January 15, 2008
Air Travel 2008
2007 was a year to for the air traveler as well as the industry to remember.
Flight delays, sky-rocketing fuel prices, the continuing Boeing vs. Airbus battle (good for both the industry and the traveler), the growth of all-business class carriers, the strengthening of carriers such as Delta and United, and much, much more. It was a year of both chaos and change.
2008’s dance of change has already begun. Of greatest note is the new Open Skies policy which will take effect between the U.S. and Europe on March 31. It will open the skies by allowing European and U.S. airlines access to any destination within the US or EC where slots are available. It will certainly benefit the consumer and the international tourism industry.
Carriers on both sides of the Atlantic have now begun to position themselves to take advantage of the new regulations. British Airways, in fact, has already announced its plans to launch a new carrier on the wings of Open Skies. It will take flight not only to open new markets but, more importantly, to combat the new breed of discount all-business-class airlines which are cutting into the market share of BA and other legacy carriers. Stayed tuned for the reaction of U.S. carriers.
During 2008 assembly lines at both Boeing and Airbus will be humming as they have been for the past few months, as they continue to fill orders for the newest stars in the sky. Meanwhile, U.S. carriers – faced with incredible fuel price increases due to the dismal decline of the dollar – will search for creative ways to offset rising fuel prices (and despite the impact it will certainly have on all of us, can you really blame them?).
But despite all the positives and negatives and uncertainties that lie ahead, one thing is certain: since the U.S. is a nation for which air travel is a necessity, not a luxury, we Americans will continue to fly as we always have. And continue to pay the price – measured in both increases in fares and decreases in service.
With this in mind, let us look at a few blips – both positive and otherwise – on the radar screen for 2008…
Despite One Failure, Growth Is Seen In Coach-Less Flights
Maxjet Airways, a pioneer as a discount all-business-class airline, failed December 24. Is the concept that it helped invent two years ago fated to die as well?
Judging from what the competition is planning, the answer is no, says The New York Times. For one thing, the remaining three start-up carriers still flying discount-fare all-business-class routes across the Atlantic – Eos Airlines, Silverjet, and l’Avion – are all looking to expand.
Meanwhile, both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways are planning to experiment with their own all-premium-class discount airlines on trans-Atlantic routes.
Much of the attention will be focused on British Airways, which is expected to introduce a “mini-airline” on January 9 (see article below). The discount start-up, developed under the code name Project Lauren, plans to begin service in May, flying a Boeing 757 configured mostly with premium-class seats between a European city (Paris and Brussels are the leading candidates) and New York (either Kennedy International Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport).
People involved with Project Lauren said the name of the new airline is likely to be Open Skies, a nod to a new agreement that takes effect in late March and greatly expands the ability of international airlines to choose new routes between Europe and the United States.
But plenty is still up in the air. “The plane hasn’t even been painted yet,” said a person involved in the planning. “Everything is still in flux.”
However British Air’s initiative evolves, and whatever the effect of an anticipated entry by Virgin Atlantic in 2008 or early 2009 in the boutique premium market, the remaining players insist they are on solid financial footing, despite surging oil prices and the prospect of an economic downturn this year.
Part of the reason for optimism at Eos, which like Maxjet began operations in late 2005, is that its average fare – about $4,000 round trip between New York and London when corporate and advance-purchase discounts are calculated – generates more revenues than Maxjet did but is still considerably less expensive than its major competitors.
Given that some corporations will never fly their most valuable business travelers in coach seats on long-haul routes, Eos stands to gain even if travel budgets shrink, said Adam J. Komack, whose title at Eos is “chief lifestyle officer,” and whose job it is to market the airline.
“We know of at least one large bank that’s starting to cut down on air travel,” he said. “They’ve mandated necessary travel only. But they’ve also mandated that if you have to fly to London, you have to fly on Eos because our fares are better than the network carriers.”
In contrast to Maxjet, which flew long-range 767s and expanded its trans-Atlantic nonstop routes rapidly beyond New York to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Eos has limited itself so far to flying between Kennedy and London’s Stansted Airport, which is more convenient to the City, London’s financial district, than Heathrow.
Eos also went more squarely after the corporate customer than Maxjet, which offered some of the lowest fares but whose cabins were outfitted with 102 business-class seats that only partially reclined. Eos flies smaller 757s, but they are configured with just 48 seats that fold into flat beds, which are now the business-class quality standard.
In general, the walk-up fares for a round trip from New York to London on major airlines are $9,000 to $10,000. Some people actually pay that, but big corporations can negotiate discounts of 40% or even more based on the amount of business they can guarantee an airline.
British Airways Launches New Subsidiary To Link New York, Europe
British Airways will launch its new transatlantic subsidiary, OpenSkies, in June with daily flights from New York JFK to Brussels or Paris Charles de Gaulle using 757s carrying up to 82 passengers in business, premium economy and economy sections.
The name of the new carrier reflects the pending liberalization of the US/EC aviation market effective March 31 that allows carriers from either side of the Atlantic access to any destination within the US or EC provided slots are available. "It also signals our determination to lobby for further liberalization in this market when talks between the EU and the US take place later this year," BA CEO Willie Walsh said in a statement released yesterday.
Initially, says a report in Air Transport World, OpenSkies service will be launched with a single aircraft with plans to add a second later this year and increase the fleet to six by the end of 2009. All will come from the BA fleet and will be retrofitted with Aviation Partners Boeing blended winglets. Dale Moss, a former director-worldwide sales for BA, will be OpenSkies MD.
"They want to start slowly," BA spokesperson John Lampl told ATWOnline. "We think there is a market out there for it. It gives customers more choice. We are not competing against ourselves but the other guys out there: Delta, United, Air France and everybody else."
Lampl said that "70% to 80% of the airplane is focused on business class but there are still 30 seats to fill in the economy class." After initial service is launched, OpenSkies will look to expand to cities such as Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid and Amsterdam, he said. The subsidiary has yet to receive its operating license and certificate from the US Dept. of Transportation.
To Drive Up Fares, U.S. Airlines Respond To Crowded Flights – With Fewer Planes
The miserably full flights of 2007 might seem cause for the airline industry to roll out a few more planes and ease the crowding, but passengers should expect just the opposite, at least in the United States.
The International Herald Tribune reports that some big U.S. airlines are planning to reduce domestic capacity this year in hopes of driving fares higher to offset rising fuel costs.
So, barring a recession that reduces demand for air travel, expect flying across America to be more crowded and expensive in 2008. And, because full flights cause airlines all sorts of operational problems, expect a high level of delays and misplaced bags. And realize that your chances of getting bumped from an oversold flight could be higher and that then finding a seat on a later flight will take longer.
"It's not a good thing," Paul Hudson, executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action Project, a group affiliated with the activist Ralph Nader, said of the prospect of airlines reducing capacity. "Every percentage point you go up" in available seats sold, Hudson added, "you're going to degrade the reliability of the system."
Travelers saw that in 2007, with the fullest jets ever and the highest percentage of late arrivals –23.5% through the end of November – in the 13 years the Transportation Department collected such data.
Boeing Orders Rocket Past 1,400 In 2007
Boeing in 2007 blasted past its all-time annual commercial-jet-sales record, to a total 1,423 gross orders for the year – up almost 400 from the record set only a year ago – says The Seattle Times.
Taking into account order cancellations and substitutions during the year, the final net order figure is 1,413 airplanes.
Boeing also released its jet-delivery figures, showing a steady productivity uptick. Its Puget Sound-area plants rolled out 441 commercial airliners in 2007, compared with 398 in 2006.
The outcome of the annual sales race with rival Airbus will not be known until mid-month, when the European plane maker releases its 2007 sales figures.
It's expected Airbus' total will be slightly higher, if it counts a large China order agreed to in November. Boeing executives consider that order less than firm and inclusion in the 2007 tally dubious.
World's Busiest Airports: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the busiest in the nation last year in terms of aircraft operations, racking up nearly 1 million take-offs and landings.
The airport had 994,466 flight operations in 2007, according to Federal Aviation Administration preliminary numbers released Wednesday. That not only topped operations at Chicago O'Hare but widened the gap over the nation's No. 2 airport says The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
FAA officials said Atlanta might have set a U.S. record for total flight operations. O'Hare previously held that record with 992,471 flight operations in 2004.
Flight traffic at Hartsfield-Jackson last year rose 1.8% over 2006, while it dropped 2.5% at O'Hare, which had 935,000 take-offs and landings. Dallas-Ft. Worth came in a distant third, with 686,711 take-offs and landings, down about 2.3% over 2006.
U.S. Fliers May Face Separate Fees For Jet Fuel
U.S. airlines may start charging passengers separately for jet fuel as oil prices inch past $100 per barrel. "I'm convinced that you're going to see someone try to unbundle fuel this year," said airline consultant Robert Mann.
Most U.S. airlines have a poor record of managing exposure to volatile fuel prices. Only discount carrier Southwest Airlines Co hedges most of its fuel needs, while others like AMR Corp's American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc are mainly at the mercy of the market says Reuters.
Fare increases, the traditional way airlines boost revenue, do not help to offset sudden surges in costs because tickets are often purchased months in advance, said Mann. And with the U.S. economy slowing, people may balk at fare increases but a separate fuel charge could be more widely accepted as consumers themselves grapple with fuel costs.
"If fuel continues at this level, you may have a situation where an airline prices a ticket absent fuel," said Terry Trippler of TripplerTravel.com. "Other than that they really don't have a lot of options (to offset higher fuel costs)."
Continental Airlines said it does not comment on pricing strategies or fare construction, and other airlines were not immediately available or did not respond to requests for comment.
Southwest said it plans to keep its current pricing strategy without separate fuel charges. "We feel that's the more honest approach," said Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin. "Our hedge positions are our insurance for the type of fuel price that we see in the market today," Harbin said. "It allows us to predict or plan for the fuel expense that we'll have even years out."
There have been tentative first steps to get U.S. travelers accustomed to paying extra for fuel. UAL Corp's United Airlines added a $5 fuel surcharge to domestic flights in November and doubled it in December.
If airlines do unbundle fuel costs from ticket prices, it would not be the first time. During the energy crisis of the late 1970s, charter airlines had separate fuel charges that were set just before takeoff.
Bidding For Brands: India And China Acquire A Taste For Luxury
Hotel managers, particularly those in the luxury business, are generally polite folk. But last month, when India’s Taj Hotels chain made what it said was a friendly approach to Orient Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises, the luxury hospitality group, the ensuing dialogue quickly degenerated into an uncharacteristically public spat.
Although an extreme example, writes the Financial Times, the row between Taj and Orient Hotels points to a growing trend. As the economies of emerging markets boom and their biggest conglomerates grow into multinationals, more and more of the new corporate giants in countries ranging from India to China, Russia and Brazil are looking to wring greater profits out of their respective industries.
The quickest way to do that is to buy a global brand, particularly a premium or luxury one. In the latest and probably most ambitious such move yet, the Tata group has taken the lead in bidding for Ford’s elite Jaguar and Land Rover marques. But there are also dissenting voices, who argue that low-cost emerging market producers such as Tata Motors, which on Thursday unveiled the world’s cheapest passenger car – the Tata “Nano” – do not have the expertise to manage luxury brands.
Alongside this is the debate between those who believe there is a stigma attached to being associated with companies from what was once known as the “Third World”, and others who see proponents of such views as ignorant of the direction in which global trade is moving in the 21st century. “India and China might have been on the wrong side of history for the past 200 years but for the next 200 years they will be on the right side of it,” says Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising agency WPP.
Puerto Rico Relaunches NOW Promotion
According to Caribbean News Digital the Puerto Rico Tourism Company has relaunched the Puerto Rico NOW promotion. The promotion emphasizes that no passport is needed to travel between the United States and Puerto Rico, and gives travelers $250 cash back upon check-out.
For Hotels, Pampering Is A Fine Art
No time for the local museum on an overnight trip? Try lingering at your hotel, says USA Today.
A new breed of hotels is dressing up walls, lobbies and guest rooms with original artworks from a mix of famous, midcareer and promising artists. Instead of hanging bland or factory-produced art that blends in with the background, they're choosing memorable – and in many cases, very expensive – works. A growing number of hoteliers think that art can help them create an experience that will draw more travelers.
Cities as varied as New York, Nashville and Tacoma, Wash., now boast of hotels in which the fine art is so fine that they could almost double as museums.
Louisville, for instance, has the 91-room 21c Museum Hotel, opened two years ago by developer Steve Wilson and his wife, Laura Lee Brown,to showcase some of their $10 million contemporary art collection. It includes Text Rain, an interactive video installation by conceptual artists Camille Utterback, an American, and Romy Achituv, an Israeli.
Investor Gordon Sondland of Seattle is working on his sixth art-themed hotel, the Hotel Murano, which is in Tacoma. Last month, Danish artist Vibeke Skov flew to the hotel to install three colored glass Viking ships ranging in length from 12 to 16 feet. The ships hang from the four-story atrium corridor.
Over the last four years, as travel has rebounded from a post 9/11 slump, the industry has spent billions renovating hotels' interiors and technology offerings to raise their hipness quotient. Bigger competitors have watched small boutique chains such as Ian Schrager, Kimpton and Thompson carve out a niche with unique art and design.
Survey: Americans Now Buy More Travel Online Than Off-Line
The year 2007 was the first in which more travel was purchased online than off-line in the U.S., according to the PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey says ABC News.
The report predicted that "the gap between online and off-line will continue to widen as more and more travelers shift behavior to online shopping and buying."
The study said that 51% of U.S. travel was booked online in 2007, and it projected that percentage to increase to 56% in 2008 and 60% in 2009.
The survey also said that travel products with multiple components, such as vacation packages, are being purchased less frequently online, while simple components – plane tickets, for example – are being purchased more frequently.
The report also found that travel websites are evolving, with more of them offering features like group travel planning and booking, along with content generated by a community of readers and users.
Study: Mobile Subscribers Taking Note Of Ads
One in three U.S. mobile subscribers, or 78 million people, saw or listened to an ad on their cell phone during the last three months, according to a study reports Online Media Daily.
The report is the first in a series of quarterly updates on mobile advertising to be issued by mobile entertainment company Limbo in partnership with Britain-based market research firm GfK NOP Research.
Among other key findings, the report confirmed that SMS text messaging remains the dominant non-voice service used by U.S. mobile subscribers, with 56% tapping away on phones. Mobile gaming and surfing the mobile Web were both about half that percentage, while less than 10% watch mobile TV.
Of the one-third of cell customers who have seen mobile ads, most received them via SMS or MMS text messaging. "A third of mobile phone owners saying they've seen advertising on their phones is significant," said Rob Lawson, CMO at Limbo, which creates games and other mobile content. "It means the first hurdle has been crossed to reaching the mass market."
Survey: Best Performing Global Hotel Brands In 2007
Hilton is the # 1 hotel brand in the regions of Western Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin-America as measured by the BDRC Hotel Business Guest Surveys in 2007. The sole exception is the Nordic area says ehotelier.
Relative to its closest challenger Holiday Inn, Western Europe is by some margin Hilton's strongest market and its paramount status here, at this moment in time, is not truly threatened. On a country by country basis, however, Ibis takes the lead in both France and Germany while NH Hotels dominates in Spain.
In Asia Pacific and the Middle East Hilton takes over the top spot this year, but here, as in Latin America, its position as market leader is more seriously under threat with Hyatt, Sheraton and Marriott all contending for that coveted no. 1 position. In addition, European chains such as Mövenpick (BDRC's most improved brand in the Middle East) are looking to expand and compete with the big players in the not too distant future. As in Europe, Hilton has to give way to stronger local brands in some individual countries like Shangri-La in China, Taj in India and Fiesta Americana in Mexico.
In Scandinavia, as in previous years, Hilton again features in 2nd place, having yet to break into Radisson SAS's hegemony and with the recent sale of Scandic the market will only become more challenging for the brand.
"Hilton records highest top of mind mentions of any hotel brand in all regions, including Nordic, and also is the most preferred brand based on the 1st and 2nd choice of business guests", says Tim Sander, Research Director at BDRC and responsible for the Hotel Guest Surveys.
Atlantic City Facelift Starting This Year
In the facelift that will gradually transform the way Atlantic City looks, 2008 promises to be the year the surgery begins, says Associated Press.
The new year will see three new hotel towers open, the Tropicana Casino and Resort will get a new owner, work will pick up on a new $2 billion casino, details on yet another new casino will be unveiled, and gambling halls may finally start to recover from the beating that out-of-state slots parlors put on them last year.
It's an era of change in Atlantic City, as it struggles to reinvent itself as a hipper, national destination resort, and to fight off competition from New York and Pennsylvania slots parlors.
The three new casino hotel towers opening this year will add more than 2,500 rooms to a city where it can be difficult to book a room at a casino hotel on a weekend.
Taking “Casual Dress” To A New Level
Anyone tired of dressy evenings on cruise ships might be interested in nude cruising, which has grown along with the industry as a whole. The only catch: you may have to go to Europe.
According to TravelMole both Bare Necessities and Castaways Travel are offering cruise departures for 2008. The general policy of the companies is to charter mainstream cruise ships for the trips.
Though Carnival in years past touted topless decks, the practice remains a no-no on most of the major US cruise lines, except for special charters. Cruisecritic.com editor Carolyn Spencer Brown says cruisers generally need to go to Europe to find such openness.
As for Carnival, no one expects a revival of bottoms-only decks anytime soon. "The topless decks weren't really utilized all that much," said spokesman Vance Gulliksen, and they "took up some prime real estate."
Hip Cafes Make Way To Lobbies
As major hotels compete to create hip scenes in their lobbies, they're adjusting menus to deliver more and better food options for guests who like to hang out there.
"The energy they're seeking is that of a cocktail party," says Jody Pennette of CB5 Restaurant Group, a Greenwich, Conn.-based firm that designs restaurants for hotels.
A few months ago, Marriott, on a test basis, launched a new menu for guests hanging out in the lobby. Earlier in 2007, Wyndham Hotels began installing cafes in its lobbies for customers wishing to pick up snacks or light food items, such as sandwiches and salads. Royalton Hotel in New York, Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco and Omni Mandalay Hotel in Irving, Texas, also are embracing the trend.
As a result of the hotels' initiatives, says USA Today, travelers who like to idle, work or converse in lobbies are increasingly likely to find more finger food, appetizers and dishes that can easily be shared without making a big mess. They're often served on smaller plates. In many cases hotels are seeking a touch of the international in their lobby offerings. Among the popular items: ceviche, panini, tapas, mini pot pies, polenta, gnocchi, individual-size pizzas, penne pasta, calamari, cheese plates, prosciutto and
small steaks.
For guests, the new options can mean faster service and more snacking variety. It's also another option for those who prefer not to eat alone in the restaurant or order room service.
Revenge Of The Sushi
In May 2006, the Ooedo-Onsen-Monogatari, a four-year-old hot springs spa in Japan’s Odaiba area, added a new treatment to its menu: Doctor Fish's "pedicure" and "manicure." In a reversal of the food chain, the fish dine on you – or at least parts of you.
In a culture where food and fashion seem straight out of science fiction, Doctor Fish is hardly extraordinary. Strangely enough, the spa's finned employees, which are imported from Turkey and are known scientifically as Garra rufa, have a taste for dry, flaking human skin. The fish act like living pumice stones, nibbling off the dead epidermis and leaving behind baby-smooth skin. (Thankfully, they don't have a piranha streak.)
Those squeamish about skin-eating fish, however, don't have to stay out of the wate says The Washington Post. The Onsen, one of the largest in Tokyo, is a bather's Eden, with outdoor and indoor pools of varying temperatures and landscape designs. (The ion-rich water comes from a spring more than 4,600 feet underground.) There are tubs shaped like pickle barrels and baths resembling lap pools for the lazy-armed. Some hot tubs could fit in
at a Colorado ski resort, while others are decidedly Japanese, with artfully pruned trees and mindfully placed stones that look handpicked by Zen monks.
An open-air footbath flows like a creek, laid with stones sharp and smooth, large and pebbly. And since this is a public bathhouse, you can make 99 new friends in the Hyakunin, or "One Hundred People," bath. The 20-minute Doctor Fish foot treatment is done in an indoor pool about the size of a small koi pond, whereas the 15-minute hand option takes place in an aquarium-size tank.
Tourism Initiative For Dublin Launched
Dublin Tourism has launched a new three year regional tourism plan, which sets a target to increase overseas visitor numbers by one million a year. The plan, entitled 'Making it Happen', also hopes to produce visitor revenue growth of 8% per annum, bringing total revenue to €1.8 billion by 2010.
RTE News reports that provisional figures show there were 4.6 million visitors to Dublin last year, an increase of nearly 40% on 2002. Revenues are projected to have hit €1.5 billion, a 34% rise on 2002.
Nearly two thirds of visitors to Ireland visit Dublin. The city is currently lying at number seven on the list of the most visited cities in Europe.
The new blueprint aims to position Dublin as a perfect short-break destination and an indispensable part of an Irish holiday. It also aims to grow business tourism by promoting world class conference facilities.
This Is Your Brain On Vacation
Do you Sudoku? Crave crosswords? Thrive on mind teasers? Banking on the fact that mental fitness might be on your mind, says National Geographic Traveler, hotels and resorts are jumping on the brain fitness bandwagon and offering guests programs to help them clear the mental cobwebs and relax while on the road.
"Everyone should take a brain fitness vacation or adapt their regular vacations to include aspects of brain health," says Alvaro Fernandez, CEO and co-founder of SharpBrains, a company that works with cruise lines, hotels, and other organizations to define and prepare activities for brain fitness. "Travelers should arrange for experiences on the road that address the aspects of good brain fitness: mental exercises, physical fitness, good nutrition, and stress management." (You can read about Fernandez's own brain fitness vacation to Europe here.)
Offering up games, quizzes, and coaching sessions, these hotels are helping to make this a trend:
- Westin Hotels & Resorts starts the new year with the BrainBody Fitness program. Upon check-in, each guest at their 150 properties will be given a selection of simple brain exercises to do each morning, afternoon, and evening for the duration of their stay to aid in memory, focus, and performance.
- Canyon Ranch Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts, will host a brain science retreat from January 17-21, 2008. Guests will learn how to keep their minds sharp and their memories strong through a series of presentations with brain experts, relaxation techniques, and diet and exercise.
- Hyatt Resorts offers guests of every age a variety of complimentary board games from the Cranium Game Library, including hits like Cranium Hullabaloo and Cranium Zigity to play in-room or poolside at most Hyatt Resorts. Guests at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida, can experience a special edition of the game Hullabaloo. Dubbed “Poolabaloo,” the game takes Hullabaloo’s cool tunes and wacky movements in the pool. Several Hyatt resorts also host family game hours in their game libraries.
- Kimpton Hotels has created Mind.Body.Spa, an in-room wellness and yoga program that provides guests with complimentary yoga mats, straps, blocks, access to an in-room TV channel with yoga, Pilates, or meditation instruction, and an inspirational booklet. If all this mental massaging leaves you a bit unfocused, then you may want to center at Kimpton's Muse New York with the "Fresh Start" package that includes a one-hour life coach session to map out a fresh start for the new year, fruit- and vegetable-infused waters and juices at breakfast, and a copy of the motivational book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff."
46 Million Tourists Fill New York’s Streets – And Coffers
New York may seem expensive to people trying to live here, says the New York Daily News, but not to the foreign tourists who flooded our streets in record numbers last year.
The sagging dollar made exchange rates a steal for the unprecedented 8.5 million Europeans, Asians and other foreigners – 20% more than in 2006 – who visited the five boroughs. They were among a record 46 million city tourists – 5% more than last year.
"We are very, very grateful for the weak dollar," said NYC & Co. director George Fertitta, who heads the city's tourism promotions. He also credited the "fun, exciting and . . . sexy" image of New York that's been beamed around the world by shows like "Sex and the City." "In the past," he noted, "police shows had a negative influence" on city tourism.
The hordes of tourists may crowd the sidewalks and make it impossible for New Yorkers to even consider visiting certain museums on certain days, but whether they were chicly dressed or wearing a fanny pack, tourists spent gobs of money here.
The city estimates tourists spent $28 billion on everything from hotels and restaurants to giant foam Statue of Liberty crowns and Manolo Blahniks like Sarah Jessica Parker's character Carrie ran around in on "Sex and the City."
Report: Online Video Attracts 60% Of Internet Users Weekly
According to the latest Horowitz Associates report, Broadband Content and Services 2007, six out of ten high speed Internet users watch/download online video content at least once a week and 86% do so on a monthly basis, compared to 45% and 71%, respectively, in the 2006 study. According to The Center for Media Research, news and user-generated, non-professional content are the most often viewed genres, followed by movie previews/trailers, music videos, and previews/segments of TV
shows.
Weekly viewing of full episodes of television shows doubled from last year, with 16% of high speed Internet users watching TV online on a weekly basis.
NBC and ABC are the networks Internet users mention the most frequently for online TV content, with Grey's Anatomy being the most often mentioned TV program viewed online.
While consumption of broadband video has grown, the study shows that television is still the preferred platform for traditional TV content:
- 70% of Internet users who watch TV online say do so because they missed the episode on TV
- 18% of these respondents say they watch TV shows online to watch them again after having watched them on TV
- 20%watch TV shows online just when they happen to find them or when someone else tells them about them
- 13% of Internet users who watch TV shows online say they watch them directly online, and not on regular TV
Dubai Unveils Plans For Fashion Island
Dubai is to create the world's first fashion island on the manmade "The World" development off the coast of the Emirate. It will be the world's first dedicated fashion island with resorts and hospitality offerings says Hotel Travel News. It is the brainchild of investment group Dubai Infinity Holdings (DIH).
The mixed use development called Isla Moda will combine a fashion resort, themed residential villas, haute couture boutiques and luxury hospitality facilities in a drive to establish Dubai as a global fashion hub. World renowned fashion designers from each continent will be instrumental in designing each element of the development.
Survey: Cruising Trends
Alaska ranked as the most popular cruise destination in Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates' 2008 Travel Trends Survey. Alaska beat out the Western, Southern, and Eastern Caribbean, and Europe, to take the top slot.
According to cruisingblog Mediterranean cruising was the fifth most popular international destinations category – it was ranked #15 in 2004 and #10 in 2007 – beating out traditional, land-based favorites such as London; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and several Mexican destinations.
Carlson said in a statement that "not only is there greater [Mediterranean cruise] inventory than ever before, many U.S. travelers are finding this is the way to travel to Europe in order to get the most for their money as possible."
At Hotels, It's Dog vs. Bedbug
In the 3 1/2 years it's been open, Jurys Boston Hotel has never found bedbugs on its premises, nor have its guests complained about being bitten. Still, the luxury hotel in the Back Bay began dispatching a bedbug-sniffing dog to each of its 225 guest rooms last year says a recent posting on The Boston Globe.
And when the canine detective barked, after detecting the suspicious scent of the itch-inducing insects or their eggs, the hotel fumigated two rooms and burned the mattresses.
"At the first sign or suggestion of a problem, our reaction would be to treat the room with chemicals, no questions asked," said general manager Stephen Johnston, who calls the dog in every three months.
Hotels are intensifying their efforts to quash the wingless insects, which were nearly eradicated in the United States a half-century ago but are again becoming a nuisance. Scientists aren't sure why bedbugs – which hitchhike to new homes on luggage and clothing – have been resurging, but they suspect the proliferation of international travel and the dwindling potency of insecticides.
Bedbugs don't signal unsanitary living conditions or transmit diseases, but hotels don't want to be bitten by bad publicity when upset guests vent on blogs or online social networks.
Reliable data are hard to find, since public agencies aren't notified about infestations. But the exterminator Orkin Inc. said it treated buildings for bedbugs in 48 states in 2005, up from 43 states in 2004 and 35 states in 2003.
Orkin's branch serving hotels and other nonresidential buildings in Greater Boston reported that it sprayed, steamed, and vacuumed bedbugs 25% more per month in 2007 than in 2006, on average.
Still, the American Hotel & Lodging Association estimates the percentage of guests who encounter bedbugs is minuscule, given that 4 million people sleep in lodging establishments nightly.
Vegas, In Need Of More Tourists, Plans New Advertising Campaign
By now, most Americans are familiar with the Las Vegas mantra "What Happens Here Stays Here." The marketing campaign, launched in 2003, became something of a cultural phenomenon that helped lift the number of visitors to the city to nearly 39 million people in 2006 from 35 million in 2002.
Now, the gambling mecca's marketers are attempting to mess with their own success. Next week, Las Vegas will unveil a new catch phrase and marketing campaign – titled "Your Vegas Is Showing" – that confronts a new reality: Las Vegas needs more tourists.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some $35 billion in new construction that is under way or planned in Las Vegas is expected to produce more than 30,000 new hotel rooms in the next five years. Tourism officials figure that to maintain the current hotel occupancy rate of around 90%, Vegas needs to attract 200,000 more visitors for every 1,000 new rooms. To keep pace with construction, officials have set a goal of 43 million visitors by the end of 2010.
That's where the new campaign – complete with national television commercials, print ads and an interactive Web site – comes in. The effort is aimed at keeping the destination's winning naughtiness message intact, while creating a new message to highlight some of Vegas's tamer features – high fashion, extravagant shows and gourmet dining – that it hopes can attract new visitors.
The marketing campaign is meant to complement the "What Happens Here" ads, which will live on. A campaign called "Alibi," which showed visitors using Vegas shows and shopping as decent alibis for racy Vegas behavior, is being retired. Instead of casting Las Vegas's luxury offerings as a cover story for decadence, the new campaign attempts to make dinner and a show seem decadent in themselves.
Three Reasons To Be Wary Of Customer Satisfaction Surveys
There is an entire industry devoted to helping companies determine customer satisfaction levels through surveys and analysis. But how much real value does knowledge of "satisfaction" contribute to helping you keep profitable customers?
The answer, unfortunately, is "not much." Though surveys do serve a purpose (primarily showing trending: "Are we doing better or worse than last year?"), they don't tell the whole story.
The following are three fundamental reasons why it's dangerous to rely on customer satisfaction surveys to help improve your Customer Experience:
1. Dissatisfied customers don't speak up
Yes, some customers respond to satisfaction surveys, but which customers? Using which channels – online, phone, mail, email? Scary as it might sound, recent studies show that for every 100 dissatisfied customers only two bother to say anything to the company; the rest "vote with their feet" and just leave.
2. Customers won't tell you the truth
In many cases, when customers do respond to satisfaction surveys, they indicate that they're "satisfied" or "mostly satisfied" regardless of how they really feel. A study of people who recently left their bank illustrates this point: 80% responded that they were "satisfied" with their former institution. Of course some people leave a bank because they move or for some other valid reason―but not four out of five.
3. Even if customers want to tell you the truth, they can't, because they're irrational
Customers are sensitive, emotional, and, let's face it, irrational beings. How do we know this? Because research indicates we're all emotional irrational beings, and in recent years we've learned just how irrational.
Shockingly, 95% of our brain activity centers on the irrational or subconscious, leaving a meager 5% busy trying to explain why we act or feel certain ways. And we do this not by tapping into our subconscious, but by making inferences based on our behavior. In essence, we make things up.
Law To Create Registered Traveler Program For International Travelers
Federal Computer Week reports that international travelers will soon have the option of registering in advance to speed their passage through security checkpoints at U.S. airports, thanks to provisions in the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending package signed into law December 27, 2007.
Under the legislation, officials would publish guidelines for an international registered traveler program within a year. It would be similar to the domestic Registered Traveler program that several federal contractors operate at U.S. airports.
The law sets a goal of deploying a program for international travelers two years from now at the top 20 airports for international arrivals in the country, said C. Stewart Verdery, government affairs consultant to the National Business Travel Association. The organization endorsed the legislation’s global travel program provision.
In such programs, travelers have the option of paying a fee to receive expedited service at airport security checkpoints in exchange for providing personal information for review in advance.
New Orleans Tourism Scores With Football, NBA All-Stars
Sports fans are giving New Orleans' prime tourism season an extra boost this year as they snap up hotel rooms and restaurant reservations for Monday's college football national title game and February 17's NBA All-Star game.
January through May always brings high-profile spectacles such as the Sugar Bowl, Mardi Gras and the Jazz & Heritage Festival reports USA Today. But hosting two more major events that rotate yearly among other cities could result in at least $300 million in additional revenue for the tourism industry after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau says.
"Now through Memorial Day we have a great body of business on the books. We truly feel like we're back," bureau president Stephen Perry says.
Despite the city's problems with crime and the slow pace of rebuilding residential areas, Perry expects visitation to approach 8 million this year. That's up from an estimated 6.8 million in 2007. Visitation in 2004, the year before Katrina, reached about 10 million.
Internet Overtakes TV As Advertising Medium In Sweden; UK Likely Next
The u.k. next year will become the first major economy in which the Internet overtakes television as the No. 1 advertising medium, according to a new forecast from WPP's GroupM unit.
The new prediction follows a report released last month by GroupM, the world's largest buyer of media, which estimated that the Internet would become the dominant ad medium in Sweden during 2008, and that the U.K and Denmark were "likely to be the next in line."
GroupM now forecasts that the U.K. will likely pass that mark by the end of 2008 when the Internet will account for 24.8% of British ad spending, just behind a projected 26.0% hare for television.
Hilton Seeks 2008 Brand Boost
Hilton has undertaken more than 50 renovations, 18 new builds and eight conversions since 2006 and they are looking to propel their brand to the forefront in 2008.
In 2006 Hilton Hotels & Resorts announced a plan to reinvigorate the brand with the acquisition of Hilton International and more than US$1 billion in physical improvements to the brand’s more than 500 hotels worldwide. Just over a year later, reports Hotel Travel News, Hilton is poised to enter 2008 following more than 50 multi-million dollar hotel renovations completed or underway in 2007, including enhancements to the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, the Hilton Buenos Aires, the Hilton Times Square in New York City, and
the Hilton Oceanfront Resort on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
“We’re big believers that change is good and we want each guest to have a consistently great experience at any Hilton Hotel around the globe,” said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president – brand management, Hilton Hotels. “That’s why over the past year and a half we’ve been making big changes at many of the more than 500 Hilton Hotels and Resorts around the world. Whether a guest stays with us once a year or once a week, our guest rooms and public areas are designed to help travelers make the most of their stays, whether they travel for work or pleasure.”
Also in 2007 Hilton and its collaborators built 18 brand new properties featuring contemporary designs and the full suite of Hilton offerings and amenities, including Hilton Fitness by Precor and the Hilton Serenity Collection of bedding and bath products. These properties differ in both location and personality with destinations ranging from the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort and the Hilton Warsaw Hotel & Convention Center in Poland, to the Hilton Dallas Southlake Town Center and the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice, Italy.
In addition, the brand added eight new converted properties to its portfolio, including the Hilton Bentley Miami/South Beach, the Hilton Prague Old Town, Hilton Burlington Vermont and the Hilton Providence in Rhode Island.
Western Australia Facing Shortage Of Tourism Workers
The West Australian tourism industry is being hit hard by a shortage of workers. The State Government said it has become difficult to attract the workers needed to run the State's $5 billion tourism industry.
According to Yahoo, the WA economy is booming and with this prosperity comes challenges in the supply of workers, Tourism Minister Sheila McHale said.
In a bid to alleviate the shortage, the state's 10 largest industry employers will attend a workshop later this month to discuss and provide input on proposed initiatives.
The government has announced it will spend $590,000 on attraction programs that focus on holiday workers and students and to develop more marketing materials to inform and attract potential workers.
