Right Said Fred Is Too Sexy For To Wear A Mask At London Heathrow

by Gary Leff

Feb 04 2021

In 1991 I’m Too Sexy was an absolute anthem. Right Said Fred hit number one in the U.S. with their debut single, something no other band has done since the Beatles. I’d call them a one hit wonder but their next single “Don’t Talk Just Kiss” did hit #76 on the Billboard top 100.

But did you know that Right Said Fred is still a thing? And that they’ve released an album as recently as 2017? Perhaps desperate for relevance they’ve taken on a new profile criticizing the U.K. government’s response to the pandemic (fair enough) and also refusing to wear masks during air travel and promoting skepticism about vaccines.

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Marriott Hotels Change Award Category March 3, Here’s What’s Going Up And Down

by Gary Leff

Feb 04 2021

Any time Marriott doesn’t devalue its program that’s a good thing. Annual category creep has worked against you for many years, not just under Bonvoy but years earlier too. However as a result of the pandemic and how long it’s lasted we should see a majority of hotels dropping in category.

Marriott has around 7500 hotels in its portfolio. Only about 100 hotels are dropping in category – after the biggest drop in average daily room rate we’ve seen in history. Rooms cost less and Marriott’s revenue-based program should charge you fewer points. They shouldn’t just be offering ‘low season’ rates as a promotion, they should be offering those year round. And the base category of most hotels should be lower than when the hotel business was at its peak in 2019.

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Homeless Advocates Execute Coordinated Assault On Hotel, Attacks An Employee, Takes Over Two Floors

by Gary Leff

Feb 03 2021

Sunday morning an employee was assaulted at the Red Lion Suites Governor Hotel as at least a dozen armed people entered the property carrying axes, knives and batons. The rest of the hotel’s staff fled for the basement.

The coordinated assault was done by hotel guests with reservations. The group, Oly Housing Now, booked 17 rooms at the property and put homeless individuals into them – and physically occupied the 4th and 5th floors.

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Breaking: American Airlines Will Send WARN Act Notices To 13,000 Employees On Friday

by Gary Leff

Feb 03 2021

American Airlines told employees this afternoon that they plan to send WARN Act notices to 13,000 team members on Friday. This starts a 60 day clock to furloughs. It doesn’t mean 13,000 people will lose their jobs in early April – it means that American plans to reduce its workforce again, and that up to 13,000 people could be laid off.

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American Airlines Wine Sales Exceeded 400,000 Bottles In 3 Days Amidst Record Web Traffic

by Gary Leff

wine glasses on table
Feb 03 2021

I shared a week and a half ago that American Airlines was selling off wine that it had in storage with fewer flights and customers in premium cabins. American partnered with Vinesse, a company known for offering lots of frequent flyer miles to reward customers’ buying bad wine, to handled the sales.

At American’s “State of the Airline” event following Thursday’s earnings call, Chief Customer Officer Alison Taylor was asked about the program, and joked that there must be a correlation between her being Australian, and being asked to talk about alcohol.

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