On a recent Jet2 flight from Manchester, U.K. to Rhodes, Greece, an elderly woman slapped a member of the cabin crew because she was denied champagne. Another flight attendant restrains her. And the flight diverts to Munich, Germany where she was arrested.
Marriott claimed over 140 million members at the end of 2019. At some brands members represent about two thirds of revenue. Based on franchise disclosures, the average Marriott Bonvoy member pays AC Hotels a $200.74 daily room rate and at Westin hotels it’s a $185 daily room rate. Guests aren’t customers, they’re Marriott’s product – and the product that all hotel chains sell to hotel owners. While hotel chains push ‘book direct’ as a way of lowering costs, distribution isn’t free. Franchisees pay more for Bonvoy members than non-members, on the theory that Marriott is delivering these “leads” to hotels. And those fees fund points that members earn. For Westin in 2021, Marriott is charging 4.2% of “qualifying revenue generated by customers earning loyalty points or miles” for the cost of Bonvoy, not including bonus…
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.
may not be how things work in practice and the housekeeping you receive may not be the housekeeping you’ve come to expect.
They will make the bed (not change sheets), replace towels, and take out trash. They’ll restock the coffee, but ‘supplies’ are pretty limited since most properties are using wall-mounted toiletries anyway.
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.
A new meme out of China, ‘suitcase bowling’, is taking over the internet. As I write a version of the video shortened and celebrating a bowling strike as a suitcase falls down an escalator and takes out a passenger at the bottom has been viewed over 8 million times.
Two people at the top of the escalator tried to send their bag down on its own. However it didn’t stay upright – tossing itself down and gaining momentum until a way – who sees it coming and tries to outrun it – gets knocked down.
The Bellagio hotel now gives black plates and black napkins at the buffet to Noir members to identify them visually to staff for better treatment
Airlines are one of the most small-d democratic experiences we have, where people from all walks of life with all kinds of backgrounds, experiences, and emotional baggage (the only kind of baggage the airlines won’t charge for) come together inside of a metal tube. We’re all different in our own way, and it takes a little bit of time after we wake up before we’re ready to conform. If you’re stuck flying at 5 o’clock in the morning, you do you..
Sam Bowman reports that he was flying Virgin Atlantic in economy. He reclined his seat, he says, in order “to sleep and the grown man behind me started violently shaking and kicking my seat.” After the violent passenger was told to stop, “his wife loudly declared that I was a sociopath.”
The important point to make here, aside from the obvious “don’t physically shake the seat of the person in front of you” is that a passenger whose seat reclines gets to decide whether to put that seat in the upright or reclined position, outside of takeoff and landing where the government makes the decision for them. It’s not always appropriate to recline, but the decision belongs to the passenger whose seat it is.
Hend Bustami, a former food runner at Chateau Nightclub, server assistant at Momofuku and lifeguard at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, was arrested at the Las Vegas airport after allegedly doing at dine and dash at the Chili’s in terminal D.
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 »
