In a move that may be ‘the most Bonvoy thing ever,’ the J.W. Marriott Los Cabos Resort says they charge guests using points a $30 redemption fee. This fee, or loyalty tax, applies only to free night awards and is not billed to guests paying cash. It’s not even disclosed in the rate details when booking a points stay.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby shared that in 1998 he was a Vice President at America West and a single conversation changed his view about change fees, and he’s wanted to eliminate them ever since. It took until August 2020 to do it and then American, Delta, Alaska and JetBlue all followed.
The interesting part of the story isn’t the golf game that game him the epiphany, it’s why it took 22 years for this change to happen.
At most U.S. airlines if a flight attendant provides great service it’s because of their own inner drive. It’s not because of any training program or incentives that the company has set up.
One of the most frustrating thing I hear from cabin crew all the time is about the small percentage of their colleagues who are slackers, who perform poorly and do as little work as possible (increasing the workload for everyone else). This is frustrating because there’s usually very little consequence. And seeing poor performers do just as well as those who provide exemplary service is demoralizing.
Late Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson lent international support for China’s argument that their response to Covid-19 was world-leading. Sorenson knew that crushing the pandemic through any means necessary was good for travel and the hotel business. And he knew that flattering Chinese officials and supporting their narratives is key to staying in their good graces. China is a key growth market for Marriott.
New Marriott CEO Tony Capuano appears to be taking a similar approach.
The last Director of National Intelligence says there “quite a few” incidents that are “difficult to explain” incidents “exceed[ing] the sound barrier without a sonic boom.” And in some cases “we don’t have good explanations” for what we’ve seen “all over the world.” Many haven’t been made public before.
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The pandemic is lasting longer than many had hoped, even though vaccinations create much hope. Airlines weren’t initially aggressive enough in extending status, or reducing requirements for earning status this year.
Travel may pick up as 2021 progresses. People are getting vaccinated, and CDC guidance notwithstanding that means more people who ‘jab and go’. But that isn’t enough to forestall the need for status extensions.
elta Air Lines and American Express are testing out a new airline ticket financing option for Amex cardmembers. And in the mockup being focus grouped there’s a limited-time no fee offer to spread ticket purchase costs out over 12 months (“12 Months Same As Cash”). I’m told they’re also testing financing for upgrades.
The pilot didn’t even need to make an emergency landing or divert, but they’re suing Qantas for the stress of losing an engine. The airline though says the engine failure isn’t their fault, and isn’t that why they have pilots in the first place?
Alaska Airlines and Delta were friends, turned frenemies, turned competitors as Alaska resisted Delta’s entreaties to become its vassal and Delta responded by building its own hub in Seattle. Delta hasn’t operated as significant a Seattle operation as it has middle of the country hubs during the pandemic, but the rivalry is heating up again between the two.
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 »
