Per Diems In U.S. Cities

The cost of travel is not cheap. The average daily cost of 100 U.S. cities is 314.78! This daily cost consists of hotel, 3 meals, and car rental. Below are the 10 most expensive cities in the United States. Included is the average per diem needed. Note that the per diem does not include airfare and parking fees.

1. New York $564.24

2. Washington DC $463.41

3. Boston $433.12

4. Newark $422.74

5. Detroit $416.94

6. San Francisco $410.33

7. Chicago $406.62

8. Honolulu $399.84

9. White Plains $398.19

10. Baltimore $397.45

44. Milwaukee $308.68

62. Madison $293.19

International travel isn't much cheaper. Using a cross section of 100 cities the daily per diem needed is $314.08 (US dollars). Although this is .70 cheaper than the average in the United States, one can see from the numbers below that the 10 most expensive international cities are much more pricey that their US counterparts.

1. Paris $528

2. Amsterdam $506

3. Moscow $505

4. Stockholm $498

5. London (Central) $480

6. Oslo $478

7. Rome $454

8. Brussels $452

9. Kiev $450

10. Lyon $448

THE BELLAGIO: I Loved the Electronic Drapes

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of staying at The Bellagio in Las Vegas NV for 5 nights. Before checking in the only expectation I had was the expensive room rate and although The Bellagio is considered "high-end" for Las Vegas I still expected the decor to be somewhat tacky. The expectations of the expensive room rate was accurate. However, The Bellagio wasn't tacky. In fact, The Bellagio is the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in.

My traditional room was very spacious. It featured a king size bed, a work/business area, and a huge bathroom. When entering the the room I was greeted with marble flooring that lead you into the room. The marble flooring extended into the bathroom. In the corner of the room was a comfortable sitting chair. My first 5 minutes in the room was spent "playing" with the electronic drapes. Very cool. I must admit, during the 5 days, I found myself fascinated with the electronic push button drapes. I'm convinced the electronic drapes actually saved me money at times because it kept me away from the gaming tables.

The bathroom was huge. It featured a marble floored shower area that had glass walls. This was separate from the bathtub which was large and deep that included jacuzzi jets. The vanity was long and had 2 sinks.

Like most of the newer Las Vegas hotels...The hotels are destinations themselves. Even if you are not staying at The Bellagio one could spend a few hours walking around admiring the hotels impressive architecture, fine art, touring shops, and visiting one of the hotels find eating establishments.

Before arriving in Vegas a co-worker who had stayed at The Bellagio the year before told me that when he stayed there for a week that it was the only time that he didn't want to leave a hotel to go home. After my trip, I would have to agree. Does anyone know how to get electronic drapes installed in your house?

TOP TEN IN ROOM MOVIES FOR 2007

LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is the leading provider of media and connectivity solutions designed to meet the unique needs of the hospitality industry. LodgeNet Interactive serves more than 1.9 million hotel rooms representing 9,300 hotel properties worldwide in addition to health care facilities throughout the United States. Translation...If you paid for an in room movie while traveling over the past year, you most likely watched the movie via the LodgeNet system.

Lodgenet is the leader in providing on demand entertainment to the market, and its list of the top selling titles is the most accurate gauge of performance in the market. The most-viewed video on demand movies in properties served by LodgeNet during the year were:

1. Knocked Up
2. Borat
3. Night at the Museum
4. Wild Hogs
5. 300
6. The Bourne Ultimatum
7. Casino Royal
8. The Departed
9. Live Free or Die Hard
10. Ghost Rider

Mideast's first woman-only hotel opens in Saudi Arabia

Women in Saudi Arabia have a plethora of constraints. They are banned from driving vehicles, forced to be covered from head to toe while in public, prevented from talking to men other than relatives and prevented from traveling without written permission from their male guardian.

With this restrictive life-style...maybe women is Saudi Arabia deserve to have a hotel for themselves. The Luthan Hotel and Spa caters to women only, has 25 rooms, offers 150 spa treatments, and has fine dining as well as conference facilities. Are woman allowed to hold meetings/conferences in Saudi Arabia?

The Luthan Hotel and Spa opened this month.

Travel Tip #4: Don't Drink the Water

When traveling to Mexico it's often difficult to say no to ice cubes and tap water. It's even more difficult not to worry about a bad case of Montezuma's Revenge. Thankfully, a company named Hydro-Photon has come up with a solution. The SteriPEN Traveler Water Purifier is a pocket device that uses ultraviolet light to purify up to 16 ounces of water in less than 60 seconds. The process eradicates parasites that might have you spending most of your vacation in the bathroom instead of the beach.

More info and where to purchase can be found at http://www.steripen.com/.

Transportation Security Administration

TSA (tsa.gov) officials may be the most hated people on your list when flying in America. Nothing is more frustrating than going through security lines at your airport of choice. Although I know why the procedures must be followed I absolutely hate the fact that I have to remove my shoes while going through security.

The TSA website (tsa.gov) always has updated info regarding new/current luggage and carry-on rules. It might be a good idea to visit the site for a few minutes before your next flight to make sure your expert packing at home the night before won't be in vain the following day at the airport.

The site also has other related travel/flight articles that I found interesting. I also liked their "brag" section that gave a brief description of some of the terrorist plots that the tsa helped thwart. The hi-jacking of plans was very prevalent in the Middle east in the 70's and 80's. I hope America's TSA will prevent that from happening in the United States.

Their procedures may be a hassle, but they are batting .1000 since September 11, 2001.

Top 10 Spa Hotels in the World

TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel community, recently announced the top 10 spa hotels in the world based on their popularity index and traveler ratings. All properties are 4-5 star rated. If visiting, be prepared to be pampered and bring a credit card with a high limit. I included the average daily rate with each ranking.

1. Ogai Valley Inn and Spa - Ojai, California $323 (pictured above)

2. Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel - Interlaken, Switzerland $476

3. The Lodge At Woodloch - Hawley, Pennsylvania $1076

4. Les Sources de Caudalie - Aquitaine, France $1036

5. Como Shambhala - Bali, Indonesia $275

6. Canyon Ranch Lenox - Lenox, Massachusetts $1664

7. Casa Palmero at Pebble Beach - Pebble Beach, California $843

8. Lausanne Palace & Spa - Vaud, Switzerland $445

9. Hotel Le Mirador Kempinski Genfer See - Vaud, Switzerland $320

10. Schlosshotel Buehlerhoehe - Buhl, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany $396

Survey Results: #2

In 2007, including business and leisure, how many nights did you spend at a hotel/resort?
65 people participated in this survey.

0-10 nights 30 people
11-20 nights 24 people
21-30 nights 6 people
31-40 nights 1 people
41-50 nights 0 people
51 or more 4 people

New Service Tracks Shady Hotel Guests

Are you one of those hotel guests that purposely complains about everything in hopes to get a refund or discount? You know who you are. When a customer service representative asks you "how was your stay", you complain that the drapes didn't block enough sun from coming into your room, you complain that you could hear interstate traffic while trying to sleep although you knew before hand that the hotel was located just yards from said interstate, you complain that the room rate is too high although you agreed to the rate at check in, you complain that the thread count of the sheets isn't high enough, you complain that the free orange juice was too cold because it hurt your teeth, you complain that your room wasn't cleaned although you had the "do not disturb" sign on your door all day long, you complain that you didn't get your wake-up call although you are unsure if you ever asked for one, you complain that the pattern of the hall carpeting is too "intense" because it makes you dizzy, you complain about "jet noise" but in the same breath say that you chose the hotel because it was so close to the airport....

If you are one of these people...BEWARE, the hospitality industry is onto you! HotelSafeGuard.com launched last month. The service aims to help the hospitality industry combat fraud and check guests with suspicious patterns. David Barber, of HotelSafeGuard.com, estimates scams cab cost a hotel 5%-7% of revenue a year.

HotelSafeGuard.com charges $472.80 per year and bills itself as an across the board, world wide service that detects patterns of financial fraud and guest abuse.

Holiday Inn: A New Look

The Holiday Inn brand is an icon in the lodging industry. If you are a frequent business traveler and routinely take weekly or weekend vacations you have most likely stayed at a Holiday Inn product.

As a child one of my fondest travel memories was staying at a HoliDome, a Holiday Inn that featured a "dome" over the pool area, for the weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with my parents and younger brother. The dome area not only had a pool and hot-tube, it also featured a small mini-golf area, a huge game room, pool table, and a ping pong table. As a kid, this was the best hotel ever! My brother and I were impressed as only kids could be when mom and dad ordered us hot fudge sundaes by the pool. As I re-call, we didn't wait the customary 45 minutes to jump into the pool after we filled our bellies with ice-cream.

I thought of this experience as I read a recent article that mentioned the Holiday Inn brand was changing their iconic signage with new streamlined signage. Below is an example of the new signage with Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive of InterContinental Hotels Group. Also included below is a rendering of the classic Holiday sign.

A few interesting and fascinating facts:

• The brand was established in 1952, and currently has 3125 hotels worldwide.
• The brand was first to offer free ice and telephones in every room.
• Around the world, Holiday Inn is opening a hotel a day and signing two.
• Holiday Inn has a development pipeline of more than 110,000 rooms (942 hotels).
• Around the world, three people check into a Holiday Inn every second.
• Every night more than 300,000 people stay at a Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express.
• Holiday Inn has been mentioned in song lyrics by Elton John and rappers Snoop Dog and Chingy.
• Personally, I've stayed at a Holiday Inn product 5 times over the past 5 years. I've eaten an average of 3 cinnamon rolls at the free breakfast on each of my 1 night stays. :-) yum!

Is your hotel room clean?

Back in December I posted an article about the key card urban legend.

Click here for a web article from msn.com. It mentions the key card urban legend as well as "rule 240", an airline urban legend I've never heard of.

The same article mentions "dirty hotel rooms". Although I don't agree with the article's statement that housekeepers are under-paid and over-worked, the article's statement on cleanliness has merit. As a frequent traveler I don't use a "white glove" to determine if a room is unclean. However, I do use some common sense.

Consider the following:

There is usually a robe-hook on the inside bathroom door. What did the person who rented the room before you hang on that hook? A used towel? Are you confident the house-keeping staff cleaned it properly? The same can be asked about towel racks. At home we hang bath towels, hand towels, and wash cloths over some type of towel rack...Do you do the same when staying at a hotel? Again, are you confident the towel racks were cleaned properly after the guest before you rented the room? It may not be the "greenest" practice, but I don't re-use soiled towels after I use them. I simply toss them on the bathroom floor. Because I usually travel alone, the supply of bath linens in the room will satisfy my needs until I check-out the next day or when the room is cleaned the next day.

For whatever reason I sleep better in hotel beds than at home. However, every once in awhile I get a case of the "gross-outs" when I think of past guests who have slept in the same bed. Laundry costs are a huge expense for the lodging industry. Although sheets and pillowcases are changed after a room is checked out...Do you think the blankets and comforter are laundered? If you'd like to know some facts on this issue, leave a comment and I can inform you more.

Another area to be aware of is room carpeting. Typically, room carpeting is shampooed 1-2 times a year or when needed. Always assume that's its been awhile since the carpet has been shampooed. A good rule of thumb: Always wear socks, sleepers, or shoes in your room to protect your bare feet from unknown liquids and substances that were spilled or dropped by previous guests.

A few friends and family members of mine carry a "wet-ones" type of product with them when they travel. Any alcohol based wipe can sanitize some commonly used items in a hotel room such as the telephone receiver and TV remote control.

Although no one has ever died from an unclean hotel room, it's important to use common sense to put your mind at ease when checking into a hotel.

A Different 'Xperience'

A new trend in some full service hotels is offering "The X Room". The X Room not only features the most current technology expected by the average traveler, but it also has technology that the hotel guest can expect 3-5 years from now. The following is a list of in-room amenities that a X Room has at the Courtyard by Marriott Newark-University of Delaware for its future technology minded guests.

• GDA-700 - bartech's duel-door minibar system uses 23 FFID and infrared sensors and can hold items for sale and guests' personal items.




• Digital Door Viewer - First (View) Security's electronic video system acts as a high-tech peephole that allows guests to see the entire area outside the door.




• AnyFill - TeleAdapt's universal fast charger automatically charges 95% pf mobile battery powered devices.




• Clocky - Nanda's alarm clock on wheels runs away and hides if guests aren't ready to wake up and start their day.




• Digital Frame - Edge tech corp's high-resolution digital picture frame allows guests to decorate the walls with their personal pictures. It also has an MP3player.




• Flameless Candles - Flame free candles Inc.'s LED luminaries produce a soft, flickering flame that illuminate just like a real candle




• DD 46/2 - Inncom's Guestroom Digital assistant let guests use a touchscreen display to control climate, lighting, drapes and other aspects of the guestroom.




• Wii - Nintendo's video game console lets guests play games wirelessly and to do light workouts in the room.




• RealTimeREX Suite - RealTime Date Solutions' software suite provides the hotel with monitoring of hundreds of processes and systems.




• Lighted Hair Dryer - Andis' environmentally friendly hair dryer has a quiet turbo motor and diffused night light.




• Tri Spa Showerhead - Oxygenics' system introduces air into the shower creating a powerful oxygenated spray.

Personally, Id like too have a white-noise machine in my room. Being a lite-sleeper, a white-noise machine would be a feasture that I'd pay extra for.

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.