December 1, 2007
Wall Street: Glum Outlook For Hotels And Conventions
A top Wall Street investment firm is advising investors to shy away from the hotel business, the Orlando Sentinel has reported.
In a research note distributed this week, Goldman Sachs says the combination of a slowing national economy, cutbacks in corporate travel and a glut of hotel-room construction means the lodging industry looks to be headed for a sputtering stretch that could last "many quarters." The firm downgrades its view of the hotel sector to "Cautious" from "Neutral."
As one specific example of the problems facing hotels, Goldman Sachs points to the badly slumping financial-services industry. Analysts Steven Kent writes, "Financial services are major buyers of hotel rooms. Over the past several weeks, a number of major financial institutions have lowered their expectations and, invariably, they will be 'tightening their belts.' This should lead to a reduction in travel expenditures, as cutting back on travel is one of the quickest and most visible ways to control expenses."
Goldman Sachs also lowers its estimates for Las Vegas casino operators because of businesses slashing their travel budgets ─ something that could also be bad news for Orlando and the sprawling Orange County Convention Center. "Considering the current forecast for a deceleration in economic activity, we expect businesses could send fewer people to industry meetings and plan fewer conferences," Kent writes.
Zagat Survey Finds Flyers Would Rather Take FedEx
Holiday travel season is ─ for better or worse ─ upon us. Just in time, Zagat ─ best known for more salubrious experiences in restaurants ─ is releasing its "Global Airlines Survey" covering 84 airlines and 46 major airports.
The survey of 7,498 frequent flyers revealed ─ no stunning surprise here ─ that travelers are not ecstatic about flying. Some of the more colorful comments from the survey: "I'd rather be a package on FedEx"; "If they could have pay toilets, they would"; "The legroom is great if you're a yard gnome"; "Only good thing about first class these days is that you get to leave the plane first."
Then there's this classic, which would be funny if it were on "Seinfeld." "When asked what kind of chicken they had, one traveler replied: 'the dead kind'."
Still, says Marketing Daily, given their choice, flyers Continental, JetBlue, Midwest, Southwest and Virgin America are the way to go, domestically.
One clear trend among domestic carriers ─ a trend one sees mirrored in other market segments ─ is that smaller startups with new fleets and a clear point of differentiation seem to please customers.
Midwest, which has taken top honors in the last eight Zagat surveys, has staked a claim in the economy-carrier segment with a strategy of avoiding major hubs and touting value-adds like better snacks and even its own branded line of cookies. Virgin and JetBlue were Nos. 2 and 3. They were followed by Frontier and Hawaiian. For domestic premium, Virgin America, Continental, Hawaiian, Alaska and AirTran won.
Zagat, which ranks domestic air service on a 30-point scale, said that since 1990 the quality ratings of American Airlines, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways have decreased anywhere from five to nine points.
International carriers fared much better than domestics, with Singapore Airlines taking top honors in every category. Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates Airline and ANA did well in the survey.
Eco Lies: What Does 'Green' Mean?
As I write this, says Travel + Leisure’s Andrea Bennett, I'm in a hotel room on the Vegas Strip, looking out my window at the construction site of what will be the largest green hotel in the world, set within MGM Mirage's $7.4 billion City Center.
The hotel is pursuing certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, which sets standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Among the measures it's taking: recycling 80% of construction waste and building a monorail to the Bellagio. But if you check in when the hotel opens in 2009, you might not notice it's green; a loophole allows it to be LEED-certified even though guests can smoke in the casino (it is ventilated, however).
Unless you stay in an eco-lodge, you're not always likely to see a property's efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. Sure, you might be asked to recycle towels and use a key card that controls your room's lights and climate. But subtler measures, such as building with recycled materials and landscaping to use less water, aren't so apparent.
You can look for some proof of certification, but dozens of countries, several U.S. states, and a number of industries have their own labeling programs with varying standards, so it's difficult to know just how green your hotel really is. (See five of the most reputable programs.) To complicate this scenario, many properties are bypassing accreditation in favor of developing their own sustainability plans. The Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C., for instance, uses renewable wind electricity and purchases organic food whenever possible.
Eco-construction is a growing phenomenon. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, there are now 118 hotels that have registered for LEED certification. So far, only one hotel ─ the Gaia Napa Valley ─ has earned the Gold certificate (the highest level). Striving to be the second Gold winner, the Proximity Hotel, in North Carolina, will use rooftop solar panels, install elevators that generate a portion of their own power, and use an air-exchange system to reduce its energy consumption. And LEED is expanding to international hotels. Easter Island's Explora Rapa Nui, set to open in December, seeks to obtain Gold status.
Kiosks Hot Airport Trend
Hot trends in airport design include an increase in self-service kiosks, more concessions to deal with longer dwell times and better uses of security space, says Thomas Rossbach, associate VP and aviation market sector director for HNTB Architecture.
"We see less people going into the lobby," said Rossbach in an interview with Airports. "Now when we plan and simulate terminals, we see ticket counters staying the same size or even shrinking. But we see airports adding gates and automated baggage systems. And airlines are using less staff, so operational spaces are not as large as they used to be."
According to Aviation Week, terminal renovations are not as associated with passenger growth, said Angela Gittens, HNTB's VP-airport business services. "We see airports trying to make more convenient the security features in the way passengers process themselves," she explained.
Airports are seeing more dwell times, both overall and past security, Rossbach said. "So we see more of them adding concessions and doing renovations just to keep up revenue, even though they're not seeing more passengers," he said. "With longer dwell times, airports see an increase in food/beverage and retail spending."
With airlines cutting their inflight food, airports are having to fill the gap, Gittens said. "We're also seeing some airports decentralizing what constitutes the airport. Las Vegas is a good example, by taking the airport to where the passengers are by offering check-in at hotels," she said. "Airports like San Diego and Hartsfield are processing passengers in parking garages. We're seeing a diversified check-in philosophy and diversified locations."
Delivering Fliers From Lost Luggage
When Brian Garay, a 26-year-old car salesman from Anaheim, Calif., flew to New Jersey on vacation last year on Delta Airlines, his delayed luggage forced him to spend two days in clothes he borrowed from his girlfriend's father says a recent article in The Wall Street Journal.
To avoid gambling on his belongings on this year's Christmas trip, Mr. Garay is shelling out nearly $500 to have two suitcases delivered to the front doorsteps of his girlfriend's home by Baggage Quest LLC, a luggage delivery company in Yorba Linda, Calif. The company will send someone to pick up Mr. Garay's bags from his home, package the items appropriately, and then arrange shipping to the final destination. "I can only imagine how terrible the lines are going to be at the carousel this Christmas and what a pain it will be to buy new stuff again," Mr. Garay says. "The airlines are my last choice."
With a record number of bags almost certain to be lost this holiday travel season, a niche of services that helps find lost luggage or keep them from ever disappearing is thriving.
Services now offer door-to-door luggage delivery, assistance with tracking shipped bags and sturdy luggage tags with identification codes to help misplaced items reach owners. Luggage delivery companies also handle shipments abroad, which can help passengers embarking on a long international flight bypass the often slow customs-clearance process. Most companies provide reimbursements if bags are lost, and the services are available everywhere the major shipping carriers go.
Denver Airport Sets Wi-Fi Free
Travelers at Denver International Airport who have previously had to pay for wireless Internet access are getting an early Christmas surprise: The service is now free says The Denver Post.
The airport has been quietly testing a free wireless-fidelity, or Wi-Fi, system since early November, DIA spokesman Jeff Green said. "We did this just to really improve the service we were giving travelers that come through the airport," he said. "It's been pretty successful and better than some of the usage that we saw before, when it was a pay service."
DIA, which is offering the service across the airport terminal and concourses, joins hundreds of other airports, including three in Colorado, in providing the service. Other large airports with free Wi-Fi include Phoenix Sky Harbor; San Diego; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Las Vegas; and Portland, Ore.
Early installations of wireless access began in 2000 in Seattle; Austin, Texas; and Dallas, and within five years, offering the service had become a mainstay at most airports, according to the Airports Council International. Chicago and Los Angeles are the exceptions.
While most large airports have Wi-Fi in their terminals, it is smaller airports — those serving 500,000 to 2 million passengers annually — that have full Wi-Fi access, and many of those airports offer it for free, according to the ACI.
Trend: Support Building For Airline Mergers?
The head of United Airlines said Tuesday he no longer feels like a voice in the wilderness in arguing that airlines must consider consolidation to withstand competitive challenges, including rising fuel costs.
"We at United have been talking about this for the past three to four years, and there's been very little company among us," UAL CEO Glenn Tilton told Associated Press after delivering a speech to business leaders at the Boston College Chief Executives Club.
"Now, we have virtually everybody saying the same thing," Tilton said, noting that several rival airline CEOs suggested on third-quarter conference calls that the time may be right for industry mergers and acquisitions. "I think we've come a long way, when you consider that early on, we were the only people saying that."
United has been the focus of recent industry merger rumors, including the possibility of pairing with Delta Air Lines. Tilton wouldn't say whether he or other executives at the nation's second-largest carrier have been in any talks with Delta or other potential partners.
But he did say he understood the rationale for a United-Delta pairing — a case a hedge fund made Nov. 16 in a presentation to other investors in the two airlines. The presentation was by Gordon Bethune, an adviser to hedge fund Pardus Capital Management LP and former chief executive of Continental Airlines.
"I think that's Gordon Bethune's assessment of the combination of companies that have very few overlaps," Tilton told reporters. "So on that basis, you would say that any company combination that has relatively few overlaps is going to have fewer personnel redundancies, and fewer job losses, and certainly no worries about redundant service to small communities or medium-size communities."
But Tilton declined to comment on whether he thought a United-Delta pairing would be a good fit.
New Mexico Ads Universally Disliked?
The latest tourist war in New Mexico involves a different kind if visitor: aliens from outer space, says TravelMole.
"Instead of highlighting New Mexico's picturesque desert landscapes, art galleries or centuries-old culture, the ads feature drooling, grotesque office workers from outer space chatting about their personal lives," says the AP.
To some, the 30-second TV spots — which lead in roundabout fashion to the tag line that New Mexico may be "the best place in the Universe" — are provocative, funny and bold.
But critics see nothing funny about the ads. They say the attention called to the state could impair its huge $5.1 billion tourism industry.
Critics say the reptilian spacemen may be more apt to baffle or frighten away a tourist than influence them to take a visit. "New Mexico has a lot to offer — we don't need to bring our standards down," said Ken Mompellier, head of the CVB in Las Cruces. That area has refused to use the alien ads.
Trends: What Are Marketers Thinking?
Have you ever wanted to get inside another marketer’s head? That is exactly what researchers from Anderson Analytics set out to do reports eMarkter.
At a moment when the marketing environment may more difficult than at any time in history, they surveyed over 600 members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) to identify the “Top Marketing Trends for 2008.”
“Senior marketers are facing an increasingly complex world with new technologies and new market segments rising to the fore,” said Chandra Chaterji, a member of the MENG Board of Directors.
As things get more complex, marketers are returning to basics. When asked what the main themes they were concentrating on were, marketing basics, SEO and personalization topped the list.
When asked what was the most important demographic to target, marketing executives said the baby boomers (88%), closely followed by Gen Xers and Hispanics.
Executives felt the biggest future opportunity was in China, followed by India.
“This finding is not surprising,” said Tom Anderson of Anderson Analytics “Many companies are engaging in ‘knowledge process offshoring’ (KPO) which includes everything from customer data processing to more advanced marketing analytics.”
To see what was influencing marketers’ thinking now, they were asked what books they were reading. Good to Great was the book most recently read by most marketing executives, followed the The World Is Flat and Blink!.
Canadians Expected To Heat Up Arizona's Economy
For those hoping that Arizona's suddenly sputtering economy could stay as warm as its seemingly endless summer, says USA Today, help is on the way from colder climes.
Like Canada.
Tourism officials expect to see a continued growing influx of Canadian visitors during the waning weeks of autumn and across the winter, possibly stronger than ever because their money is worth more this year than the U.S. dollar for the first time in the past 30 years.
The Canadian dollar was trading at $1.01 at one point in late November, or 63% more than the all-time low 61.79 cents it was valued at in January 2002. "We expect more Canadians this year," said Bob Ingram, executive director of the Yuma Visitors Bureau. "We are optimistic about it."
Metropolitan Yuma's population of 180,000 has swelled the past few winters to about 300,000, with snowbirds flocking in from across the West Coast and from the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Last year, 496,300 Canadians spent time in Arizona, up 17.4% from 423,000 in 2005, and nearly double the 255,000 Canadians who visited the state in 2002.
Mexico and Canada continue to provide the most visitors to Arizona, followed by Britain, Germany, other European countries and Japan. Many Europeans come to experience the Arizona summer, while viewing the Grand Canyon is the top priority for a large number of Japanese.
Cruise Ship Sinking Sparks Concerns Over Antarctica Tourism
A cruise ship takes on water in the Antarctic and three more come quickly to the rescue: A blessing for the survivors, to be sure. But also an indication of a tourism boom that critics say threatens Antarctica's environment and puts passengers at risk.
The 154 passengers and crew of the MS Explorer were all plucked safely from life rafts this weekend by a Norwegian cruise ship as their own vessel slid into the icy seas.
Tourism in the world's southernmost continent has spiked in popularity, says USA Today, but there is little regulation of the lucrative industry. Now giant cruise ships have begun to arrive, and some experts fear catastrophic accidents and environmental damage.
"Under the environmental protocol of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, the whole of Antarctica is supposed to be a reserve," said Jim Barnes, executive director of The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. "It's supposed to be dedicated to science and to protect the wilderness and the environment."
In the 1992-93 season, about 6,700 tourists visited the Antarctic, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. Last season, that had quadrupled to 29,500.
Chicago Might Sell Naming Rights
Might visitors to the Windy City someday ride the Lowe's Chicago El, shop on the Microsoft Magnificent Mile and tour Old Navy Pier?
According to the Associated Press the city has hired a marketing firm to explore the potential for selling naming rights and sponsorships as a way to bring in much-needed city revenue, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.
The Daley administration has awarded a $285,000 contract to Octagon Inc. to examine what the city has to offer and, by next spring, produce a marketing plan that will attract corporate sponsors and advertisers.
Octagon will inventory city programs, events, buildings and other physical assets and determine which would be most attractive to companies that might want to affix their names in some way.
The contract states that any plan must ensure "the integrity of the city of Chicago's brand image," and ideas must be presented to an advisory group of civic leaders, which has not yet been formed.
Southwest's New Flight Plan: Win More Business Travelers
Hoping to wean itself from its reliance on budget travelers, Southwest Airlines is dispatching a beefed-up sales force across the country to woo corporate road warriors The Wall Street Journal has reporetd.
It's a radical ─ and risky ─ change of course for Dallas-based Southwest. The airline built its empire on a foundation of low operating costs and cheap, no-frills flights, and the new strategy could alienate regular customers.
But Southwest's discount dominance has diminished in recent years as new bargain airlines have cropped up and older carriers have cut costs and lowered prices. Meanwhile, other airlines have gained ground by catering to business travelers, who often pay higher prices for last-minute tickets, and they are providing such amenities as assigned seating, first-class cabins and private airport lounges.
Southwest has drawn its share of bargain-hunting business travelers over the years ─ it estimates such customers account for 40% to 50% of its passengers ─ but it would like to have more customers who are willing to pay higher fares. Winning such high-end business travelers would give Southwest the leeway to raise ticket prices at a time when its profits are being pinched by rising costs. But winning the hearts of these notoriously finicky fliers will force Southwest to offer more perks. "That is admittedly the customer that is harder to win," says Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly.
Southwest's new business-friendly policies could also drive away the leisure travelers who have been loyal to the airline because of its low-fare, egalitarian reputation. "It is integrity, really, that's at stake," says Jim Kane, a partner in Brookeside Group of Acton, Mass., which advises companies on customer loyalty. In the past, Southwest's low-fare brand has been so powerful that many travelers booked on the airline without even checking competitors' fares, Mr. Kane notes. By changing its democratic system, "opinions and perceptions will change," he says.
Fed-Up Travelers Pay More To Take Foreign Carriers
While the airline industry has been on a financial upswing lately, some consumers remain turned off after this year's spate of delays and tales of shoddy service. Even though the airlines seemed to perform well during the recent Thanksgiving holiday, many consumers still feel burned by the rampant cancellations and baggage snafus of the summer. Some are also turned on by the swankier perks offered by foreign carriers, particularly in the premium cabins. Other fed-up travelers simply say that employees of foreign carriers seem happier ─ and so treat fliers better.
The Wall Street Journal says foreign airlines do have an edge when it comes to lavish airport lounges and other perks. Virgin Atlantic's Revivals Lounge (for business-class passengers) at London Heathrow has heated floors in its showers. Lufthansa's new two-level lounge in Munich, Germany (reserved for first-class passengers and elite frequent fliers), offers a gourmet restaurant, cigar lounge and chauffeur-driven transportation to the aircraft.
Foreign airlines have also been much quicker to deploy lie-flat seats in the front of the plane. British Airways says it has had flat beds in business class since 2000, and in first since 1996. Air France and Singapore also already have lie-flats in business class, as does Air New Zealand, which can be flown round-trip directly between Los Angeles and London. Among the domestic airlines, United introduced its flat beds Nov. 19, saying it is the first major U.S. airline to offer 180-degree lie-flats in business class on overseas flights. American has been installing lie-flats on its Boeing 767-300s and 777s, but they are angled in business class.
Some industry observers say domestic carriers are catching up to their foreign competitors service-wise. United this summer introduced new appetizers and entrees in first and business class, including citrus-cured smoked salmon and apricot curry braised lamb medallions. Continental this month set new first-class menus for flights throughout the U.S., Canada and some Latin American and Caribbean destinations.
Domestic carriers also are stepping up amenities in their coach cabins and airport lounges (which are generally open to first- and business-class customers, and in some cases to other travelers for a fee of around $50). United is adding an increased number of LCD screens for its in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, which the airline says will provide clearer pictures and better reliability, plus seats with new, ergonomic bottom cushions. Continental is installing new IFEs on its Boeing 777s that have the interactive Berlitz World Traveler foreign language program ─ on which passengers can take language lessons ─ which Air France and Singapore also
have.
Highest Number Of New Hotel Brands In US
There were 34 new hotel brands launched in the US from January to October of last year, says a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. That translates to one brand introduction a month nationwide during that period, or the highest number in a three-year span since 1989.
But unlike the 1980s, says TravelMole, when the United States grew a huge crop of extended-stay, limited service and economy brands, luxury properties are leading the way this time, says PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Of the 34 new concepts, 18 were in the luxury segment, including Baccarat by Starwood Capital Group LLC, SLS Hotels by SBE Entertainment Group, The Rocco Forte Collection by Rocco Forte Hotels, the Waldorf-Astoria Collection by Hilton Hotels and Le Crillion, also by Starwood Capital.
"This is the largest number of new luxury brand hotels in a three-year period since 1982," says the Atlanta Business Journal.
US Airways Inks Partnership With Napkin Network
Napads, a company that operates a virtual napkin network covering popular nightlife venues, has forged a new partnership with US Airways to deliver as many as nine million impressions per buy. It also has spent the last year extending its distribution to cover the country's major markets. The burgeoning "napwork" represents another entrant in advertising via disposable paper hygienic products says Marketing Daily.
Since its launch in January of this year, NapAds has created napkin ads for Absolut, American Express, Bacardi, CW2 and Finlandia, among other advertisers. Target venues include restaurants, sports venues, cinemas, amusement parks, colleges, nightclubs and bars. The five-inch square cocktail napkins offer photo-realistic images and ample space for text messages printed with non-toxic, no-run ink.
Colombia Pushes Passionate Image For Tourism
With political stability improving and economy growth at 7%, Colombia is now focusing on tourism to boost its economy, pushing an image of passionate people and unique tourism sites.
Colombia has already attracted 781,000 tourists from January to September 2007, representing an increase of 14.2% compared to the same period last year, under the tourism and investment brand “Colombia is passion.”
Hotel Travel News reports the country is aiming for 1.3 million by the end of the year by promoting its regions with a combination of historical cities, adventure and ecotourism.
“The country is outside the points of normal tourism, so we are focusing on certain elements,” the minister of industry, commerce and tourism, Luis Guillermo Plata told reporters at the beginning of the UNWTO general assembly in Cartagena, Colombia.
When asked about combating the country’s image of cocaine dealing and insecurity for tourism. Plata explained that the country was improving. “Security is a reality to bring tourists in…we know that there are areas where tourism is not safe, and we will not promote these areas until they are,” he explained.
In 2006 a total of 1.05 million visited Colombia compared to 567,000 in 2002, according to figures from the government's agency for export and investment promotion, Proexport.
Hotel investments are also on the rise. Salvadore’s hotel chain Real Hotels & Resorts will operate the Marriott franchise in Colombia and will open two hotels in Bogota in 2009, adding 503 rooms to the city's supply. Hilton Hotels is building a $50 million hotel in the capital that will open in 2009, adding 245 rooms to Bogota's financial district. Spanish hotel chain NH Hoteles will also open in the same year.
GHL, a Colombian firm that operates franchises of Starwood is spending $100 million in the next two years to build seven hotels targeting tourists and businessmen, including one in Cartagena, as well as Cali, Barranquilla, Medellin and Villavicencio.
"Healthtels" The Rx For Medical Travelers
What do the president of Iraq and your grandmother have in common? In a growing number of cases, it's a continuing concern and focus, not just on the quality of their own life, but in the state of their own health as well. And where do they go to get thoroughly checked out asks MSNBC?
Welcome to the world of the wellness hotel — or the "healthtel" — a destination with a dual purpose: a resort as well as a full health maintenance facility. And, if necessity is indeed the mother of invention, then wellness hotels is a concept that easily fits that definition.
Increased wait-times for appointments, consumer-choice insurance plans and self-referrals have all contributed to this medical travel trend in the U.S.
One hotel in Rochester, Minn. — with a historic yet visionary approach to catering to the needs of patients and their families — is setting the pace by offering this “healthtel” experience.
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is a great example of the rise of domestic and international medical travel. Nearly 100,000 patients travel more than 120 miles each year to the famed healthcare institution. The phenomenon traces back to the 1920s, when patients took trains all the way from Mexico to the Southeastern Minnesota city. When the Clinic began assigning tracking numbers to its patients, “No. 1” was from Canada (patients are now in the six millions). And these days, the patients who travel to the Mayo Clinic from New York, Los Angeles and everywhere in between have created a medical tourism boom in Rochester and contribute to the trend
nationally.
With physician referrals on the rise and many taking their health care into their own hands, patients are willing to travel for better care, expedited appointments and multi-specialty care. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average length of hospital stay in the U.S. is 4.8 days.
Renovate Hotels Or Drop In Rating, Dominican Tourism Chief Warns
Tourism minister Felix Jiménez gave a deadline until December for Puerto Plata hotel owners to present their plans to renovate their hotel rooms, or risk being re-classified as one and two stars.
He said the measure was taken after the zone lost 63,738 international passengers this year, surpassing the 52,348 English, French and Germans who didn’t come to Dominican Republic in the January-October, 2006 period. "The lot of those hotels would be sad, since they will be classified one star and two, and for that reason their capacity to establish fees and prices to allow a suitable profit will be very bad."
Dominican Today reports that Jiménez, after specifying that the classification would be applied next year, said of Puerto Plata’s 16,000 hotel rooms more than 6,000 need to be transformed. "Unfortunately the Tourism Ministry’s statutory law doesn’t give us the faculty to intervene in a different manner and we do so indirectly."
Accor's Bali Hotels Launches New Program To Help Travelers Assist Bali's Children
eHotelier reports that with significant numbers of Australians returning to Bali, Accor's Bali hotels have launched a program to assist Bali's underprivileged children in a most practical way.
Spearheaded by Accor's Regional Manager in Bali, Michel Vivier - and coordinated by the General Managers at each hotel - the campaign will encourage visitors to Bali to make small donations of clean, good quality clothes as well as toys, school materials, art materials and non-perishable foodstuffs for children aged 3-18, which will then be distributed to orphanages and needy children.
"The thought behind the campaign is for tourists to bring full suitcases of surplus gifts, unload them and either stock up with shopping in Bali - which the island is famous for" said Michel Vivier. "It really has a double benefit because the donations will be greatly welcomed and purchasing goods at local stores, will help revive the local economy".
"We recently had an Australian media group here, who all brought gifts and goods for the kids at the SLB D. YPAC orphanage and school for physically and mentally disabled children - and Accor donated boxes of much needed sheets, pillows, towels, rice and noodles - so it was over 30 boxes of goods delivered in front of their eyes. The kids did a song and dance routine as a thank you...and the project concept was born", Michel added.
Sixty Four Percent Of Americans Have Money To Spend
According to a report by The Conference Board, about 73 million US households now have discretionary (spendable) income, up from about 57 million in 2002. Total discretionary income in the US topped $1.7 trillion in 2006, with the household average at $24,335. Per capita income stood at $9,148.
Defined for the study, households with discretionary income are those whose spendable income exceeds that held by households with similar demographic features. The proportion of the US population with discretionary income has increased to nearly 64%, up from 52% in 2002.
Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, notes that "While the percentage of households with discretionary income has risen over the past several years, purchasing power remains concentrated in the wallets of the affluent."
Nearly 78% of all discretionary income is held by households earning more than $100,000. Average discretionary income for this segment, $66,451, is 2.7 times the national average.
Greyhound Bus Campaign Targets Younger Crowd
Greyhound Lines is targeting A younger demographic with a new campaign called "We're On Our Way" that will air on broadcast and cable and appear in print as well says Marketing Daily.
The multimillion-dollar TV, print and out-of-home campaign began last week and is the first for the 93-year-old bus company in years. In one spot, an old bus pulls into a terminal and a driver gets off. A pit crew brings in new seats, paints the bus and even changes the driver's uniform.
It will air on MTV, MTV2, BET and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Print ads are planned for Rolling Stone, Spin and other magazines, with versions also for online search engines. The effort is intended to showcase the bus company's three-year, $60 million improvement project for its terminals and buses.
The makeover includes upgrading its 950 buses with new paint and more comfortable seats. The Dallas-based bus line also added plasma screen televisions, new signage and renovated bathrooms at 125 bus terminals across the country.
The company also bought new uniforms for its drivers and employees, and instituted a new training program designed to improve customer service.
The initiative began in 2004, when Greyhound began streamlining routes by eliminating stops in many small cities.
Price Declining As Dominant Travel Factor?
Going against the grain of popular opinion, price is no longer the only factor for travel consumer decisions, says a high level official for Travelocity.
"When shopping a la carte, it may be cheaper to book directly, but we don't think price is all that consumers care about. Price is foundational, but we think the future rests more on the end-to-end experience," says Noreen Henry, VP Hotels and Packaging for Travelocity.
According to TravelMole, Ms. Henry says that's why her company has turned its focus on the "dreaming and planning" aspect of travel rather than shopping and booking.
"We'd much rather sell a dream vacation of a lifetime that includes the flight, hotel, car rental and activities while giving the customer a central point of contact to deal with should they have any issues before, during or after their trip," she told EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta.
On The Job, Everywhere
One challenge of the work-anywhere lifestyle is that not everywhere is designed for people who need to do work. That is why you see women in skirts sitting awkwardly on the carpet at an airport gate, balancing laptops plugged in to precious few outlets says The New York Times. Or hear about grown men building the adult equivalent of a pillow fort to fashion a makeshift desk on a hotel bed.
But hotels and airports are gradually catching on to the fact that mobile workers need more help getting their jobs done on the road. Hotels that cater to laptop-toting travelers are scrambling to add electrical outlets in easy-to-reach places, install better task lighting and design chairs with flat armrests that can double as desks.
They are putting desks on casters so the desks can be wheeled in view of the television or even extend over the bed. And perhaps most important to business travelers, some hotel chains are installing technology to make their Internet service more reliable or adding employees to offer better support when guests call for help.
Airports have not made as many changes, though some are adding kiosks where passengers can charge gadgets, check e-mail messages or buy a flash drive to replace one they forgot.
Not that airports and hotels can be expected to offer the same services as a corporate headquarters, but many business travelers would welcome an increased focus on work-related tasks.
“There’s stuff they can do, stuff they should do and then things that are totally outside their control,” said Henry H. Harteveldt, an analyst with Forrester Research in San Francisco, adding that reliable Internet access is the No. 1 amenity business travelers demand.
“The tech support issue is something hotels need to do a better job with,” he said. “If you check into a five-star hotel and have to wait 20 minutes to talk to someone about a tech support problem and that person isn’t able to help you,that reflects poorly on the hotel.”
Survey: Journalists Rely On PR Contacts, Corporate Web Sites
Journalists still rely heavily on PR contacts and the Internet for finding sources and researching stories, according to findings from the “2007 Arketi Web Watch Survey: Inside B-to-B Media Usage of Web 2.0”.
- 90% of journalists say they turn to industry sources for story ideas, an equal number (90 percent) get story ideas from news releases and almost as many (89 percent) say they tap PR contacts.
- More than three out of four journalists (79 percent) report finding story ideas on newswires, 74% use Web sites, 72% use other media outlets and 54% credit blogs.
- When seeking information online, 77% of respondents said PR professionals were credible sources of online information. Corporate Web sites also scored highly with 85% finding them credible as well as influential in terms of how journalists view an organization. (An equal percentage found that companies without an Internet Web site were less credible than those with a Web presence.)
- Illustrating the need for companies to constantly keep news and information up to date on their Web sites, the 41% of journalists say when they report on breaking news and cannot reach a primary source at the organization, they visit the organization’s Web site. Industry experts, other interested parties, company blogs, industry Web sites and industry blogs serve as journalists’ secondary sources.
Jamaica Sets Out Tourism Vision
After just two months in office, Jamaica’s newly appointed Minister for Tourism, The Honourable Edmund Bartlett, MP has announced his vision for tourism says on article in Caribbean Travel News.
The strategy for growth and development of tourism on the island is underpinned by three key elements: marketing; product development and investment.
New marketing initiatives will be implemented to achieve the ultimate goal of growing visitor numbers to Jamaica. The island currently attracts 3 million visitors a year, generating $2billion US dollars in revenue. Targets have been set to significantly increase this figure by 2010.
Crucial to the strategy is development of the tourism product on the island with particular emphasis on the luxury sector. Expansion by some of Jamaica’s most prestigious resorts and properties including Rose Hall Resort, Half Moon, Palmyra and Golden Eye are already underway.
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