News and notes from around the interweb:
- Oh, come on. Makes an Ambassador member feel so valued:
Sheraton Waikiki Beach complimentary breakfast
byu/ChattaGatsby inmarriott - What could be, unburdened by what has been.
Today at Ft Lauderdale Airport, the man in a nearby stall was muttering “God’s got this” before throwing his belt off. I don’t know what toilet emergency was burdening him, but I wish him the best, as I know we all do. pic.twitter.com/Og7eiVg31a
— Andrew Farmer (@thatsajellyfish) August 17, 2024
- Opting out of TSA face scans isn’t easy
@ykhong Agents often will lie to steal your biometrics. Don’t fall for it. Opt out opt out opt out.
- Airports with the longest and shortest walks
- Delta passenger sues after flight attendant hit them multiple times with a beverage cart
- This passenger has something on their feet. I can sorta forgive the exposed male toes since it’s Hawaiian Airlines. But those feet do not belong propped up on the bulkhead.
- I really liked the Chase Sapphire lounge at Washington Dulles but it’s a small lounge and shared with Etihad Airways. Before the Etihad flight expect this:
Why do people still keep the CSR?
byu/saltyfishychips inChaseSapphire
A reason to not sit in aisle seats.
My only problem with the breakfast is the 2 croissants are way too many carbs. Some fruit, yogurt and coffee is more than enough. Always amazes (and saddens) me to see people loading up on food, complaining when they can’t eat as much as they want of whatever or whining about things like “portion size”. Americans are way too fat and eating less (and healthier) would be good for everyone. We are an outlier and the rest of the world does much better at controlling how much they eat (and what they eat). I’m sure this ambassador is a porker who can’t go a few hours without grazing on some food. SMH
That breakfast is downright glorious compared to the complentary breakfast I received as an Ambassador at the Hotel Per La in Los Angeles, consisting of coffee and exactly 1 pastry.
At least their resort fee was equal value in F&B credit.
I’ve only experienced the TSA facial recognition once, at Las Vegas. Before I could even finish saying “I opt out” the agent had already bypassed the process and looked at my ID. Completely painless. I can imagine it’s wildly different at other airports, or even with other agents, though.
It is well past time for somebody to file a class action lawsuit against Marriott and individual owners for not complying with the breakfast benefit. This property is operated by Marriott. Marriott also operates the sister properties, the other SherAton and the Westin Mona. Before the pandemic, you used to actually get a restaurant breakfast. either anything off the menu or the buffet. But all three properties are not even offering the minimum of what is required. And if this is how Marriott-manage: properties treat elites, then no wonder so many franchisee-operated properties mistreat and cheat guests.,
It’s funny. Many hobbyists are big into casino tier status as a means of obtaining free or discounted cruises. You don’t even have to step into a casino . . . just walk by the exterior of a casino . . . and its surveillance cameras have already done facial recognition on you and have created a unique profile. After an “issue” came to a head about 25 years ago, the casinos started sharing these profiles with each other. And, it’s not just among the casinos in town. The “issue” was international. These profiles are shared among casinos internationally. They’ve cross-referenced the profile they have on you to the profile that Google and market research firms have on you. They probably know your browsing habits. If your profile suggests you’re a high roller, they already know whether to seat a blond or brunette next to you at the black jack table.
And, the constitutionally sovereign whack-jobs complain about TSA? You have got to be (stinkin’) kidding me.
Oh, and shame on Marriott about breakfast.
You are now encountering facial recognition software when a cruise ship voyage ends in the U.S.as well as when going through immigration. As usual this sort of thing will keep quietly growing and growing. I suspect that there is already a subterranean program to record everybody’s biometrics (China does this but at least is honest about the program). DNA and fingerprints could well be tied in eventually, and who knows what else about your life. There is always a justification for such programs, and the promises to control or limit them are soon forgotten. They take on a life of their own and just become part of the landscape. And somehow we’re all supposed to be safer for them. But then a person in solitary confinement is pretty safe too.
Most TSA agents that I have encountered coerce travelers into using the facial recognition system and imply that it’s required. Most travelers submit like sheep. You have to be fairly insistent to opt out and may face confrontational behavior from the TSA agent when you do.
It’s doublespeak for the TSA to say that travelers are opting in.
When so many photos of you are available online who the heck cares about TSA taking photos in airports? What about traffic cameras? Security cameras at EVERY STORE YOU GO TO? To be concerned about this is just stupid. You don’t matter so much and aren’t that special so don’t worry about someone taking your photo.
Waiting for Marriott to adjust its $10 welcome credit for titanium and ambassadors with inflation. Room rates have gone up, the $10 credit has stayed the same for a decade.
lol why are you paranoid about your face? Computers don’t care how ugly it is. FFS
The 2.16 miles given for DFW is bogus. You might get up to that distance walking from Terminal B to Terminal E — except there’s no walkway to E from the other terminals. And it ignores the Skylink, which is one of the best airport trains out there. Trains every two minutes, bidirectional and two stations in every terminal.