You’ll No Longer Have to Tip When Using the Bathroom at the Charlotte Airport

by Gary Leff

Apr 09 2016

There’s nothing as awkward in the world as a bathroom with an attendant, except a bathroom with an attendant who works for tips. Bathroom attendant tipping induces confusion, and fear.

The Charlotte airport has bathroom attendants, and those aren’t going away, but the way they get paid is changing.

Changing the way attendants are paid isn’t going to obviously change passenger expectations. It’s not going to do anything to diminish confusion and fear. So it’s important to get the word out: starting in July, no tipping required in the airport restrooms in Charlotte. Pass it on.

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Investigators Share What Happened to the flydubai 737 That Crashed Last Month

by Gary Leff

Apr 08 2016

Last month a flydubai Boeing 737 crashed at Rostov on Don, Russia as it faced severe weather.

While I think most travelers find airline accidents disturbing, and even take them personally and are affected by them, this incident struck me somewhat closer to home than it might have, since I had just recently taken flydubai for the first time myself.

The agency investigating the crash has released preliminary findings.

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Will Marriott Create a New Rewards Program When it Merges With Starwood?

by Gary Leff

Apr 08 2016

Shareholders vote today on Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood. It’s a decent deal for Starwood shareholders, though with Marriott trading at $66 as of this writing, 0.8 shares of Marriott plus $21 cash isn’t as good as the binding and fully financed earlier deal of $78 cash from Anbang. It’s a good deal for Marriott customers, who have more places to earn and redeem at. And remember that there are more Marriott Rewards members than Starwood Preferred Guest members.

I’ve suggested that one thing Marriott could do is start over from a loyalty perspective, create a new program that they move both Marriott Rewards members and Starwood Preferred Guest members into. (I first heard this suggestion from Randy Petersen who noted it’s how Starwood Preferred Guest itself was born out of Westin Premier and Sheraton Club International.) Mommy Points shares scuttlebutt that suggests this idea could be under consideration.

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JD Power Hotel Loyalty Rankings Are Completely Flawed, Backward

by Gary Leff

Apr 08 2016

JP Power is out with its 2016 ranking of hotel loyalty programs and media seems to be taking it at face value without digging into the methodology — they report the rankings without understanding that it’s garbage in, garbage out. And that’s dangerous, as illustrated by industry site Skift:

“Interestingly, the Starwood Preferred Guest program, beloved among frequent travelers, ranked near the bottom, and it’s never fared well in past J.D. Powers’ reports. So, why is it so admired, and why does Marriott want it so badly?”

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Bill Marriott Shares the Real Reason Marriott is Buying Starwood

by Gary Leff

Apr 08 2016

Marriott is buying Starwood for the increased clout it gives them in negotiations — with partners, online travel agencies, and everyone else. That’s according to Marriott Executive Chairman Bill Marriott.

From the beginning the narrative around the deal has been that the size and scale of Marriott would help them in negotiating with online travel agencies. And by expanding their footprint they’d also be able to capture more corporate deals, and a greater share of spend from each deal.

Since the deal was struck, and Starwood’s customers started vocally expressing concerns, the idea of acquiring Starwood’s customers became a focal part of the narrative.

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