He Gave Us Bonvoy And Defended Resort Fees. Did Arne Sorenson ‘Stand Up For What Was Right?’

outside marriott hotel
Feb 16 2021

I was sad to learn of the passing of Marriott’s long-time CEO Arne Sorenson, the first non-Marriott to hold the post. My sympathies go out to his family who lost him to pancreatic cancer way too early at 62. I wasn’t going to write about it because the news is well-covered. My reactions though center largely around what’s been said about him since his untimely passing.

His public legacy, I think, is more complicated than the tributes I’ve seen generally recognize. And that flows naturally from the role he filled at the helm of a global business in a very political industry.

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Hotels Called Out For Price Gouging As Unprecedented Weather Event Hits Texas Electrical Grid

Feb 16 2021

Texas is experiencing a weather event it hasn’t seen in a generation. We don’t do single digit temperatures, negative wind chills, and significant snow. The problem compounded when the state’s electric grid couldn’t handle demand. Freezing temperatures took some power generation offline (due to frozen natural gas pipes) at a time when everyone cranked up their heat.

Local residents without power are complaining about hotel price gouging.

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People Are Getting Around Covid-19 Travel Bans By Making Dentist Appointments

Feb 16 2021

Are there risks to using a dental appointment confirmation email to circumvent travel restrictions? Just show up for your appointment while on vacation. Those who use the dental loophole, and prepay might as well get a cleaning out of it rather than no-showing, even though “current law permits travelers to be charged only at the point they attempt the overseas journey, not after the fact.”

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Chinese Aviation Races Back, But Atlanta Airport Is Still Busiest In The World

Feb 16 2021

Ten of the top twenty airports in the world for departing seat capacity this week are in China,. Some of the busiest airports in the world may be places you haven’t heard of or at least, couldn’t place precisely on a map like Hangzhou, Chongquing and Kunming.

For all of China’s dominance here in Covid times around Chinese New Year the busiest airport in the world for domestic flying is still Atlantaa – and by a lot (17% ahead of the number two airport). Middle seat blocking helps here (Delta is flying more seats than they are selling) but Delta has retrenched to Atlanta to a large degree and it skews as a domestic hub even during normal times.

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The Top 20 Airports For Internationally Flying Right Now Show How Travel Has Changed

Feb 15 2021

The busiest international airports by seat capacity in the world right now are all in the Mideast: Dubai, followed by Doha and then Istanbul. All of the world’s top international airports have seen an increase in seats offered this week compared to last week.

The top 20 international airport whose international seat capacity has dropped the least year-over-year is Cancun. North America close-in leisure travel to warm weather destinations has fared relatively best during the pandemic.

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How Can We Prevent Future Government Bailouts Of The Airline Industry?

Feb 14 2021

The federal government committed $65 billion in grants and subsidized loans to airlines in 2020, and is now considering a third bailout. While the funds were marketed as protecting jobs, only about one eighth of the second bailout actually went to pay workers who had been furloughed (and airlines that never furloughed anyone received billions).

After bailouts during the Great Recession there was a national conversation recognizing that bailed out companies weren’t really private enterprises and the need to make sure bailouts never had to happen again.

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