October 15, 2007
Tailoring Messages To A New Audience: Wrinkled Baby Boomers
“Young Love,” the longtime siren song of Madison Avenue, is being remixed as marketers increasingly turn their attention to consumers born when “45” meant music rather than the number after 44 and “Apple” meant fruit.
The former Olympian Mary Lou Retton endorses artificial hips and knees for older consumers wanting to remain active.
Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle company, is participating in a More magazine conference to connect with women over 40.
The ardor for younger consumers has lasted for decades, says an article in the advertising column of The New York Times, fueled by perceptions of them as being more likely to try new products and change brands and to spend almost every penny they make. Older consumers, by contrast, were less desirable because they were deemed to be shoppers with entrenched habits who lived sedentary, frugal lives.
The arrival of the baby boomers -- the 76 million Americans born from 1946 to 1964 -- into the upper age brackets is the leading reason for the shift in opinions about older consumers. Free-spending boomers think young, to quote from a Pepsi-Cola slogan of their era, regardless of how old they actually are.
“It’s a demographic group that’s too big and too rich to ignore,” said Jerry Shereshewsky, chief executive at Grandparents.com in New York, which publishes an e-mail newsletter and a Web site. “There’s still a lot of missionary work, but little by little, advertisers are getting it,” said Mr. Shereshewsky, who has hired the New York office of Taxi to create a campaign planned for the end of the year.
Another reason for the change is that consumers in their 60s, 70s and 80s are behaving differently from their counterparts in previous decades, particularly in their willingness to travel, dine out and adopt new technologies.
“They see life as something to grab and want to look great, feel great,” said Mary Lou Quinlan, who runs Just Ask a Woman, a marketing company in New York that works for clients like Clairol and GlaxoSmithKline.
“They won’t settle for the meager choices marketers might have offered in the past,” she added.
'On-Demand' Airline Dayjet Begins Service
DayJet officially launched October 3 its on-demand business airline that uses very light jets to shuttle people to five of Florida's regional airports.
DayJet began direct service to airports in Boca Raton, Gainesville, Lakeland, Pensacola and Tallahassee, reports Associated Press, selling individual seats to time-strapped business travelers who need to travel to smaller Florida airports and want to customize their flight itinerary.
The company, founded by chief executive Ed Iacobucci, has drawn the interest of state politicians including Gov. Charlie Crist and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp. "We applaud DayJet, whose launch begins by connecting five important cities throughout Florida, sparking a revolution in business travel that will bring major economic benefits to our state," Kottkamp said.
With direct flights on three-passenger Eclipse 500 jets, DayJet says it can deliver people to destinations faster, and have them home the same day -- without the hassle of changing planes at larger, busier airports or driving several hours each way.
The airline has an "on-demand" online reservation system, which has no set flight schedule. DayJet's customers tell the airline where they want to fly and how much time they have to get there, and the company responds with a price. One way flights can range anywhere from roughly a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000.
Computers, using complicated math formulas and algorithms, also determine where the company can best position its planes and schedule flights to make the most money.
DayJet has generated interest with its business model, though some observers wonder if demand will be sufficient and if the flights are going to be affordable.
New Videos On Google Earth Could Be Boon To Tourism
Reuters reports that Google Inc is bringing the world of online video and map-making closer together by allowing users of its Google Earth software to watch and hear YouTube videos mapped to specific locations.
Google is offering a new YouTube video overlay on top of its Google Earth three-dimensional visualization software, which combines satellite images, maps, terrain and buildings of the world.
By allowing YouTube creators to geographically locate their videos on a map of the world, Google enables Internet users to zoom in on locations around the planet and watch YouTube tied to that place.
For example, travelers to Maui might find videos of surfing, snorkeling or exotic fish, while virtual visitors to Chamonix-Mont Blanc can watch mountaintop ski videos in the Alps.
Google Earth users can already view user-contributed photos uploaded to Panoramio, a photo-mapping service Google acquired in May. In the case of YouTube videos, video creators assign geographical information to their works -- a process also known as "geo-tagging" -- as they upload them to the site.
Study: Online Ad Marketplace To Exceed $61b By 2012
Online publishers will need to offer increasingly innovative ways for marketers to reach their audiences if they want to keep their share of ad dollars as new formats such as social media continue to emerge over the next five years, said the author of a new Web marketing report from Forrester Research.
"The U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast," released this week, paints a picture of an online ad marketplace not only booming in dollars spent -- more than $61 billion -- by 2012, but becoming more evenly distributed among the many available channels says Online Media Daily.
The practice of siphoning the lion's share of one's Web ad spending into a single channel -- be it email, search or display -- will disappear as corporate America aligns its spending with the public's media habits, said the report.
"In years past, interactive marketing spend grew largely due to novelty or from dot-com flame-outs dumping dollars into a single interactive channel -- first display ads, then e-mail, and now search," the report said. "But interactive marketing growth over the next five years will be driven by mainstream businesses that embrace the unique value of interactive tools that engage customers in new ways."
For online media, this means keeping pace with innovation to continue to grab a share of an increasingly well-distributed marketing spend.
Travelers In U.S. Will Still Have To Remove Shoes
You will still have to take your shoes off at the airport checkpoint says the International Herald Tribune. The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that it had rejected the use of a General Electric shoe-scanning machine that was supposed to provide a central benefit for members of the Clear version of the Registered Traveler program: the ability to pass through security with their shoes on. The machine would instead have scanned the shoes electronically for weapons or
explosives.
But the agency said that the GE shoe scanner "does not meet minimum detection standards." In July, it rejected an earlier version of the machine. GE, a partner in the Clear program with the entrepreneur Steven Brill, made changes and submitted the new version in August.
The agency said that it found "significant improvements" in the new version, but that it "still does not meet standards to ensure detection of explosives."
Trump Creates Hotel Brand
Donald Trump yesterday unveiled plans to move beyond hotel development by creating a brand that will feature branded services reports Hotel Business.
The Trump Hotel Collection will include the 10-year-old Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle here as well as Trump hotels under construction in Chicago, Las Vegas and Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.
Nine additional Trump hotel projects are under development in destinations ranging from New Orleans to Dubai. The three casino hotels in Atlantic City that are part of Trump Entertainment are not included in the collection.
While not formally assuming the role of a management company, Trump's new venture will offer branded service and spa programs.
EU Parliament Backs Deal With US On Trans-Atlantic Flights
The European Parliament on Thursday backed an aviation deal between the European Union and the U.S. that opens up restricted trans-Atlantic routes to new rivals, but said U.S. restrictions on foreign ownership of airlines remained a problem.
The "open skies" deal will allow airlines to fly from anywhere in the E.U. to any point in the U.S. It will take effect from March 30, 2008, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
"It's page one in a new chapter in aviation on both sides of the Atlantic. It's an important stepping stone towards more integrated trans-Atlantic aviation traffic," said Belgian Socialist lawmaker Said El Khadraoui, charged with steering the new rules through the E.U. assembly.
E.U. negotiators now want to push on with new talks to eliminate remaining barriers on airline ownership and limits to routes E.U. airlines can fly in the U.S.
Under the new rules, U.S. carriers, for example, will now be able to fly from New York to London, where they can pick up passengers and fly on to Stockholm -- offering competition on trips within the E.U. But E.U. airlines will still not be able to operate in domestic U.S. routes, an issue E.U. parliamentarians urged the E.U. governments to take up with the U.S. in further talks that are to start next year.
The E.U. has said the deal -- already unanimously approved by the member states -- would reduce the cost of tickets, putting an extra 25 million people on trans-Atlantic flights within five years. Just under 50 million travelers now fly those routes.
Google Gives Some Hints About Social Network Plan
Just days ago, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive was warning that social networking may be a fad. Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, is far less dismissive reports a The New York Times blog.
People don’t appreciate how many page views on the Internet are in social networks,” Mr. Schmidt told a group of reporters at the end of its Zeitgeist conference, a two-day gathering of an eclectic mix of Google partners, competitors, social activists and politicians.
Social networks, he said, account for an “enormous proportion” of Internet usage, he added. “It is very real. It’s a very real phenomenon.”
In a conversation that also included the company’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Mr. Schmidt did little to answer what was in the mind of several reporters: What is Google going to do to remedy its lack of success in social networking?
Mr. Schmidt did say that over the next year, Google is planning to use information it has about the connections between its users, something techies call the “social graph,” to improve searches and other Google services. He said the company would like to sell advertising for Facebook, a position currently enjoyed by Microsoft. And he highlighted Google’s existing social network service, Orkut, and its deal to sell ads on behalf of MySpace, the largest social networking site.
New Airline Kiosks Now Serve Multiple Carriers
In a move that could save air travelers time, more U.S. airports are installing common-use kiosks that enable self-check-in for multiple airlines says USA Today.
Nine U.S. airports now have the devices to supplement or replace the airlines' own self-check-in kiosks. That's up from two airports five years ago. Among the places they can be found: Seattle-Tacoma, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Washington Dulles.
Airports own the common-use kiosks and often place them in terminal areas not occupied by an airline. This spreads out travelers away from airline counters, improving the flow of people, says Byford Treanor, an executive at Dallas/Fort Worth. That airport has 51 common-use kiosks. It plans to buy more.
They can be a benefit to travelers who want to avoid congestion around airlines' counters, or who may have been dropped off at the wrong place, far from their airline's ticketing operations.
American Airlines Signs On Priceline
American Airlines is making priceline.com its exclusive distribution partner for opaque airline tickets. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed says a recent article on Internet Travel News.
"Opaque" refers to a type of purchase, such as priceline.com's Name Your Own Price, where a customer buys an airline ticket and is provided with the name of the airline and the itinerary information after the purchase is completed. By being flexible with their travel plans, priceline.com's Name Your Own Price(R) customers can save up to 40% compared to published prices found on other major online travel reservation sites.
American also sells its tickets through priceline.com's Published-Price airline ticketing service.
United Plans $4 Billion In Capital Improvements Over 5 Years
United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton said Friday that the carrier intends to spend nearly $4 billion on improvements in the next five years and reiterated interest in a merger.
According to Associated Press, Tilton, who also is chairman and chief executive of parent UAL, said in a message to United employees that the nation's No. 2 airline has drawn up more than 250 initiatives as part of a five-year plan.
He did not disclose specifics, but said the spending will support improvements for both customers and employees and is aimed at producing revenue and efficiency improvements.
The ambitious goals come on the heels of a third quarter in which Tilton said United is expected to have produced one of the best revenue showings in the industry. U.S. airlines report quarterly results later this month
Sol Melia Starts Luxury Hotel Marketing Brand
Sol Melia Hotels is the lead partner in a new marketing brand focusing on Europe called Luxury Lifestyle Hotels & Resorts. The brand promotes more than 100 mostly independent properties in 15 European countries says Hotel Business.
Sol Melia's partners in the undertaking include The Stein Group, Historic Hotels of Sweden, and American Express, among others.
Star Alliance Begins Terminal Consolidation
US Airways has relocated to the new South Terminal at Miami International Airport, completing the first step in a collocation project which will in future see all five Star Alliance member carriers operating from the same terminal.
Member carrier United is scheduled to move on October 12th, 2007, says Airline Travel News, with Lufthansa and SWISS moving on November 1st, 2007 and Air Canada following suit by mid-November.
Located in the new concourse J, the 50 shared ticketing and check-in counters form the backbone of this new development and will allow the five member carriers to improve customer service, while at the same time lower operational costs. Monitors located behind each counter will identify the airline while also displaying the Star Alliance logo.
Nevada Targeting Mexico
The Nevada Commission on Tourism launched plans to develop the lucrative Mexico travel market for skiing, golf and shopping, announced Lt. Gov. Brian K. Krolicki.
"Mexico is Nevada's third largest international market and a huge potential source of visitors and the revenue they generate for our state's leading industry, tourism," Mr Krolicki said. "Our research shows that internationally traveling Mexicans enjoy ski vacations, golf trips, shopping and entertainment, which Nevada offers in abundance."
Mexican visitors to Nevada last year numbered more than 368,000 to Las Vegas alone, ranking just behind the United Kingdom at 388,000, with Canada being No. 1 at 1.4 million visitors.
When categorizing Mexican visitors by income, says TravelMole, the largest group earns $80,000 to $99,000 a year, visits Nevada an average of nearly six nights per trip and spends an average of $1,333 per person.
"International visitors are vital to Nevada's tourism-based economy, and it is our goal to develop valuable markets such as Mexico and attract as many travelers as we can," state tourism Director Tim Maland said.
He said the tourism agency will work to increase its contact with Mexico's tourism industry and arrange familiarization tours to enable Mexican tour operators and travel journalists to experience Nevada's attractions first-hand.
Plans also include developing a Spanish language Web site, brochures and printed material and producing a ski familiarization tour to Reno-Lake Tahoe this winter.
Airport Check-In: At S.F., It's Easy To Find Your Car Again
San Francisco International has installed at its parking lots new metal dispensers that are stacked with tickets to help remind passengers where they've left their cars reports USA Today.
About half the size of a postcard, the tickets contain the relevant information: the name of the lot, the level where the car is parked and the phone number for assistance. Passengers can grab a ticket as they exit the level or head to the elevator, then tear or mark the alphabet letter that indicates their row.
Granite Bay, Calif.-based Parking Locator, which makes the product, says Washington Dulles and Nashville will feature the dispensers in coming months.
Report: African-American Market Untapped By Most Providers
The African-American market -- projected to wield a buying power of $981 billion by 2010 -- has not been cultivated by most financial service providers, according to a new report profiled in Marketing Daily.
The group not only holds fewer credit cards than any other major racial or ethnic group, but it also uses them far less often -- leaving significant room for growth, according to "African American Credit, Debit and Prepaid Card Users: Undervalued and Overlooked," a new report from Packaged Facts.
There remains feverish interest in the growing Hispanic population, while overlooking the fact that incomes of African-Americans continue to outpace those of Hispanics. This presents a tremendous opportunity for financial service organizations in terms of both attracting more cardholders and persuading them to increase the frequency of use, according to Luis Clemens, the author of the report.
Current credit card usage among the two groups is about the same. And unlike the Hispanic market, there is no potential language barrier with African-Americans, he notes. "In the process of marketing to one attractive group, they have overlooked another very attractive group," says Clemens, who is currently the editor of La Politica.
Currently, more than two million African-American households have incomes of $75,000. Packaged Facts estimates that the aggregate income of affluent black households -- those bringing in $100,000 or more per year -- has already reached $116 billion. Yet only 45% of adult blacks in the U.S. had or used credit cards in the fall of 2006, accounting for just 7% of the total adult credit card user population, and the African-American debit card use rate scored below the general population's rate.
American Express is one example of a company that has done a good job focusing on the African-American market, especially the top-of-the-line segment with a household income of more than $200,000. "This is a growing segment of the African-American population, and there is definitely not as high [a rate] of credit cards use as with whites earning the same income," Clemens says.
Don’t Be Shy About Conversational Marketing
Selling products and services through multiple channels -- from cyberspace to actual store counters -- offers a number of touch-points where information can be gathered from customers or potential customers. Most marketers clearly understand the importance of using this information to personalize communications with customers and perhaps even to customize products and offerings for them. The challenge retailers continually face says brandchannel, is how to glean all the valuable information from shoppers
successfully without having the customers feel as if they are being stalked or needlessly bothered.
The clinical term for the practice that causes people to withdraw is “psychological reactance.” This reaction could help explain why some retailers are hesitant to, or simply do not, actively engage in interactive or conversational marketing.
So, how can a retailer successfully get past the fear of creating a clinical reaction? By utilizing conversational marketing techniques. Conversational marketing is a proxy for an actual discussion about what customers want and what retailers are able to offer to meet their needs. To get there, retailers must know just enough about their customers to make friendly suggestions about what else the buyer may like to buy without crossing the line where an interaction gets so personal that it makes the shopper uncomfortable. In other words, they need to get to know their customers as actual people with desires and dislikes.
Personalization will evolve as marketing moves from mass marketing to conversational marketing, a concept that is not be confused with Internet marketing. The Internet is a technology that facilitates customer interaction. Interactive or conversational marketing is the ability to take what the customer says, process that information, and then give it back to the customer in a way that the customer finds meaningful and is then likely to respond to.
Personalization is the ability to use unique customer information to communicate with the customer. Conversational marketing requires a customer database and the ability to access this database across all communications channels. To monitor the success of these programs, marketers must be able to access customer information across sales channels in order to get a complete view of the potential buyer before executing marketing programs.
Marriott Profit Falls, Raising Concerns Of Industry Slowdown
Marriott International Inc the No. 2 U.S. hotel operator, on Thursday posted a 7.6% decline in quarterly profit and forecast future earnings below Wall Street expectations, signaling a slowdown in the booming lodging industry.
Marriott's earnings decline comes amid a broader concern of softening in the leisure sector says the Washington Post. On Wednesday, shares in casino operators Las Vegas Sands Corp and Wynn Resorts Ltd plunged 12% and 10%, respectively, because of signs of disappointing growth in the Chinese gambling haven of Macau.
Marriott, which typically manages hotels instead of owning them, said net income for the third quarter ended September 7 fell to $131 million from $141 million because of lower timeshare profits and due to a tax rate that jumped to 43.5% from 34.8%.
Russian Hotels Top Choice For Investors, Despite Shortage Of Stock
Increasing visitor numbers, a growing economy and rising average room rates are fuelling investor interest in Russian hotels says an article in ehotelier.
Moscow is the most expensive European city in which to stay with average room rates at $352 per night; a 20% increase on last year's figure. Average room yields are also rising at $254 per room; a 25% increase on last year and ahead of Paris and London, said Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels at yesterday's Russia and CIS Hotel Investment Forum, held in Moscow.
Mark Wynne-Smith, European CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels said: "Record-breaking revenues and the lowest labor costs in Europe make Moscow hotels spectacularly profitable. Moscow is a unique but highly successful market -- the demand comes mainly from business travelers. Expensive room rates and a shortage of affordable accommodation are contributing to the stagnation in demand from tourists. This leaves a niche in the market for the development of mid-market and budget accommodation."
Downtown Vibe, Uptown Prices
As my husband and I approach the Jade Bar in the Manhattan's Gramercy Park Hotel for an after-dinner drink, writes The Wall Street Journal, a young man with a clipboard intercepts us.
Though we're hotel guests, apparently we need a reservation after 9 p.m., both here and for the sanctum within, the Rose Bar. Suddenly, I feel like I'm back at Studio 54 in the 1970s -- and I can't get past the velvet rope, le
The feeling isn't so surprising, because hip hotelier Ian Schrager, who's made the renewal of this historic hotel his pet project, was a founder of the long-defunct disco. Fortunately, before we get too downcast, we learn that an even more exclusive bar awaits us on the rooftop, for guests only -- and we don't need a reservation.
The Gramercy Park Hotel is part of new wave of luxury boutique hotels in New York and other cities with a private-club vibe, atmospheric décor and the promise of first-class services and amenities -- at a price. Many are opening in restored landmarks or buildings painstakingly designed to look like one. Atlanta's Ellis Hotel opens Oct. 15 on the city's highest hill in a 1913 building where a famous hotel fire took place, while Boston's Liberty Hotel opened last month in the storied Charles Street Jail. In Portland, Ore., the Hotel deLuxe opened last year in a 1912 building restored to recall old Hollywood.
Recently, my husband and I tried the Gramercy and farther downtown, the rival Bowery Hotel, finding both a refreshing, if quirky, change from stark, minimalist hotels with mobbed lobby bar scenes and revelers lined up at the door -- par for the course at boutique hotels such as Starwood's W chain and some of Mr. Schrager's earlier projects, such as Miami's Delano.
Mr. Schrager, who's often credited with inventing the boutique concept, says he plans to build eight or nine more "private label" boutique hotels such as the Gramercy around the country; he also recently signed a deal with Marriott Corp. to create a chain of 100 or more boutique hotels in the U.S. and overseas that combine a sophisticated and edgy look with great service. "You will not be walking through a nightclub to get to your room," he promises. "That was the idea 25 years ago, but it's time for a new idea."
NYC Renovating Dingy Marriage Bureau To Draw Destination Weddings
With its dingy decor, plastic chairs and metal-detector-equipped entrance, New York City's marriage bureau doesn't exactly scream "destination wedding."
So, says USA Today, city officials have tapped the same pricey decorator who redid Mayor Michael Bloomberg's town house to design a more romantic space, one that might attract couples looking to tie the knot away from home.
"People have complained for a long time" about what the marriage bureau looks like, Bloomberg said Thursday. "It is dehumanizing, it is anything but the kind of environment you would want for a happy day for two people."
As it stands now, any bride who bothers to don a large, white gown for her civil ceremony has to squeeze through a metal detector in a municipal building near City Hall. Bouquets get rolled through an X-ray scanner.
By the spring, city officials say they expect to move the second-floor office of the city clerk, including the marriage bureau and its small chapel, out of its current drab home and into a city-owned, landmarked building just a few blocks away.
Disney Plans Hawaii Resort Hotel
The Walt Disney Co. plans to build a family resort in Hawaii, reports Forbes, but it won't be an island Disneyland.
Walt Disney Parks & Resorts announced Wednesday it has bought 21 acres of oceanfront property on the western side of Oahu that it will use to build an 800-room hotel complex. The resort, Disney's first without a nearby theme park, will emphasize family-centered vacations while respecting Hawaii's culture, said Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo.
"It will give our guests another way to visit a place that they've loved for many years," Rasulo said. "As the crossroads of Asia, it is your diverse culture that makes this place so special."
Disney spent $144 million to buy the land at the Ko Olina development, near the existing J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa.
Disney has several themed resort hotels near Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida, but it has never built a hotel resort that will stand on its own. Hawaii has no full-scale amusement park.
Construction on the resort is expected to begin next year, with opening set for 2011. The planned Disney complex has not yet been named. Rasulo said there were no plans to expand the resort into a theme park.
Orbitz Launches Traveler Updates
Orbitz is launching its incentive program supporting the beta-test of its OrbitzTLC Traveler Update service. Orbitz also recently unveiled its newest television advertising creative, showcasing this latest technology innovation says Internet Travel News.
OrbitzTLC Traveler Update is a new service which invites travelers to share real-time information regarding what's happening in and around the nation's top airports. Additionally, the site includes historical security wait times from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), up-to-the-minute flight information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), OrbitzTLC air traffic alerts and other reliable traffic and weather information.
Sultan Sees Wealth In Rwandan Tourism
Rwanda, notorious for the horror of the 1994 genocide that claimed almost a million lives, is fast emerging as an investment- friendly destination. The small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Africa has been endorsed by an international investor already in charge of the economic renaissance, reports City Press Business.
Dubai World, owners of Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, is pumping millions of dollars into Rwanda’s fledgling economy and are actively selling the country worldwide as an attractive tourism and investment destination.
Dubai World chairperson Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: “Rwanda is the most improved sub-Saharan nation. It has come a long way in sustainable development and has a safe environment which has tremendous potential for growth.”
Rocky Mountain High For Denver Meeting Market
Denver's 2.2 million square foot Colorado Convention Center is the region's largest meeting space and was recently expanded in time for the Democratic National Convention next year, which will give the area another boost up in its meetings market.
"We had 13% growth year-over-year from 2005 to 2006, and tourism is now the second-largest industry in the state," said Angela Berardino, senior communications manager at the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Denver Convention Center has 554,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space and about 7,300 hotel rooms within walking distance.
According to TravelMole, The Ritz-Carlton opening next month will add another 202 rooms and 13,000 square feet of meeting space. One of the city's newcomers is The Curtis Hotel, a 336-room luxury property with 19,000 square feet of meeting space. The venerable Brown Palace is undergoing an $8 million renovation to update 241 guest rooms set for completion next summer.
The city's downtown, known as LoDo, is also thriving. The highly walkable neighborhood of 23-square blocks has more than 100 historic buildings. A free shuttle bus takes visitors through the pedestrian-only area that includes restaurants and bars.
Easyjet Steps Up Pressure On Air France
Airline Travel News is reporting that Easyjet is stepping up the pressure on Air France-KLM in its home Gallic territory after it announced a major expansion of its operations including two new bases for its airplanes.
The budget airline will start 13 new routes and will base three jets at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport and two at Lyon's Saint-Exupery.
Easyjet expects to carry more than 6 million fliers through French airports in 2007. The new bases could add a further 2 million to its traffic by 2008.
The Widening Gap Among Europe's Airlines
The announcement that BA is to spend $8.2bn on 36 new aircraft came the same day as SAS's ceo stressed that his carrier must grow by 20% by 2011 and take rival's share of the market to compete. The two announcements seem to highlight the widening gap between Europe's three biggest traditional carriers and the rest.
But what is more remarkable, says BusinessTravelEurope, is that while BA is in the top three, SAS is ranked fourth.
The top three are clearly interested in expansions and acquisitions while the strategy of the rest of the legacy carriers appears to be more about survival.
It has long been predicted by aviation analysts that this is how the European industry would pan out: the big three becoming increasingly dominant with the medium-sized and smaller carriers being absorbed or going out of business.
This week gave an indication that this might now be starting to happen.
The consortium of which BA is a leading member is set to make a firm bid for Iberia by the end of the month, according to a report by Reuters.
Air France KLM executives have been making noises about a possible bid for Iberia while at the same time eyeing an alliance with the deeply troubled Alitalia. The second option looks by far the better bet.
Air France has long had close relations with Alitalia -- both are member of the same SkyTeam alliance -- and the Italian government is anxious to get the loss making carrier off its hands by the end of the year. With a distinct shortage of suitors, Air France KLM might have the field to itself.
This was also the week that Lufthansa, having completed its integration with SWISS, indicated that it might too be looking for more acquisitions, with Iberia -- inevitably -- in the frame.
The reason the German carrier gave for its renewed interest was that the current squeeze on credit might bring airline prices down. Previously it has said that the BA bid for Iberia is too high.
Hotel Wants You To Sleep On It
The Fairmont Washington, D.C. announced its new amenity: The Sleep Concierge.
"Guests, who find it hard to sleep while away from home, will discover that the Fairmont's Sleep Concierge may just be the answer to their dreams," says the hotel.
Guests checking into Fairmont Gold, at The Fairmont Washington, D.C., find a "Sleep Menu" on their pillows says TravelMole. Fairmont Gold are the accommodations on the ninth floor that form a 'hotel within hotel,' offering various special amenities.
The Sleep Menu includes:
- An in-room 15-minute de-stress Neck Massage
- An in-room 30-minute Yoga Sleep Class
- Rose Petals for the Bath
- Lavender Scented Candles
- Scented Bath Soaks
- Moet mini nightcaps
- Sleep inducing teas with Lavender Cookies
- CD of zMusic, The Sound Way to Sleep(TM), by Sleep Garden
- A Silk Eye Pillow
- Teddy Bears
After reviewing the menu, guests simply dial the Sleep Concierge to order one or more sleep components. The Sleep Concierge then arrives with the sleep order, which is presented, on a soft, fluffy pillow. Menu items range from $8 to $30 each.
Concierges Go Extra Mile In Internet Age
Adjusting to a new wave of Internet-age travelers in search of unique and authentic travel experiences, hotels are revolutionizing their information desks.
High-end brands are upgrading concierge operations and training staffs to improve their neighborhood knowledge. Other brands are looking for better ways to share information with guests electronically about local restaurants, events and attractions.
Marriott's TownePlace Suites, for example, has put large maps on lobby walls marked with recommended restaurants and attractions. Management makes recommendations with input from guests who have been to the places. Courtyard by Marriott later this year will roll out at Fairfax, Va., its first "Go Board," a flat-panel HDTV with local information, including restaurant recommendations, for guests.
At Loews, the 18-hotel luxury chain, the new "In The Know" program calls on concierges each week to come up with a list of local tips. They share them with front-desk staff and porters, who then pass along the tips to guests. Porters are supposed to provide the tips when delivering bags for guests after check-in.
"Every brand is working on ways to deliver local knowledge," says Marriott's John Wolf. "Hotels must not only figure out how to get local knowledge in the hands of employees and train them to deliver it, but also how to provide local knowledge that is relevant to guests' needs."
According to USA Today, hotel experts say guests have become more knowledgeable about their destinations because of the Internet and the growing number of information sources. They want to escape from the harsher post-9/11 world and better connect with the places they're visiting and the people who live there. They want experiences that provide lasting memories and give them something to brag about at cocktail parties.
"Guests are looking for whatever it is that makes Detroit Detroit," says Michelle Lapierre, Marriott's senior director of customer relationship marketing. "There's a desire to say, 'I caught a little slice of that.' "
Roberta Nedry, president of Hospitality Excellence, which provides concierge and guest service training for hotels and other clients, says hotel guests want "meaningful and memorable experiences" that allow them to forget terrorism, airport hassles and the Iraq War. "They're taking shorter trips, so those two to three days away better be special," she says.
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