Travel Tip #3: airfarewatchdog.com

The next time you search for airfares on-line, check out airfarewatchdog.com. Watchdog is similar to priceline, travelocity, and others except for 2 big differences. The first is that watchdog does not use computer programs to search and enter airfares onto their site. Watchdog has real people dedicated to searching airline sites which allows them to search smaller airlines that the average traveler has never heard of. The second big difference is Southwest Airlines. Watchdog boasts that its the only travel site that has Southwest airfares featured on their site. You won't find fares from Southwest on priceline and others like it.

Cool feature: My favorite aspect of the site is the weekly email service. The user can enter in specific airports into your profile. Each week you will receive an email with the best airfares from that specific airport. My home airport is Dane County Regional Airport (Madison WI). Over the past few months I've seen round trip airfares for under $200 to several cities on both coasts.

Airfarewatchdog.com can save you time and money.

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"The starting point of all individual achievement is the adoption of a definite major purpose and a specific plan for its attainment."-- Napoleon Hill

Survey Results

How far did you travel for the Thanksgiving Holiday?
32 people participated in the survey.


Results:
Hosted Thanksgiving: 8 (25%)
0-100 miles: 15 (46%)
101-200 miles: 7 (21%)
201-350 miles: 1 (3%)
351-500 miles: 1 (3%)
Over 500 miles: 0

New Look For Best Western

Many hotel brands suffer from "You don't know what you're going to get" syndrome. If the brand does not have many critical standards and the owner(s) of the hotel(s) have a lackadaisical attitude and/or lack of funds to make improvements to the hotel, the facility can quickly fall into disrepair. This is not a customer service issue. A hotel guest can experience poor customer service at the most expensive hotels. The issue comes down to curb appeal.


Last summer I stayed at a Best Western in Chester IL. The hotel was super clean and well maintained. Any guest could tell the management staff and owner(s) took pride in offering guests the best experience possible. Two summers before this I stayed at a Best Western in Colorado. The facility looked 50 years old, had out-door entrances, and outdated features such as shag carpeting in the room. From this experience, the Best Western brand is lucky I gave them another try in Chester IL. I'm confident that an average traveler who would stay at the location in Chester IL and then the location I experienced in Colorado would be surprised and disappointed that the two properties were not similar. Its as if the brand played the "bait and switch" trick. Who knows if that customer will stay at Best Western again. If they decided to make a reservation I'm confident the question of "What am I going to get this time?" will enter into their thought process. A hotel will lose the customer experience battle if the guest is already questioning their lodging decision before they even arrive to check in.


I purposely didn't mention the BW location in Colorado. If your travels take you to Colorado. Make sure to ask me about this location. You don't want to stay there


Below is an excerpt of an article from hotel-online.com. For Best Western's sake I hope the the hotel in Colorado I experienced is one of the 300 under-performing properties mentioned.



Best Western Enters the Upper Mid-scale Segment- At long last, Best Western announced the new 100-room Atria Prototype. David Kong, BW president and CEO said, “Best Western’s business strategy is to allow developers to build products that best fit their markets. The Atria Prototype is flexible, functional and extremely cost-effective, so it will succeed in a variety of markets. We expect the first Best Western using Atria Prototype plans to be open in the next year.”

Best Western is the world’s largest chain with 4,200 independently-owned member hotels in 80 countries and territories worldwide. Founded in 1946, BW is host to approximately 400,000 guests each night. For years many members resisted the creation of an upper mid-scale Best Western which could command a higher average daily rate. Now with the BW Atria in the United States and the BW Premier in Europe, Best Western will be able to replace to the 300 under-performing properties whose owners refused to bring them up to minimum standards.

The Atria Prototype has several major features, including:

• Guestrooms designed around a loft concept with a frosted glass half-wall that separates sleeping areas from living areas. Guest bathrooms feature the comforts of home, including stone-topped vanities.


• Colors and building materials that appeal to multiple generations. The neutral color palette mixes textures, patterns and tone-on-tone coloring to create visual interest and a sense of warmth.


• Features for multi-media travelers, including multi-functional bed lighting that created an additional workspace for laptop users.


• Modular design that allows developers to adapt the building to meet a local market’s needs, whether through a coffee shop, sweet shop, bar, or expanded food operation. The Prototype layout features 100 rooms in five stories on a two-acre site.
  

Travel Tip #2: Pack Like a Pro

Click here for a smart way to pack a suitcase. If you are like me, wearing wrinkled clothing isn't an option. The next time I travel I'll but this method to the test. Let me know your thoughts after trying it.

Hotel Urban Legend: Card Keys Contain Personal Information

In a recent Safe & Sound column found in the Wisconsin State Journal written by Anita Clark a reader asked: Do hotels in Wisconsin add credit card numbers to room key cards?



The answer is NO. Over the past few years several clients have asked me the same question. I've done several web searches on the subject and have never found one article that supports the urban legend that says hotel key cards contain personal information.



In fact, card keys are a huge security upgrade from the days when regular keys and locks were used. These keys were routinely accidentally taken home by hotel guests...at least that is what a hotel manager wanted to believe. Each time this happened, the lock was switched with another room lock. The problem with this process was that room keys were accidentally taken home by guests on a daily basis. It was almost impossible to keep up with the process of switching locks. If a General Manager said they replaced/exchanged every room door lock the day the key went "missing"...They would be lying.

Travel Tip: In Case of Emergency

I recently read an interesting article in Best Life magazine. The article "10 Numbers Every Man Should Have on Speed Dial" was written by Jason Daley. Although all of the telephone numbers were good ideas, one stuck out as being a great travel tip that could someday save your life.

An excerpt from the article is below.

In Case of Emergency (ICE) Started by paramedics in 2005, the ICE program is an effort to get people to list their emergency contacts in their phone under the label ICE. Then, if you're in an accident, police or hospital staff can use your cell phone to notify your family or friends quickly. Simply input the phone numbers and store them as ICE-wife, ICE-dad, ICE-daughter, etc. Some people also put a small red sticker on their phone to let emergency services know it contains ICE numbers.

Consistent Customer Service: A Great Get Out of Jail Free Card

No matter what business you are in mistakes are bound to happen. Sometimes events beyond your control cause your customer service to fall short of where you'd like it to be. Orders are missed, a phone call isn't returned, a delivery is late are all examples of situations that can go wrong...not to mention a bad face to face customer service experience that your top customer had with one of your employees.

My first hotel job was working the 3-11 shift at a hotel in Waterloo, IA. My boss explained that giving great customer service was very important in my new job. He used statistics, graphs, and personal pleas to help myself and my co-workers realize that giving great customer service would blaze a trail of financial success for the hotel. Although this made sense to me, I looked at giving great customer service in a much simpler way.

First, providing great customer service made me feel good. When I felt good at work, my shift flew by. The pride I had in myself did not allow me to have an attitude of indifference. When the hotel made a mistake, I took it personally. When the hotel looked bad, I looked bad. I did everything I could to make the hotel look and perform great because in the end it was a reflection of me.

Secondly, giving great customer service could be used as a “get out of jail free card”, in that when something goes wrong the guest would not take out their frustrations on me even if I was the only person there. In most cases it’s difficult to be mean to someone who was nice to you. Very early in my hospitality career I realized there were a plethora of opportunities to upset a customer; lost reservations, reservations made for the wrong date, and maintenance problems in the room are just a few of the possible complaints. As a customer service representative my goal was to provide the best personalized customer service I could, not just to make money for the hotel, but also if that customer had a problem they would remember the service I gave them earlier in the day. My hope was to install confidence in the guest that assured them that I could answer and solve any questions or problems that might arise during their stay before the incidents happened.

I expect great customer service when I stay at a hotel. The tone of my stay begins at check-in. If the customer service representative has an attitude of indifference I assume the representative will not be able to handle my issue if my accommodations fall short of my expectations.

Consumers speak with their wallets. In the long run consistent customer service will help improve your brand and profits. Great customer service can also help profits today when handling complaints.

The Best Travel Deals on the Web: travelzoo.com

Over the past year travelzoo.com has become my favorite travel site. This site consistently has the best vacation deals found on the web. Cruises, all-inclusive resorts, and airfare can all be found at travelzoo.com. In March of 2005, using travelzoo, my wife and I went on a 13 night Panama Canal cruise that included airfare for just over $1000 per person.

Last week there was a great deal on a 13 day trip to Egypt that included airfare, over 30 meals, tours with English speaking guides, and a 7 day cruise on the Nile River! All of this for $1500 per person. Another great deal!

The highlight of travelzoo.com is the travelzoo Top 20. This bi-weekly email is a list of the Top 20 travel deals from their site. The email is easy to read and takes only a few moments to scan over.

Naked Sleepwalkers

Click here for a story on naked sleepwalkers.

I've been in the hospitality industry for 16 years. During this time I've experienced many strange and awkward occurrences involving hotel guests. The story above reminded me of a situation that I had long forgotten.

While an Assistant Manager at a hotel in Minneapolis, I was working an audit shift. Around 1 a.m. a gentleman walked up to the front desk asking for a key for his room. I quickly made 2 observations: 1) The gentleman was drunk. I noticed the stale stinch of alcohol 10 feet away. His face was puffy and his eyes were beyond bloodshot. 2) He wasn't wearing a shirt, which wasn't a big deal, but as I approached the front desk I noticed the only thing he was wearing were tighty-whitey underwear that was anything but tight. The elastic band was stretched out as if used as a sling-shot for bowling balls. It seemed the only thing preventing the man's underwear from falling to his sock-less feet was will-power.

Wanting to quickly get this gentleman away from the front desk and to his room I asked for his room number. In a slurred voice he replied " I don't know". His drunken state was affecting his memory. I then asked him his name. Again, he replied "I don't know".

What should I do? What room did this gentleman belong to? The hotel had 204 rooms. That night occupancy was over 90%...there were too many options to start knocking on doors. I tried to jog the gentleman's memory by asking where he lived. I thought I could look through registration cards for his hometown. He said he lived at T.J.'s Tavern. This establishment was located a block from the hotel. I assumed this was where the gentleman became inebriated and was the last place he could remember. I called the establishment as asked if anyone was missing a 40-ish drunk man wearing stretched out white underwear. The bartender who answered the phone laughed and quickly hung up the phone.

I had two options. In 1 hour there was a scheduled shuttle run to the airport. In 45 minutes guests would be entering the lobby waiting to be taken to the airport. Seeing a nearly naked gentleman that early in the morning would not be the greatest way to start out one's day. I figured I had 45 minutes to find the room the gentleman belonged to or I could call the local authorities and ask them to remove the naked gentleman from the property.

After giving the gentleman a sheet to cover himself up with and directing him to the lobby sofa to sit on I decided to wait 15 minutes to call the police. Having police cars with lights flashing is never a good site to see at any hotel. Nothing breeds confidence in hotel guests than seeing two officers guide a drunk man wearing stretched out underwear out the front doors of a hotel to the open back doors of a squad car.

I got lucky 15 minutes later. As I reached for the phone to dial the non-emergency number of the police a bewildered looking woman wearing a pink housecoat approached the front desk. She explained that she was missing her husband and wanted to know if I had seen him. I pointed to the lobby sofa to where the gentleman had fallen asleep snoring away. The woman walked to the sofa and knocked her husband on the head. He awoke with a startled "Ouch!". He stood up letting the sheet drop to the floor. With both of his hands holding up his underwear he followed his wife down the hall to their room.

I wish this story would have stayed lost in the recesses of my mind.

YES(!)...I Can Help You With That

Click here for a link to a story about a hotel that charges $14k for dessert.

As I read this story it brought back memories of a negative way I used to think. When doing sales work for the Monona Country Inn & Suites I was often asked if we supplied transportation to and from the airport for persons attending meetings at the hotel. My usual response was "No, we do not provide transportation". Other than mentioning taxi service, I would cease thinking about the clients transportation issues.

This changed when I attended a sales seminar a year into my position. The speaker talked about using "YES" instead of "NO". For example using the same situation as above I could have said "Yes, we have several options for transportation including taxi service as well as shuttle service to and from the airport as well as your place of business...give me a couple hours and I can work up a price for this service." By using "YES" I assured the client I was on top of the situation and at the same time let the client know that we didn't provide transportation. After determining a price for the transportation I would respond with, "I've organized transportation for your needs...the price will be $xxx.xx. If you'd like, I can place those charges on your meeting room bill and I can be the contact for you to the taxi service...How does that sound"?

The "YES" way of responding and thinking made the client, and myself feel good. I would rather say "Yes, I can help you with that and the cost will be..." and have the client/customer say "NO" and have them realize that I tried to cater to their needs rather than me abruptly saying "NO".

After attending the seminar and implementing the "YES" response I noticed 2 things happening. The first was the client would use our hotel again for future meetings. The second was that the client referred my hotel when business acquaintances asked them where they should have a meeting. These end results were great, but the best result was the 10-15% up-charge that was placed on their bill for organizing the transportation. Because the client didn't have to concern themselves with the issue of transportation, they were more than happy to pay the fee.

Here are two examples of how I used "YES" instead of "NO".

Client: I like your meeting room rates and set-up...Do you have a restaurant for lunch?
Hotel Sales Person: Yes, we can provide lunch. We have a catering menu set-up with xyz restaurant. Our meeting room clients are always happy with their service as well as their affordable menu items...can I fax or email a copy of their menu?

Client: For my meeting I need 8 computer monitors and a LCD projector. Does your meeting facility have this?
Hotel Sales Person: Yes, I can arrange those items for you. In the past we have worked with abc Electrical. They rent out computer equipment. I will call them right now and call you back. I'm sure you will be happy with their rates.

Many times our hotels staff concentrate too much on the amenities we don't have. In many cases we are able to accommodate guest needs if we have a positive mind-set and tackle their request with a smile and can-do enthusiasm.

However, I would have a difficult time trying to convince someone to take out a loan to buy a $14k dessert.

Fall to Earth

Click here for a story about a teenager who feel 6 stories from a hotel balcony...and walked away with only a few scrapes and bruises. Last night I stayed on the 3rd floor of the Country Inn & Suites in Monona and got dizzy while looking out the window. I can't imagine trying to grab something while hanging from a balcony railing 6 stories above the ground.

Marriott: A good Investment?

Click here for an interesting story on Marriott.

Hilton: BIG DEAL!

Check out the BIG deal here.

Tree House Hotel

For less than $1400 a week, you can rent a tree house in Costa Rica. Click here for details.

PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AT YOUR HOTEL

Click here to read a funny urban legend that is true! Read the story and then click on the
"web pages" section...it is hilarious!

Kids stay free...Or...Stay free of kids

Interested in going on a kid-free vacation? The unclevern site below has lists of "everything childless". Resorts, hotels, spas, and restaurants that value quietness and relaxation desired by childless couples or couples that have children are featured on this site.

http://www.unclevern.com/

Eco-Friendly Hotel

Click HERE for a story on an eco-friendly hotel in California. I assumed the hotel would be very expensive...I was wrong. After reading I went to the hotel's website to check rates. Weekday rates mid-week during the summer are $109-$130...I expected over $200 a night.

A good concept...except fore the Gore book.

Hotel Chatter

Click here for an interesting site. The site features a varity of hotel related stories and reviews.

Hotel Soap: The funniest hotel story

Soap Story------------>> The following letters are supposedly taken from an actual incident > between a hotel and one of its guest. > ------------------------------------------------------------------> Dear Maid,>> Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom> since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the six> unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another > three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.> Thank you,> S. Berman> -----------------------------------------------> Dear Room 635,>> I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her> day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap> dish as you requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way!> and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your> mind. This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions > from the management are to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this> is satisfactory.> Kathy, Relief Maid>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------> Dear Maid - I hope you are my regular maid. Apparently Kathy did not tell> you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got> back to my room this evening, I found you had added 3 little Camays to the> shelf under my medicine cabinet. I am going to be here in the hotel for > two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial, so I won't need > those 6 little Camays, which are on the shelf. They are in my way > when shaving, brushing teeth, etc.> Please remove them.> S. Berman> -------------------------------------------> Dear Mr. Berman,>> The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this morning that you> called him last evening and said you were unhappy with> your maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you> will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any> future complaints, please contact me so I can give it my personal> attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.> Thank you.> Elaine Carmen> Housekeeper> ---------------------------------------------> Dear Miss Carmen,>> It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for> business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before 5:30 or 6PM. That's> the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty.> I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about> those little bars soap.> The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check- in> today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine> cabinet, along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bathroom shelf.> In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why are you> doing this to me ?> S. Berman> ------------------------------------------------> Dear Mr. Berman,>> Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room> and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance, please call> extension 1108 between 8 AM and 5PM.> Thank you,> Elaine Carmen,> Housekeeper> -------------------------------------------------> Dear Mr. Kensedder,>> My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my room,> including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and> had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.> S. Berman> --------------------------------------------------> Dear Mr. Berman,>> I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem.> I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room> since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they> service a room. The situation will be rectified immediately.> Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.> Martin L. Kensedder> Assistant Manager> --------------------------------------------------> Dear Mrs. Carmen,>> Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last night> and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want 54 little bars of Camay. > I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars of> soap in here ? All I want is my bath-size Dial.> Please give me back my bath! -size Dial.> S. Berman> ---------------------------------------------------> Dear Mr. Berman,>> You complained of too much soap in your room, so I had them removed. Then> you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing, so I> personally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and the> 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily. I don't know anything about > the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know> I had returned your soaps, so she also brought 24 Camays plus the > 3 daily Camays. I don't know where you got the idea this hotel issues > bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left> in your room.> Elaine Carmen> Housekeeper> ----------------------------------------------------> Dear Mrs. Carmen,>> Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory. > As of today I possess :> On the shelf under the medicine cabinet -18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1> stack of 2.> On the Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3.> On the bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1 stack of 4> hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.> Inside the medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.> In the shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist. On the northeast corner of> the tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.> On the northwest corner of the tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.>> Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are> neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that> stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my> bedroom window sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for > future soap deliveries. One more item, I have purchased another bar > of bath-size Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to > avoid further misunderstandings.> S. Berman>>*----------------------------

Intersting Stuff

An interesting hotel story at this link. Enjoy.