June 1, 2007
 
It’s that time of year again – when surveys of almost everything imaginable under the sun pop up just a few weeks before the annual summer travel season. Today’s perennial offering doesn’t disappoint in its variety – covering everything from projections of spending by American travelers in the coming months, to disputes on mini-bar bills, the travel industry’s adoption of new media and the eating habits of travelers. Below is a selection from this year’s bumper crop:
 
After a recent survey, says Travel Agent, Funjet Vacations uncovered that nearly 90% of Americans plan to spend the same or more as they did last year on air and hotel getaways. "Surprisingly, 16% of Americans that make the least amount of money-$25,000 or less-are planning the greatest increase in their travel budgets-more than 50% than last year," the survey of 1,500 U.S. respondents found.
"Approximately 29% of those that make the most money-$75,000 or greater-want to spend the same amount on their vacations this year as they did in 2006." The group with the greatest increase in vacation spending plans was 25 to 34 year olds. Too, women plan to outspend men by 25% more than last year on air and hotel for vacation. Forty-four percent of men said they plan to spend the same as last year.
 
Market Metrix, which provides of customer and employee feedback and performance tools for the hospitality industry, announced results of the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) for the first quarter of 2007. According to ModernAgent while hotel guest satisfaction climbed to near record levels, airline passenger satisfaction tumbled to its lowest level in years. Rental car scores were stable.
Overall, Walt Disney World Resorts, JetBlue Airways and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively. Satisfaction for the hotel industry reached its highest level in three years.
According to Dr. Jonathan Barsky, who directs research activities at Market Metrix: "Strong RevPar growth for the first three months of 2007 and investments in staffing, services and amenities, made a positive impact on the guest experience in all hotel segments except Luxury, where satisfaction slumped to its lowest level in years." Upscale hotels saw the biggest improvement with Crowne Plaza up nearly 5 points compared to the last quarter of 2006.
Airline passenger satisfaction dropped to its lowest level in four years with JetBlue Airways and Midwest Airlines showing the biggest declines. Scores for Loyalty Emotions (e.g., feeling welcome) among airline passengers also reached near-record lows. Loyalty Emotions evaluate critical elements of a passenger's emotional experience and are fundamental components of customer satisfaction and loyalty.
 
Approximately one-half of hotel guests, whether vacationing or on a business trip, expect a free breakfast as part of their room rate, according to a new study data from YPB&R, an international advertising agency specializing in serving travel and leisure clients. 
As part of their hotel selection decision-making process, 49% of leisure travelers and 53% of business travelers feel getting a free breakfast is very or extremely influential. 
Business travelers’ attitudes toward free breakfast are even more pronounced in measuring hotel pricing and value. More than three in five business travelers (65%) surveyed find a hotel or motel that provides a complimentary breakfast included with the hotel’s nightly room rate very or extremely desirable. 
The data, from the soon-to-be-released 2007 YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners National Leisure Travel Monitor also indicate: 
·         Seven out of ten leisure travelers (71%) enjoy trying new dishes and foods when they go out to lunch or dinner during a trip.
·         More than one-half (52%) of business travelers say they prefer to dine in restaurants outside the hotel in which they are staying.
·         Confusion reigns about nutritional information available these days. Leisure travelers (70%) and business travelers (64%) are in almost perfect agreement in responding that they are confused about what one should or should not eat.
 
A survey on the adoption of new media has found the travel industry is well ahead of other sectors reports TravelMole. According to the survey, 73% of travel companies plan to invest in social media over the coming year.
The pre-event survey for Online Marketing 2007, which takes place at London's Business Design Centre on June 26- 27, also found:
·         66% of travel companies name social media as the biggest growth area for marketing in the coming year
·         100% of travel companies plan to invest in email marketing in the next 12 months, ahead of all other sectors
·         80% of travel companies currently invest in search marketing, with 87% planning to invest in the next 12 months
·         60% of travel companies view campaign planning as an area for improvement, while 47% are seeking education in online campaign tracking
But travel companies are lagging behind marketing agencies, retailers and the financial services sector in the adoption of mobile for marketing purposes, with only a 6% investment.
 
TripAdvisor has announced the results of its hotel mini-bar/fridge survey of more than 1,600 travelers worldwide. Price, not selection, is the most important factor when it comes to using the mini-bar, as 94% of all travelers surveyed would use the mini-bar more often, if the prices were more reasonable. Thirty-three percent of travelers said they never hit the mini-bar.
One-quarter of survey respondents have had a dispute with a hotel over a mini-bar charge. Men are more likely to get into a dispute over a mini-bar bill (32%) than women (22%). Thirty-four percent of travelers feel they have been inaccurately charged for something in the mini-bar or fridge.
With the advent of motion and weight sensors, 16% of travelers have been billed for simply adding items to a hotel room mini-bar/fridge or for moving contents around. Seven percent have been charged for merely storing their own items in a mini-bar/fridge.
To avoid being charged at higher hotel prices, 20% of travelers have replaced an item in their hotel room mini-bar/fridge. Men were more likely (25%) to replace an item to avoid a charge than women (17%).
 
Utell Hotels & Resorts, says ehotelier, has completed its “Utell Us 2007 Survey”, designed to uncover the hotel booking habits and trends of the UK’s business and leisure travelers. The results reveal that consumers are turning more to independent hotels for leisure and business trips, with 92% of respondents considering the hotel brand to be least important when choosing accommodation.
Peter Fitzgerald, president of Utell Hotels and Resorts, commented: “The Utell Us survey demonstrates that UK consumers want originality and choice in their accommodation as well as flexibility and security in how they book. The results further underline the mission we have always had at Utell to provide a diverse range of independent hotels, making finding and booking accommodation easy, safe and reliable.”
“The survey also reveals that despite the advent of the web 2.0 generation, personal service when booking accommodation is still important to travelers, which is encouraging for travel agents.”
 
Half of all Americans over age 60 use the Internet, as do more than 80% of Baby Boomers, according to new research from Focalyst, a market research and consulting firm focused exclusively on Baby Boomers and older consumers.
Focalyst's Online Activity Report, which is based on a survey of more than 30,000 U.S. consumers ages 42 and older, also reveals significant new findings about online tenure: nearly one-third of all online Boomers ­ 21 million people ­ have been using the Internet for more than 10 years. More than 7 million members of what Focalyst calls the Golden Generation, those born before 1946, have been online for more than a decade, as well.
"People associate the Internet and computers with youth, but it was the Baby Boom Generation that had the discretionary income 20 years ago to buy the first personal computers and lead the early adoption of the Internet," says David van Nostrand, Focalyst's chief research officer. "By 1995, when Netscape went public and gave credence to the financial and social viability of the Internet, millions of Baby Boomers were already part of the Internet revolution." The study also finds that 33 million Baby Boomers use the Internet every day, along with 10 million members of the Golden Generation.
While emailing is their primary activity, these users are also going online to make travel arrangements, check the news, find health information, bank and shop. In fact, 30% of the online Baby Boom Generation shops online at least a few times a month ­ the same percentage as those born between 1965 and 1988. As younger members of the Baby Boom Generation enter their 50s, their incomes are likely to increase and, with that, their Internet usage and activities.
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Tourism Business Environment and Key Industry Issues
At the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Travel and Tourism Conference in Los Angeles last week, Rick Cain, vice president of TNS, the world’s largest provider of custom research and analysis, provided an overview of the latest research regarding global tourism. His comments regarding the business environment and key trends impacting the industry are worth noting:
 
Travel & Leisure Business Environment:
Key Issues Impacting The Tourism Industry:
·         The tourism industry will always be volatile and at risk for sudden change. External influences will continue to have an unpredictable impact. Any one of a number of world-wide or localized incidents could cause a downturn in travel & tourism. Examples: terrorism, gas prices, fear of flu pandemic, hurricanes/tornados, outbreaks of illness on cruise ships, other economic trends.
·         The internet, and thus website content, is a critical area:
-       Online travel bookings will surpass offline bookings for the first time in 2007.
-       Travel consumers are exchanging more information and exerting greater influence over online content (i.e. travel blogs, social networking)
·         There is a continuous rise in direct-to-consumer sales by travel suppliers (due to improved technology, challenging commission structures, cost of distribution through intermediaries)
-       Suppliers (airlines, hotels, car rental agencies) have been outperforming online travel agencies (Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc.) since 2000
-       Hotels are forecast to be the fastest growing segment online (surpassing air travel)
·         Travel companies continue to pursue aggressive expansion abroad – particularly in the markets of China and India
·         The meetings and events industry continues to grow. Planners expect to manage more meetings in 2007, and expect to see larger budgets. Currently valued at over $164 billion in the U.S., and projected to reach $175 billion by 2008.
·         Global warming and environmental protection is gaining ground in traveller consciousness. More “green” travel itineraries will possibly surface.  
·         Youth tourism is recognized as a rapidly growing sector of the travel industry (stay longer, spend more, seek out a wide mix of travel and educational experiences).
·         The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will have impact on destination decisions – particularly cruise and land border travel which may newly require a passport or PASS card.
 
Why Flights Are Getting Longer
Dallas-Houston is now an hour-long flight instead of 55 minutes. United Airlines' 6 p.m. departure from Philadelphia to San Francisco is scheduled for 33 more minutes than it was 10 years ago. New York-Washington flights now get blocked out at almost two hours, even though you can fly it in about 35 minutes.
Travel delays get lots of attention for the pain of being trapped for hours, the inconvenience of missed connections and late arrivals and the cost reports The Wall Street Journal. About a half-million U.S. flights arrived late last year, and this summer may see record levels of delays, officials say. Estimates peg the cost at roughly $6 billion a year for airlines and more than $9 billion a year for passengers in terms of the value of time lost.
But that's only part of the problem. Many delays are now simply being incorporated into schedules, at high cost to consumers and airlines. Congestion at airports and in the sky have forced airlines to pad their schedules more than ever so flights have a better chance of arriving "on-time," which the Department of Transportation defines as within 15 minutes of the airline's scheduled arrival time. Flights now arrive technically "on-time," but with 30 minutes or more of delay written into the flight plan.
Even though some of today's airplanes cruise faster than the models they have replaced and are equipped with advanced navigation systems capable of flying the shortest route between two distant points, airlines have had little opportunity to take advantage of those improvements. Congestion in the sky and high fuel prices often slow down the cruise speed of planes. A lack of modern equipment for air-traffic controllers means planes still fly from one radio beacon on the ground to another, hop-scotching across the country instead of flying shorter, more-direct paths.
 
Hotels Try New Tricks To Appease Guests During Construction
With U.S. hotels spending a record $5.5 billion on renovations this year, more travelers than ever are living amid construction zones. Some hotels that are under renovation are trying new tricks to appease guests, reports USA Today:
·         For a $23 million renovation launched this month, the Renaissance in New York's Times Square is projecting photos of peaceful nature scenes on otherwise unsightly temporary walls. The hotel also retrained staff to improve room service, reminding them, for instance, to better describe the menu items. They're also now checking back with guests to make sure the meal was adequate, says Thomas Foti, the hotel's general manager. The restaurant is housed in the hotel bar during renovation, so he expects more room service requests.
·         At times during its recently completed four-year, $80 million revamp, the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills gave guests a chocolate tool set: a hammer and wrench.
·         At the Embassy Suites in Colorado Springs, front desk clerks wore hard hats, and housekeepers put construction-themed chocolates on guests' pillows while an $8.5 million renovation was completed last year, says general manager Jackie Duff.
·         At the Homewood Suites in Omaha, general manager Bernadette Jenkins says that for a month she worked the hotel's $1.1 million overhaul around the schedule of a long-term guest who was getting cancer treatments. He rarely left the hotel in the daytime. "When he went to the doctor, we worked in (his) area of the hotel," says Jenkins, who now runs a different hotel.
 
Best Western To Seek 100 Hotels In India
Best Western International is planning to set up 100 hotels across India through a master license agreement with Cabana Hotel Management, which was founded by B. B. Patel. Cabana Hotels is incorporated in India and operates eight Best Western hotels in the U.S.
According to HotelBusiness Cabana will represent the Best Western brand in India and provide hotel management services. The Cabana group intends to invest more than $1.2 billion in 100 Best Western branded hotels over 10 years. The company is financing the investment through its own resources and a combination of equity and debt.
However, it will look at raising private equity in the future for expansion purposes, said Prabhu Goel, co-chairman of Cabana Hotel Management. It will also look at acquiring hotels in tier-two cities as part of the plan to have 100 hotels.
Besides being the master licensee of Best Western in India, the Cabana group will also develop its own properties for the Best Western brand in India. Cabana plans to leverage India's growing tourism and business travel market and plans to bring its Premier hotel brand to India. The Premier brand has been operating in Europe and China for the last several years.
 
Companies Switching To Video Conferencing
Two major companies are extensively expanding their video conferencing facilities to save money on travelling reports BusinessTravelEurope.
Mark Avery, head of business services at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK, said he was setting up video conferencing at 11 new locations in the country. This is in addition to the existing facilities PWc has at another13 of its offices. A second travel manager, who asked not to be named, said he was installing video conferencing equipment at five locations around the world. Both travel managers were speaking at the ACTE/ITM Partnership Forum held in London last week.
They also both stressed that their decisions were as much about cutting travel for the benefit of employees’ work/life balance as in saving company money on air fares and hotels.
The second travel manager said his company had drawn up a global travel policy with contact with regional travel managers done through virtual conferencing. "I never actually travelled once for this," he said. But he also revealed that a meeting conducted for senior executives by virtual conferencing had saved the company £200,000 in travel costs.
 
Boeing Streamlining New 787
According to an article by the Associated Press the Boeing Co. has snagged hundreds of orders for its new 787 with a sales pitch that leans heavily on the light, sturdy carbon-fiber composites replacing most of the aluminum on the plane to make it guzzle less fuel and cost less to maintain.
But Boeing says it has designed everything inside the plane, from air filters and electric generators to high-tech cabin lighting and in-flight-entertainment systems, with an equally steadfast eye toward cost-cutting and comfort. For example:
·         The 787 will have much less wiring than the comparably sized 767­- about 61 miles (98 kilometers) compared to 91 (145)­ - which will make it cheaper and easier for airlines to repair while opening up space for bigger overhead bins and more elbow room for passengers.
·         In-flight entertainment systems will be lighter and more simply wired and will feature seat-back monitors and handsets with tiny keyboards on the back so that someday ­ engineers are not yet sure when ­ they can be used for things like instant messaging.
·         The plane will burn fuel more efficiently and sap less energy from its engines, because its systems will be powered almost entirely by high-voltage electric generators, rather than the typical system that runs on air sucked through the engines.
·         Flight-control electronics, which run all the systems that guide the airplane in flight, are smaller than they've ever been before, less than a quarter the size of those on the 777, Boeing's last all-new plane, which airlines started flying in 1995.
·         In the cockpit, "heads-up" display panels suspended in pilots' line of sight will help them land the plane much more precisely, which some airlines have said saves them a surprising amount of money by limiting wear and tear on tires.
 
Some of the 787's new features have nothing to do with cost, just comfort:
·         There is software that's designed to help the plane respond more quickly to up-and-down wind gusts in the frequency that most often triggers motion sickness.
·         The cabin lighting system will be able to simulate a sunrise, gradually shifting from deep blue to warm orange to soft white, sparing passengers from the jolt of bright lights at the end of a dark, overnight flight.
·         Instead of shades, cabin windows will have controls passengers or flight attendants can push to gradually dim or brighten them. The windows will be larger than usual, a design Boeing chose after studies showed passengers felt more at ease if they had a clear view of the horizon.
·         And for the first time, Boeing has added an air purification system designed to scrub out contaminants released by things like hand wipes, hair spray, perfume and vinyl on luggage. The company made the move after surveys showed a strong link between passenger discomfort and high levels of volatile organic compounds in cabin air.
 
Best Western Selling Gift Cards In Pharmacies
Best Western International is continuing to expand the retail presence of its gift card, introducing it at all CVS pharmacy stores across the country reports ModernAgent. Through an agreement with InComm, a leading technology provider and distributor of prepaid products, the $50 Best Western Travel Card is now being sold at approximately 6,200 CVS outlets in 43 states.
The chain joins U.S. discount giant Wal-Mart and The Kroger Co.­ specifically Western-based Ralphs, Food 4 Less, Smith's and Fry's grocery stores ­ in carrying the card. Since last fall, it has also been available at Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores throughout Canada. U.S.-based Walgreens was the first retail outlet to offer the Best Western Travel Card beginning in November 2005.
The card is used by guests to pay for both accommodations and related incidentals, such as room service, at 4,200 Best Western hotels worldwide.
 
Starwood Hotels To Use Microsoft's Surface
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. said Wednesday that it will start using Microsoft Corp.'s new Surface, a computer that responds to touch and special bar codes attached to everyday objects. Starwood will initially launch Surface at its Sheraton properties says Forbes
Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a black table base, topped with a 30-inch touchscreen in a clear acrylic frame. Five cameras that sense nearby objects are mounted beneath the touchscreen. Users can touch or drag their fingertips and objects such as paintbrushes across the screen, or by setting real-world items tagged with special bar-code labels on top of it.
Sheraton will use the Surface machines in its lobbies, with guests being able to browse and listen to music, send photos home, download books and order food and drinks. Shares of Sheraton, which will start placing Surface in key U.S. hotels by the end of the year, gained 67 cents to $68.81 in morning trading.
 
Global Spa Summit Cites Labor Shortage As Top Industry Challenge 
A shortage of high-quality, trained labor ­ including spa managers and directors, aestheticians, and therapists ­ is the major challenge facing the global spa industry today, according to a survey of more than 160 world spa and wellness industry leaders who attended the first-ever Global Spa Summit earlier this week in New York.
The three day, invitation-only gathering, held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, brought together leaders from the global spa, real estate, investment, travel, spa education, beauty, and wellness sectors to chart the future of the booming $40 billion plus spa industry, which has seen double digit growth for the past 20 years.
According to Hotel & Motel Management, 29% of delegates cited labor shortages as the top issue facing the industry, while 22% said the main challenge was the lack of industry-wide standards for defining spa categories and best practices. Environmental sustainability was cited by 12% of the delegates as another top concern.
In terms of opportunities for the industry, delegates placed the greatest emphasis on enhancing clients' health (29%), educating consumers that spas are about wellness (26%), and promoting preventative medicine (20%).
 
Theme Of New UFO Park: Take Me To Your Leader
Are earthlings ready for the next theme park: UFO-themed?
Officials in Roswell, N.M., where the aliens have frequently been seen, are planning an Alien Apex Resort that could open in the next three years says TravelMole. An air-conditioned indoor roller coaster would take passengers on a simulated alien abduction. "Nobody will be harmed, and everybody will be returned, hopefully, in the same shape," concept designer Bryan Temmer told the AP.
The city has received a $245,000 legislative appropriation for initial planning, but the park would be privately built and managed. Requests for proposals will be advertised next month.
The proposed park initially will cover 60 to 80 acres with room to expand to 150 acres. It will feature other rides and attractions, including an exhibit hall with information on scientific exploration of the universe.
Some business owners think the theme park is necessary to keep tourists returning to the UFO site.
 
Emerging From Bankruptcy, Leaner Northwest Is Cleared For Takeoff
As Northwest Airlines emerges from bankruptcy today, questions loom about what the future will look like aboard Detroit Metro's largest carrier. Industry analysts say passengers will see few, if any, changes reports The Detroit News.
Northwest officials are not divulging any plans, other than to say the carrier is looking to improve service and products following extensive customer surveys. Northwest's course is expected to be low key and business as usual, even though other airlines ­ most recently Delta ­ launched major media campaigns to tout changes and promote improvements as they exited bankruptcy.
Mary Linder, a Northwest senior vice president for corporate affairs, would only say the airline is working on several product initiatives stemming from extensive research.
 
Continental To Let Fliers Be Kind To Earth
Continental Airlines will offer passengers a chance to counter the environmental effects of their flights by participating in a carbon offsetting program says the Houston Chronicle.
The program, being carried out with Sustainable Travel International and announced Wednesday, will let fliers calculate the so-called carbon footprint of their trips' greenhouse gas emissions and buy carbon offsets online from Sustainable Travel.
The nonprofit business then invests the proceeds in projects such as reforestation, renewable energy and energy conservation. For domestic flights, the cost of offsetting ranges from $10 to $30 or more per flight, according to Brian Mullis, president of Sustainable Travel.
The option will be available through Continental.com in late summer.
 
BusinessWeek, US Airways In Ad Deal
Consumers who suspect they may never escape the omnipresence of wine god Robert Parker and management gurus Jack and Suzy Welch will soon have one more reason to think so: starting next month, columns by Parker and the Welches will be laminated onto airplane pull-down tray tables as part of a deal to sell advertising on US Airways planes.
The columns will be reprints of what's already available in the online and traditional print editions of BusinessWeek magazine, long a favorite of browsing business travelers. The tray table columns, changed monthly, will share space on the tray with advertising for as yet-unnamed clients.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the move is an attempt to generate diverse sources of revenue for the airline, whose corporate predecessor went in and out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection several years back. The Phoenix carrier, born in 2005 of a merger of America West and US Airways, is the nation's fifth-largest airline.
America West has experimented with tray-table ads since 2003, but this is the first time it will pair them with editorial content.
 
Australia Re-Launches Tourism Website
Australia's revamped official travel website www.australia.com has been launched. Giving a new look to the online marketing of Australia overseas, it has been translated for different key markets says TravelMole.
The site provides information about hotels, tours and holiday experiences throughout Australia, by drawing up-to-the-minute information from the national and eight state based tourism websites and data warehouses. It also allows tourists to use the latest interactive mapping and intuitive navigation technology, Google mapping and search and advertising platforms.
Fran Bailey Federal Minister for Tourism said: "We need to be at the cutting edge of this global trend and it's just good sense to be able to use the latest technology to make it easier and simpler for people to find out how they can get to Australia, what good deals they can get, and what are the good experiences they can have."
She said 58% of international tourists to Australia used the internet for research in 2006, up from 22% in 2003.
 
China To Become 3rd Biggest Travel Destination
China is likely to replace the United States as the world's third most popular tourism destination next year, a United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) official said. At present, China ranks fourth, after France, Spain and the United States.
Last year, according to China Daily, China accounted for 5.8% of the global tourism market, a growth of 0.3% compared with two years ago. Twenty-nine percent of tourists who traveled to Asia and the Pacific last year also visited China.
Xu Jing, regional representative for Asia and the Pacific of UNWTO, said the market share percentages of China and the U.S. last year were very close.
UNWTO forecast last year that China would become the most popular destination by the year 2020. At the beginning of this year, it revised its forecast to 2015. Xu said the forecast was revised because of the rapid development of the country's tourism industry.
 
Canadian Campaign Exhorts U.S. Tourists To Personalize Visit 
Canada, which, while still one of the top destinations outside the United States for Americans, is aiming to boost the numbers of U.S. tourists going north. As the U.S. has tightened security along the border, the number of tourists visiting the land of mountains, Mounties and midnight sun has dwindled.
The new effort, via DDB Toronto for the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), focuses on Canada as a place offering such a plethora of cultures, topography, and urban and wilderness activities that one can personalize one's exploration there. The campaign, in fact, uses the tagline "Keep Exploring."
According to Marketing Daily, the effort suggests that in Canada one can swim with Beluga whales in Manitoba; take a spa treatment via helicopter ride to a five-star outpost; indulge in epicurean delights in Vancouver or Quebec, or canoe the Yukon River with Inuits, touting our northern neighbor as a "hands-on experience."
 
Now Sailing The Not-Quite-So-High Seas: 'Deluxe' Cruise Ships
Can't quite afford a luxury cruise? Consider going "deluxe" says USA Today.
That's the new buzzword in cruising, and it describes a voyage that isn't quite as fancy as those offered by luxury lines but still a big step up from "mass-market" and "premium" cruises.
In addition to being pricey, "luxury (cruising) has a connotation of being very formal and regimented, and deluxe is much more informal and relaxed," says Richard Fain, CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, the parent of such brands as Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.
This month, Royal Caribbean launched Azamara Cruises to cater to the one-step-down-from-luxury niche and coined the phrase "deluxe cruising" to describe it. Another line, 5-year-old Oceania Cruises, also is after the same segment.
"We felt that there is a big market for this ­ bigger than most people (in the industry) appreciated," Fain says, noting Azamara trips are designed for people who want a sophisticated experience and have a taste for the exotic but shy away from the elitist lines.
 
Podcast User Demographics
It would be a mistake to think that the average podcast user is a 23-year-old male with a college education and a really big comic book collection says eMarketer. Podcast users are not a homogeneous group, and downloads range from music to religious broadcasts to museum tours.
That said, overall podcasting user demographics give a broad perspective on the medium.
iTunes accounts for 75% of all podcast downloads, according to Podtrac, so comScore's October 2006 study of iTunes podcast downloaders captured most users.
On the whole, podcast downloaders tended to be male, young and educated. Notably, people between the ages of 35 and 54 represented about half of the podcasting audience.
Nick Tabbal of comScore said, "While the conventional wisdom says that only young, tech-savvy consumers are downloading and listening to podcasts, there is also a sizable market among 35-to-54-year-olds, indicating that the audience is broader than previously thought.
"Since many of the top podcasts are in the educational and business genres, it's not surprising that podcasts today appeal to the more educated and higher-income consumer segments."
 
Marketers Missing The Boat On Mature Singles 
Quick: name an ad campaign that's specifically geared to single adults in their 40s or beyond. Not easy, says Marketing Daily. Amid the increasing emphasis on serving Baby Boomers, marketers seem to be behind the curve in addressing the growing number of their single brethren.
Half of all U.S. households are now headed by unmarried adults, 43% of all singles are 45 or older (one quarter are Baby Boomers), and nearly two-thirds of single women are 35 or older. And contrary to what one would guess based on their absence in advertising, mature singles have significant discretionary income and a broad range of interests, confirms a new study on the U.S. singles market from the Packaged Facts division of MarketResearch.com.
Nor are they just buying anti-aging cosmetics and incontinence products. Single Boomers are particularly interested in experience-oriented travel, luxurious personal care products and spas, and mind-body services, as well as products for their grandchildren.
Single Boomers ages 45 to 54 are as likely to use online dating services as 18- to-24-year-olds, and nearly half of those in this age group are interested in starting a new business.
Next to married adults, single women are the largest group of home buyers. Last year, they accounted for a record high of 22% of all home sales, versus 9% for unmarried men.
 
San Francisco Works To Lure Gay Travelers
San Francisco, a city synonymous with gay history and culture, is launching its first national campaign urging gay men and lesbians to visit reports the Los Angeles Times. That may sound as superfluous as suggesting that politicians come to Washington, D.C., or that surfers try the waves off Malibu. But it's not, and why it's not says a lot about how many cities these days are pitching to gay tourists. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dallas and dozens of other destinations are openly diving for dollars ­ lavender dollars, that is.
"Gay and lesbian people were coming here and having a great time but being wooed by other cities too," said Angela Jackson, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau. So the bureau this month announced a $100,000 advertising campaign in gay publications such as the Advocate and Frontiers Magazine in Los Angeles, the Flying House in Seattle and New York-based Passport.
The ads, which show snapshots of gay couples at the Golden Gate Bridge and other landmarks and at gay events such as the Folsom Fair, say, "You'll have so many new stories to tell, you'll need proof." Last month the tourist bureau also beefed up the gay section of its website.
City officials, in fact, can't say whether fewer gays are visiting the city that is home to Castro Street, the late city Supervisor Harvey Milk and other lavender icons. "It's hard to track," Jackson said. "When people check into hotels, we don't ask if they're gay or straight."
 
Four Seasons Teams With Developer On Luxury Cruise Residences 
Travel Agent reports that Four Seasons is taking to the high seas. The luxury hotelier has partnered with BV International Oceans Holdings on Four Seasons Ocean Residences, a 48,600-ton residential vessel, which will contain 112 wholly owned residences of one-, two-, three- or four-bedroom units. The ship is scheduled for delivery in 2010.
Prices begin at $3.8 million, but included is the luxury service and amenities already offered at Four Seasons hotels on land. The ship also will offer 70,000 square-feet of public space, four restaurants and a variety of onboard activities and entertainment.
"We are charting new territory," said Scott Woroch, executive vice president, worldwide development for Four Seasons. Once in service, the ship will operate regular itineraries with visits to such places as Antarctica and the Amazon.
 
U.S. And China Agree To Double Flights
The United States and China have announced a broad aviation agreement that will more than double the number of daily passenger flights between the two countries by 2012.
As the U.S. and Chinese economies become more intertwined, with trading volume of $343 billion last year, passenger traffic between the countries has surged and flights are crammed with business travelers, tourists and students says the Washington Post.
U.S. officials yesterday said the agreement would improve the nation's commercial and cultural ties with one of the world's economic powerhouses. The deal would allow U.S. carriers to operate 13 more daily flights to China over the next five years. In 2011, the Chinese would lift all limits on transpacific cargo flights, officials said.
"It is absolutely historic," U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a conference call with reporters yesterday afternoon. "We've achieved a breakthrough agreement that opens the way for more frequent, more affordable and convenient air service between China and the United States."
Until yesterday, the Chinese government had moved slowly to lift limits on flights by U.S. carriers to Beijing, Shanghai and the southern city of Guangzhou; 10 daily flights are permitted now.
 
BA To Launch Continental Transatlantic Services
BA is to launch transatlantic services from "key continental European cities" in summer 2008 reports BusinessTravelEurope. The move comes after the successful signing of the Open Skies deal between the US and the EU which liberalizes transatlantic air traffic.
Wiilie Walsh, the UK carrier's ceo, said the Open skies deal had given BA "some new and exciting opportunities." He added: "We have filed an application with the US DoT for permission to operate services between any point in the US and any point in the EU to enable us to grow the most profitable part of our business."
While full details of the new flights have not been announced, it is understood the continental cities will include Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels and perhaps Zurich while American destinations are likely to be mainly New York and perhaps Chicago.
 
Giving Hotels The Business
It's a good thing the economy is doing so well these days, says BusinessWeek, otherwise companies wouldn't be able to afford the rising cost of business travel.
As anyone who has to suffer through the ordeals and delays of modern air travel knows, the travel industry is booming. Airlines are emerging from bankruptcy, and new hotels are popping up in every corner of the globe, with many more in the pipeline. In its 2007 business travel forecast, American Express (AXP) expects that corporate travel costs will continue to rise, though at a slower pace than in 2006.
Mike Streit, vice-president and global leader for American Express Business Travel Advisory Services, predicts that "an average domestic North America trip, inclusive of airfare, car rental, and hotel stay, will increase $46, or 4.5%, in 2007, and an average international trip with airfare and hotel will increase $180, or 4.6%."
The reason for the increase can be traced to rising buyer demand, tightened inventories, and higher supplier operating costs. American Express predicts that global airfares will rise between 3% and 5% for a domestic economy flight and 3% to 7% for international business routes.
Hotels, despite the building boom of the past few years, are also expected to hike their rates. In North America, rate increases could be from 2% to 6% for midrange hotels and 3% to 8% for premium and luxury properties. Overseas, increases will be commensurate. The Latin American market, which has been soft, will see prices go up as a result of improving economic conditions.
The downside, of course, is that these increased costs may lead many companies to require their people to travel on a tighter budget or curtail business travel entirely. Some large hotel chains, such as InterContinental (IHG) and Marriott (MAR), are buffered against such belt-tightening because they have properties targeting nearly every price range. InterContinental, for example, owns its eponymous InterContinental luxury chain but also operates more moderate lines such as Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and Staybridge, while Marriott has the upscale Ritz-Carlton as well as its flagship Marriott line and others.
Despite rising costs, the consensus is that CEOs and other senior executives will continue to patronize high-end hotels, especially those with aggressive corporate discounting policies and rewards programs. Luxury hotels also enjoy a fair amount of insulation against cyclical rises and falls in pricing because they tend to cater largely to a clientele that has enough money to weather changing conditions.
 
Americans Spend Half Of Their Spare Time Online
According to Netpop I Play, a new report from Media-Screen, broadband users spend an hour and 40 minutes (48% of their spare time) online in a typical weekday, and more than half of that is spent accessing activities related to entertainment and communication.
Josh Crandall, managing director of Media-Screen, says "Many broadband consumers go online for entertainment, and to talk about entertainment with other fans. Marketers need to leverage that interest..."
According to the Center for Media Research search engines and social networking sites are gaining in popularity, says the report, influencing an equal number of people as magazines and newspapers. 48% of younger users say they learn about new entertainment through community, review and video sharing sites and blogs. Only 25% say they learn about new entertainment through television. 
 
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