I’ve only seen one hotel ever claim that your room rate doesn’t cover use of the bathroom mirror or TV in the room, and that this was covered by a resort fee instead. But when I flagged the stupidity, the hotel addressed it.
Maybe the second-most egregious resort fee I’ve come across belongs to Hilton’s Hotel Del Coronado
Travel is frustrating. We’ve all been there. Long lines to get through security, not enough staff at airport concessions. You can’t even get into the club because too many other customers have access. You’re delayed, the crew time out, and you finally learn you aren’t getting where you’re going. It’s enough to make you…
Oh, wait. No, it doesn’t cause you to do anything like this.
American Airlines pilots negotiated a contract, but the union voted against sending it to its membership for a vote. Now they’re back in the media negotiating in public, saying that the airline’s failure to pay them enough, and improve their schedules enough, is why flights get cancelled. Even though that isn’t true.
When Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group started popping up in airports and putting its brand on Delta Air Lines meals I suggested it was trading its name and accepting lower quality. It had a brand to cash out on, but the brand meant less as a result. This is going to be true for any chef who enters an airport or licenses their name to an airline – except for Rick Bayless.
For an airline, branding with a chef’s name can signal their investment in food. For a brand, that it no longer cares about quality.
In 2013 the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley found its own way of remembering 9/11: 30 minutes of free mini-muffins for guests. I remember thinking at the time at least it wasn’t a Marriott in Manhattan. Context matters, and surely New Yorkers wouldn’t trivialize the event.
Only the Marriott New York Downtown now takes the memory of 9/11 and sells it back to us – at a hefty markup – in the form of a 9/11 Remembrance Package for weekend stays.
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Alaska Airlines Flight Pass subscriptions now have a limited-time promotion for elite status with certain plans purchased through November 30.
With the subscription service you’re prepaying for flights, there are restrictions, and fares especially at the standard pass offering can be a great deal.
Customers buying a ticket from American Airlines, who have a Citibank AAdvantage credit card, are now being given the option to take out a loan to cover the cost of their travel. And since travel has gotten so expensive, the loan amount can be up to $999,999.99.
I’m genuinely trying to figure out what was on the mind of the communications person for airline lobby shop Airlines For America when they offered this defense of current airline seat space standards to the Today show, “Airlines continue to invest in a wide range of innovative technologies to maximize personal space in the cabin.”
A member of frequent flyer community FlyerTalk reports being arrested because they rented a car from Hertz that the company had previously reported stolen
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 »
