United Airlines flight 20 from Houston to Amsterdam dumped fuel, and then diverted to Chicago, after the business class passenger in seat 11G melted down over not having his first choice of meal available. After removing the passenger and refueling at O’Hare, the flight just landed, about three and a half hours late.
Within North America, Autograph Collection hotels are required to offer an amenity choice of restaurant breakfast (resorts) or a food and beverage credit (hotels). And Marriott has a cash guarantee that hotels will honor this.
The Muir Autograph Collection in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada says no elite breakfast, and that Marriott corporate has exempted them from the elite benefits guarantee. According to Marriott customer service there are no standards, “each hotel has its own policies and offerings.”
I spent the evening of the 4th of July at the Hyatt Regency Austin for the view of the fireworks over the lake, and it turned out to be a fantastic deal.
I’m a strong proponent of passengers being able to take photographs in public, and that includes in publicly-owned airports. While I’m sympathetic to airlines that may want to limit the practice on their private property, I think it’s bad policy. That freedom should have limits.
Sometimes a question really just gets it. Is the Bilt World Elite Mastercard too good to be true?? How can they make money giving so much to cardmembers?
Hotels often offer guests late check-out, sometimes just if they ask and other times for an extra charge. Loyalty programs frequently make this a benefit of status – Hyatt and Marriott guarantee this benefit for qualifying members, while Hilton and IHG make it ‘subject to availability’.
However when you ask for late check-out, and the hotel agrees, two things invariably happen.
Marriott partners with UNICEF in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific in a program where hotels can add donations to guest folios on an opt-out basis. Generally $1 is added per night automatically, but guests can tell the front desk to remove the charge.
Autopilot opt out is the opposite of thoughtful philanthropy, so I was sympathetic to a reader who complained about feeling shamed by hotels that do this.
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.
On Monday my American Eagle flight took a delay for catering after doors close. A crewmember announced to the aircraft that we were delayed “to cater first class.” The glares from coach were palpable.
Last month American Airlines fully rolled out a new tool called AURA, the “AUtomated ReAccommodation” tool to rebook passengers when their flights are cancelled or delayed.
But this tool does so predictively. And it’s causing seats to be given away from passengers that make their flight.
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 »
