Mar 14 2016

There was substantial interest in Starwood once the hotel chain was clearly on the block for sale. Three Chinese firms were supposedly seeking government permission to make a bid to buy Starwood Hotels. Hyatt was rumored to be the lead bidder.

There had earlier been speculation about a Starwood-IHG (or Wyndham) merger. Wyndham hired away enough Starwood talent that it’s recently been referred to as Wynwood.

Eventually Marriott submitted what was expected to be the winning offer.

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Mar 13 2016

I was super excited by the Andaz Maui opening and planned to stay when it first debuted. When I was finally able to stay in July 2014 I absolutely loved it. It was a more boutique property than the resort factories I’d stay on on the island before. And it was a great value not least of which as a Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member.

This time the room was in disrepair – from the furnishings to the flooring to the phone – ultimately on cash and points the stay was still a value. I wasn’t even charged the $40 per night resort fee that would have applied to a paid stay. I received a bountiful breakfast as a Diamond member. I got my money’s worth for sure. But it wasn’t the special place that I had visited only a year and a half earlier.

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Mar 13 2016

We live in a very different travel world than the one I grew up in. I never thought I’d get to the place to where I said, “kids today!” And that’s as much about the people working in and setting policy for the airport, and the people working on the planes, as it is for the passengers… who aren’t all rainbows and unicorns themselves.

Pay attention, it’s a strange strange world we live in. Here’s what I saw this weekend.

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Mar 13 2016

Planning vacations contributes more to your happiness than actually taking them. You may need to go on vacation to justify all of the planning time.

Most people get all of their relaxation benefits on the trip itself. Don’t expect to be relaxed when you get back. We quickly snap back into the stress of daily life, sans any benefit from the vacation.

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Mar 13 2016

American is the only airline that continues to offer three-cabin first class on premium cross country flights. What I actually found interesting was the hedging by an American executive on the question of the future of the service, as opposed to the commitment that the executive purports to explain.

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Mar 13 2016

Programs issue too many miles. There aren’t enough award seats, especially with planes flying full. They need to either increase the number of award seats or increase the cost of each seat, otherwise you just have frustrated members who can’t redeem.

At the same time programs don’t need to spend as much marketing to fill planes when planes are already full. But that’s an argument for reduced earning, not for changing redemption prices.

Programs with set award prices (award charts) usually devalue in a predictable way.

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Mar 13 2016

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.

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Mar 12 2016

I took a set of connecting flights, and on flight number one was seated next to someone that was sick. Then I took my next flight. It was a completely sold out flight. I was initially thrilled with my upgrade at the gate. But once I settled into seat 5A I discovered that the passenger sitting behind me in 6A was sick as well.

Much coughing ensued. There was no opportunity to change seats. I guess I could have (should have) gotten off the plane. And I realize that this is a challenging question, what to do — for sick passengers, for those not wanting to get sick, and for the airline?

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Mar 12 2016

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.

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Mar 12 2016

Last month I wrote that more levels may be coming to the top of American AAdvantage. In fact, it seems inevitable.

With American’s merger with US Airways, they didn’t keep 4 (all) status levels. They kept American’s elite program, more or less, so 25,000, 50,000, and 100,000 mile levels. There are a lot of former US Airways 75,000 mile Platinum members that were unhappy in the transition since they no longer had status above 50,000 mile flyers.

And as with Delta, there’s a recognition that as the world’s largest airline with a much more comprehensive route network it’s possible to stay on one airline now and so there are more customers flying more miles with the airline. As if that wasn’t enough, American now makes it much easier to qualify when buying premium fares.

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