An Air Canada charted flight arrived in Turks and Caicos yesterday with 95 electricians “s part of a humanitarian aid mission” to rebuild the electrical grid on the islands after Hurricane Irma hit while a category 5 storm.
The plane was scheduled to depart from Providenciales International Airport with 95 Canadians onboard, bringing them back to Canada after their having been stranded on the island. But local officials wouldn’t allow them to leave.
Marriott had a boat evacuate guests from the Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort on St. Thomas after Irma had passed and in advance of Hurricane Jose.
They reportedly had room for a couple hundred people beyond their own guests on the 600 person boat, but refused transport to 30 or more people looking for help off the island..
The New York Times yesterday covered price gouging charges against the airlines in the lead up to Hurricane Irma. Or I should say they covered grandstanding by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward J. Markey and Florida Representative Charlie Crist.
The White House’s Director of Social Media tweeted out a since-deleted message on Hurricane Irma.
The problem is that’s not Miami’s airport. In fact the airport took to Twitter to disavow it.
I often write that with all of the difficulties I have in navigating airlines — getting tickets issued properly, correcting agent mistakes — it amazes me that the median traveler is able to manage to get from A to B.
Airlines make things far more complicated and confusing than you’d expect, someone less familiar with the ins and outs of travel is at the mercy of big bureaucracy hardly aimed to solving problems let alone doing so quickly.
Plenty of people have access to your room, when you’re there and when you aren’t. Instead of paying your hotel for extra security, you’re paying the hotel and you’re extra vulnerable. Shudder.
Now add in desperation of a force majeure event and a total breakdown in law and order as appears to be happening on St. Maarten in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and travel becomes scarier still.
There are a lot of strange hotels in the world, and hotels with strange stories, for instance the US Department of Veterans Affairs owns a boutique property in Paris.
Now there’s the new Hotel Kim Sing in Los Angeles between downtown and Chinatown. It’s at least tied for being the smallest hotel in LA rented just as a single room.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I generally believe there’s a lot more fraud in the economy than comes to light. It hides in plain site until it isn’t hiding anymore.
Most of it is pretty bald faced, but people are lazy and don’t question what they’re told and don’t want to look stupid asking questions of others who are presumed to know what they’re talking about. Less than 2/3rds of CFOs, CEOs, and COOs can correctly finish a test of financial literacy.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
