 NACTA Independent Agents Report – a joint study by ASTA and NACTA, shows several shifts in the independent agent population, including an increasing number of independent agents working from home.

Travel Agency

Turns out that 85.1% of independent agents are now working out of their homes, as compared to 77.9% in 2006. The report also says that the average NACTA independent agent has been in the travel business for 11.9 years, and works on selling travel 33.8 hours every week.

Almost a third of respondents reported that their gross sales and revenue were up compared to the same time period in 2008. Average annual gross sales for 2008 were reported to be under $250,000, with revenue under $50,000.

57.2% of respondents say that at least 15% of their agency is dedicated to cruises, and Royal Caribbean and Carnival were the top cruise lines used. 45.9% used the telephone as the primary booking channel for cruises, down from 50.1% in 2008.

Globus was the top choice for escorted tour operator, while GoGo was the top tour provider used.

ASTA also released another report which examines the trends in the travel agency business, which shows that while most leisure agencies are expecting to recover in early 2010, corporate agencies are not expecting a recovery until the spring of 2010 or later.

Agencies were asked specifically about changes in employment and independent contractor usage to gauge how employment has been affected by the slowdown.

According to this study, when comparing the first half of 2009 to the same time period in 2008, 78.2% of agencies saw a decrease in revenue, while 75.2% saw a decrease in transactions. 63.6% of agencies saw a decrease in the number of clients when comparing the first half of 2009 to the first half of 2008. 76% are cutting operating costs and 54% took less pay in response to the economy.

More than half of all responding agencies are planning no changes in regards to employees. But a larger percentage of corporate agencies are, in fact, considering changes in regards to employees.

Data from these reports, combined with the overall trend of travel agents closing shop and moving towards a combination of part-time home based telephone and online service indicates that travel agents are working the same hours, but for lower revenues. The NACTA report reveals that only 33.8% of their members now consider selling travel as their primary source of income.

Also, as more travel agents start working both offline and online, they are opting to focus on niche travel sectors, such as family travel or cruises, and their personal connections with clients and knowledge of travel suppliers is beginning to make an impact on the web and the way travel planning sites work.

For more information or to read the full reports, visit American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) at www.asta.org/ and The National Association of Career Travel Agents (NACTA) at www.nacta.com/

Photo by Justin Marty

Sen Charles Schumer

Where is the line between private business and government intervention?

According to Businessweek, Senator Charles Schumer (D- NY) is willing to jump in between consumers and airlines/credit card companies to ensure frequent fliers don’t get screwed on frequent flier points. He’s apparently read consumer complaints about their miles expiring without clear notice and the ever-changing value of miles  — no word if this includes American Express’ latest decision to attach miles to payment habits.

In a brilliant flash of business knowledge, he said that “he suspects consumers are actually paying for frequent flier programs through air fare and fees” and therefore fall under U.S. federal protection. He estimates 20 percent of the 10 trillion unused frequent-flier miles in circulation will never turn into a reward. Well boo frickin’ hoo.

OK, technically, he’s right. Loyalty programs do require money to function, and consumers are entitled to protection if a big, bad company is beating them up. However, Schumer apparently didn’t spend much time working for his dad’s exterminator business growing up because his lack of business knowledge 101 is showing on this one. While a few pennies of someone’s final price goes toward funding that program, that final price on a traveler’s ticket also covers the cost of printing direct mail pieces, holding educational sessions for partners, paying research firms to determine effective broadcast commercials, and other marketing moves. Mileage programs are not bought-and-paid-for amenities being  yanked away at the last second. They are lagniappe, as they say in New Orleans — a far cry from fodder for legislation.

That would only come into effect if there were a separate, higher, pricing structure for frequent fliers compared to those who don’t have a membership in the club. Or if travelers paid an annual fee for the right to earn points. Schumer’s current pet project could open a nasty can of worms for all retail and service businesses offering loyalty programs. For starters, coupons would never expire.

Do consumers have a reason to complain about the program structures? Probably. But it’s still an elective activity on their part that they don’t pay extra to join. So I say the solution is best worked out between the airlines and their customers rather than having Big Brother Uncle Sam dictating the negotiations.

What do you say?

Photography: zawezome (Flickr)

The next time you visit Florida, the magnificent view of the Atlantic from Florida’s beaches may include drilling platforms under construction, with dead fish, oiled birds and tar balls lapping at your feet, along with the tide and the soft sand.

Oil Slicked Bird

That would be because of a tag team effort by offshore drilling proponents – one in the Florida State Legislature and the other one in the U.S. Senate.

State Legislation – The decision on whether to drill in Florida’s coastal waters (3-10 miles off the coast) is in the hands of the  State Legislature.

Florida’s House has already passed a bill authorizing this in April 2009, but the Florida Senate has not. They are going to take up the issue again in March 2010, and there’s a pretty good chance that it will pass this time.

Federal Legislation – The Climate Bill (S. 1462, American Clean Energy Leadership Act) being crafted in the US Senate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has only one chance of getting bipartisan support – if it includes a provision to allow drilling 45 miles off Florida’s Gulf Coast and 25 miles south of Pensacola, in the Destin Dome area.

Currently, drilling for oil and gas is banned within 125 miles of the coast. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has already passed its version of the Climate Bill, which includes an amendment to overturn the ban.

These are the figures:-

Expected drilling royalties from inside Florida’s coastal waters – $1.5 billion per year. Benefits of federal offshore drilling outside the 10 mile zone – a price drop at the pump of 3 cents per gallon by the year 2030, according to the Energy Information Adminsitration (EIA).

Florida Tourism statistics for 2008, as per Visit Florida:-
Number of visitors:  84.2 million;
Total tourism spending:  $65.2 billion; 
Sales tax revenue from tourism:  $3.9 billion;
Number of people employed by Tourism Industry in Florida:  1,007,000

Out of the 84.2 million annual visitors, 33 million come for the beaches and coastal waters. And the marine fishing, boating, tourism, recreation and ocean transport industries bring over $400 billion every year to Florida, according to the Florida Oceans and Coastal Resources Council.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused over 743,000 gallons of petroleum products to spill offshore and 457 pipelines to break, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Services.

Given the severity of Florida’s hurricane season, this is a problem which Florida – and their visitors, will have to live with, if they authorize offshore drilling. Due to Florida’s fast moving loop current, even a relatively small oil spill would pose a threat to the Florida Keys and end up polluting the Southeast Florida beaches.

If Florida passes its drill bill, it will be under the assumption that the benefits outweigh the risks.

To be fair, Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater has called for a comprehensive review of the implications of drilling, to be done by agencies  not associated with the oil industry. But that might be a moot point, if the US Senate’s Climate Bill includes a provision to allow offshore drilling.

And one more important point – Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is running for the US Senate next year. And he now supports drilling, which means he could very well end up persuading both the Florida Legislature and the US Senate to authorize offshore drilling.

Photo by marinephotobank

On Nov 19, 2009, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the publication of new proposed rule that would establish the Global Entry Program as a permanent program.

Global Entry kiosks

The Global Entry Program uses biometric identification and expedites clearance of pre-approved, low-risk travelers into the United States. 

It is currently available as a pilot program at 20 U.S. international airports. According to the CBP, entry wait times are reduced by up to 70% for Global Entry participants.

Global Entry is open to citizens of the United States and lawful permanent residents of the United States, and it’s 27,000 members have logged in around 100,000 entries.

They’re also said to be mulling bilateral registered traveler program agreements with other nations including the United Kingdom, Germany and Mexico, so as to allow secure foreign travelers to use Global Entry. The U.S. already has such an arrangement with the Netherlands, which uses a similar program called Privium in Amsterdam.

The move was applauded by Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, who commented that  ”A continued commitment to implementing world-class travel technology, efficiency and customer service will help the United States to attract millions of new visitors.”

At Global Entry kiosks, members insert their passport or lawful permanent resident card into a document reader, provide digital fingerprints for comparison with fingerprints on file, answer customs declaration questions on the kiosk’s touch-screen, and then present a transaction receipt to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers before leaving the inspection area.

The proposed rule announced on Nov 19 would end the current pilot and make Global Entry permanent—allowing CBP to expand the program to additional U.S. international airports, and ramp up public relations and cooperative partnerships with private industry. CBP aims to enroll 50,000 additional participants for Global Entry in 2010.

For more information about this and CBP’s other Trusted Traveler programs, visit www.globalentry.gov/

Related posts:-
No Clear Lane for Card Holders After FlyClear Foldup
Who Replaces Clear Airport Security Service Remains Unclear

a few cracks are appearing in American Express

Talk about playing hardball.

The Associated Press is reporting that American Express will start stripping  the frequent mileage/frequent stay points any co-branded card users earned that month if they don’t pay the bill on time. The new rule will affect Delta, JetBlue, Hilton Hotels and Starwood Hotels accounts.

It is possible to get them back, of course — for a $29 reinstatement fee on top of your late fee and penalty interest rate.  That’s a steep price to pay for a mistake. (And what’s with the odd number? It looks like a retail psychology ploy to keep folks from getting pissed you charged them $30.)

“I think over the course of time, people miss a payment at least once because of unforeseen circumstances like something getting lost in the mail or a long vacation taking your focus off making your payments,” John Ulzheimer, president of educational services for Credit.com went on record saying.

American Express’ spokesperson is calling this a way of incentivizing good behavior by essentially spanking you for bad habits. Other credit card companies are simply calling it harsh  — although they don’t dare say it that bluntly. Even as they look to solidify profits in front of the February 2010 federal rules prohibiting certain fees and interest rate, that’s not on their radars, they point out.

• Citi: Pay late one month and the associated points might not be available for redemption until the traveler and credit card company settle the bill. But so far, American Airlines and Hilton cobranded card holders are safe from reinstatement fees.

• JP Morgan Chase: Blow off paying the account on your cobranded United card and you won’t earn new points until you settle the balance.

Delta is on record as being OK with this, and early feedback from consumers at blogs is a shrug. Not paying your bills on time still lands in “socially unacceptable” category in general … except when it’s your payment that’s on the wrong side of the deadline, of course. But is it a bluff? Selling airline miles to partners creates a $5 billion a year profit flow for that industry — and like Ulzeheimer says, everyone misses a payment now and then. Taking away their points could eventually wash back to hurt the travel companies themselves.

It certainly isn’t taking anything off the table for American Express, unless card members decide to throw in their plastic and move to a different dealer.

Photography: pheezy (Flickr.com)

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno and Cinecitta Entertainment made an announcement Wednesday that work was to begin next year on Cinecitta World - a movie theme park which aims to replicate the success of Universal Studios Hollywood.

Cinecitta World

The first section of the park will be opened in 2011, with the full park slated for completion by 2014.

Cinecitta World, which comes with a price tag of $800 million, is to be created on 400 acres in a location south of Rome, at Castel Romano, and has set an ambitious target of attracting 4 million annual visitors.

The theme park will prominently feature attractions and rides based on classics filmed at Cinecitta Studios, such as Ben-Hur and Federico Fellini’s films. 

According to Emanuel Gout, President & CEO of Cinecitta World, the first section of the park, an area of about 25 hectares, will feature high-tech attractions, roller coasters, with real and virtual spaces dedicated to aquatic shows and special effects in movies.

Cinecitta Entertainment is aiming to turn it into the biggest theme park zone in Europe, with plans for a ‘Village’ with resort hotels, shops and restaurants. There’s going to be a Cinecittà World 2, and then a Cinecittà Nature - an huge ecological reserve where walking tours will combine with visits to film sets, since the area is frequently used as a backdrop for films.

The concept and creative side of the park is in the hands of Italian production designer Dante Ferretti – who has won Academy Awards for The Aviator and Sweeney Todd. Ferretti has designed seven of Martin Scorsese’s last eight movies.

The project has been ‘in the works’ for a long time now. The idea was first established in 1997, with the privatization of Cinecitta. In 2004, the plan was for an investment of 275 million euros, with a target of 2.5 million visitors. By March 2009, it had changed to 300 million euros, and now – the final figure is 500 million euros, with 4 million annual visitors.

Apparently the plan finally was set into motion after gaining the support of Gianni Alemanno – the Mayor of Rome. Mayor Alemanno explained his support (in Italian – translated) - ”The phenomenon of the theme parks has spread worldwide. But Italy and especially Rome has remained incredibly backward. It will become a synergy: who comes to visit the parks will stop to see the Roman Forum or the Colosseum and vice versa.”

A company – Cinecittà Parks, has been set up to operate the park, with an 80% ownership by Cinecittà Entertainment, and 20% by Generali Properties.

Cinecittà means ‘cinema city’ in Italian and it’s pronounced chee-nay chee-TAH. The studio has churned out more than 3000 productions, including recent productions like The Passion of The Christ, Gangs of New York, HBO’S Rome, The Life Aquatic, Miracle at St Anna and Dino de Laurentiis’ Decameron.