Photo of the Day: Chicago Bean

Posted on September 28, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

ChronicWanderlust contributors James Pritchard and Jacob Pelham drove from Midland, TX to Chicago on an epic road trip to see a Chicago Cubs came. While wandering through Millenium Park, Jacob snapped this photo of one of the many visitors to the popular Chicago Bean…

Bird on the Bean (Jacob Pelham)

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Low Cost Powerhouse: Southwest Merges with Air Tran

Posted on September 27, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

Holy billion-dollar merger Batman! Southwest Airlines has bought AirTran for a whopping $1.4 Billion! In a public statement on September 27th, AirTran Holdings, the parent company of AirTran Airways announced that they have, “entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Southwest Airlines with the intent of merging the two airlines, combining operations and building the strongest and most diverse low cost, low fare airline network in the world.”

Photo: Mike Fisher via Flickr

Dollars and Cents

In AirTran’s public statement, they went on to explain that under the definitive agreement, “shareholders will receive between $7.25 and $7.75 in consideration per share of AirTran common stock subject to certain conditions based on the Southwest share price at closing. Currently, the transaction price would be $7.69 in cash and stock for all outstanding shares of AirTran Holdings, Inc., subject to regulatory review and approval of shareholders. This is a 69 percent premium over the September 24, 2010, share price of AirTran stock and is valued at more than $1.37 billion in equity based on more than 178,000,000 outstanding shares. Including existing AirTran Holdings, Inc., indebtedness and capitalized aircraft operating leases, the aggregate transaction value is approximately $3.42 billion.”… in other words, lots and lots of money is being thrown at this.

SWA in ATL? Atlanta might be SWA's next stop (Photo: Chuck Koehler)

What’s Going to Change?

  1. So Long Orlando! - Air Tran’s HQ in Orlando will be moving to Dallas, where SWA calls home. This means that Orlando no longer has a major airline to call their own. Not many details have been released about the move or what will happen to their training centers at MCO.
  2. Hello Atlanta! - With AirTran’s resources, SWA can now move into Atlanta, a major market for any airline. AirTran already has 200 routes through Atlanta, giving SWA room to start moving more flights into the city. SWA said they want to bring low-fare competition to nearly all large carrier hubs it doesn’t serve now.
  3. What about the employees? - AirTran hasn’t said exactly what will happen to their 8,000 employees, but does believe they are in better hands with a well-funded airline like SWA. An AirTran memo which was released to all employees says that the merger will have no immediate effect on their jobs.
  4. More LUV - SWA plans to move into most, if not all, of AirTran’s markets. Since this is all breaking news, SWA hasn’t given full details of their entire plan.  The airline predicts growth in flights, jobs and service – all great things for Orlando (if operations increase). SWA announced “significant opportunities to and from Atlanta… as well as Washington, D.C. via Ronald Reagan National Airport. The acquisition also allows [SWA] to expand  presence in key markets, like New York LaGuardia, Boston Logan, and Baltimore/Washington.”
  5. Goin’ Global - SWA plans to broaden their international flight offerings, most likely using AirTran’s routes to the Caribbean from Orlando. In SWA’s press release yesterday morning, they explained that they have, “access to key near-international leisure markets in the Caribbean and Mexico.”

Photo: Josh Hallett via Flickr

Opinions Matter

Travel pundits, bloggers and analysts are already speaking up, voicing their concerns and preaching their praises for the new mega low-cost carrier…

  • Tad Hutcheson, a spokesman for Orlando-based AirTran, called it “a great day for AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines.”
  • Southwest CEO Gary Kelly believes that, “The acquisition of AirTran represents a unique opportunity to grow Southwest Airlines’ presence in key markets we don’t yet serve and takes a significant step towards positioning us for future growth.”
  • George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com said the merger, “spells bad news for low fares, since both airlines were leaders in the low fare space and had frequent, almost weekly, sales. I can only imagine that now pressure is on for American to find a partner, and also US Airways, and that will lead to even less fare competition.”
  • AirTran spokesman Christopher White explained that the deal will, “bring a level of competition to Atlanta that has never been seen before.”
  • “Southwest had been waiting to expand this past downturn and I think this acquisition proves that substantial organic growth is a thing of the past,” said Morningstar equity analyst Basili Alukos.
  • “No low-cost carrier can match the global access we bring to Atlanta,” said Delta spokeman Kent Landers.
  • Rhona Cook’s headline from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says it all… “TRAVELERS CHEER SOUTHWEST-AIRTRAN DEAL”

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Photo of the Week: Amsterdam

Posted on September 18, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

Dutch is such an easy language to learn… it just rolls right off your tongue in a delicate and beautiful way. Street signs are straight-forward and easy to understant. I could sit all day and listen to gentle whispers of sweet nothings in Dutch. NOT! I found myself getting lost quite a bit my first few days in the country because I simply had no clue what the signs meant. In Israel, you begin to remember the different symbols for things like EXIT and RESTROOM, but in Holland, good luck with that. At least most of their signs have translations.

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Travel News: Stuff You Should Know

Posted on September 18, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

With all of the political hullabaloo, wars and scandals in the United States, travel news has been getting pushed further and further away by the mainstream media… hense, bloggers! Wahoo, so here are all some of the important and interesting highlights in the travel world that you should know about…

Hotels Pay For Your Checked Bags

We all know about airlines nickle and diming us for checked bags, but there are some ways to get around them. Some hotels are trying to offset the airline costs by giving you room credits or little incentives to travel.

Photo: Eric Molina via Flickr

Intercontinental Hotels (Holiday Inn & Crowne Plaza hotels) is offering to refund you the cost of a checked bag if you book 2 weekend nights from now until December 30th. They don’t make it easy though, you need to book with a Visa card and then file for a reimbursement, which can take about 8 weeks (but hey, it’s free money). Kimpton Hotels are giving $25 credits to guests who get charged to check a 2nd bag, all you have to do is show the receipt to the front desk and they immediately take the $25 off your room rate. Always call the hotel before you book the reservation to make sure that they offer the deal – sometimes certain hotels don’t participate.

Haiti Gets A Luxury Hotel

Investors are working on building a $33 million, seven story, 240 room luxury hotel neat the Port-au-Prince airport. The property borders the city slums near the airport, but will be “self-contained”, meaning it’s gated from the public and will operate like a tiny city with it’s own power plant, water treatment facility, spa, etc. The investors hope that the hotel will help revitalize the city after the earthquake devastated it. Bidding for contractors is expected in October and construction is planned to be completed in about 18 months. There’s no word on whether Haitian contractors will be given contracts, though manual labor will most likely employ people from surrounding areas.

Delta’s Drinking Problem

Photo: Andrei Dimofta via Flickr

Remember the big controversy from a few years ago when pilots were starting to get arrested for flying drunk? Well it happened again. A 52-year-old Delta Airlines pilot got nabbed by Dutch Police for getting into the cockpit of his jet bound for Newark. The Dutch Police reported his blood alcohol content was 0.023, above The Netherlands’ legal limit, which is much stricter than the U.S.. The cops let him go with a $900 fine and cancelled the flight. Delta hasn’t said much other than, “we’re investigating”. The FAA’s alcohol limit is 0.04, but if a pilot tests between .02 and .039 they are tested again in 15 minutes, and if they still are in that range they are prohibited from flying for eight hours.

I’ve been a FAA licensed pilot for 7 years, I also drink alcohol. I would NEVER, EVER, EVER get in the cockpit after having even just one drink. I’m sure being an airline pilot is stressful, but maybe he should take up smoking, chewing tobacco or something to take edge off after work that won’t put the lives of hundreds of people in danger. Some people say that 0.023 isn’t that bad, hell it’s only 2 or 3 beers, you could (but shouldn’t) legally drive a car. Flying a jumbo jet across the Atlantic and driving your Chevy home from T.G.I. Fridays are two totally different things.

Ryanair CEO Wants To Ditch Co-Pilots

Michael O’Leary, discount airline Ryanair’s famously stingy CEO, just might have lost his mind last week. In a recent interview, he explained that he’s asking aviation authorities for permission to operate short flights with only one pilot aboard, and replace the second-in-command with flight attendants. This is not a joke. His idea is to have pilots on short-haul flights fly their Boeing 737’s solo, using the assistance of a flight attendant for landing. He believes that computers do all the flying anyways, so the pilot only needs a flight attendant around so, “the first fella doesn’t fall asleep and knock over one of the computer controls.” I’m not kidding, he actually said that. While I haven’t heard a response from the FAA (probably because Ryanair doesn’t operate in the USA), I’m pretty sure their response would be a slightly more polite version of, “HELL NO.”

Boeing 737 cockpit

Boeing 737’s can technically be flown solo with all of the incredible computer avionics, but that’s only for extreme emergencies. Take a look at the cockpit in the picture above… it’s not easy to fly alone. A big concern is pilot-fatigue, yeah he/she might be able to fly solo, but that is an incredible amount of stress and pressure on a person who is already under an incredible amount of stress and pressure. Risking lives is not worth saving the bottom-line of the business. Get real Ryanair.

Squeezing Into Your Seat

If you thought economy class was bad, check out the new SkyRider seat that has been promoting themselves at airline conventions. The seat puts passengers in a semi-standing position, allowing airlines to leave only 23 inches of space between each row of seats, compared with traditional airline seats that are positioned 31 to 35 inches apart. Passengers must tuck their knees into the back of the seat in front. The seats don’t recline, but they do have a traytable.

SkyRider seats being demo'd by a strangely happy woman (jaunted.com)

The basic idea is that of a motorcycle seat strapped to a padded board, letting your legs dangle somewhat, keeping you in a half-standing position. I’m sure the SkyRider would give you one hell of a SkyWedgie. Luckily, the FAA hasn’t certified these seats as safe yet and no airline in the world has ordered one. Even Ryanair wouldn’t comment to the media.

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The Great American Dine Out

Posted on September 18, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

All of us have at one time or another experienced hunger. We’ve all craved a midnight snack, wanted something salty or needed some chocolate. But there’s a big difference between trying to satisfy a brief craving or stomach growl and wondering where your next meal will come from.

All of the my wonderful ChronicWanderlust followers know that I rarely endorse anything other than my love of travel. But, I feel that you should all know about a charity that really means a lot to me – Share Our Strength.

Click the banner to learn more about the Great American Dine Out

The reality is that nearly 17 million children in America—that’s almost one in four—face hunger. And it’s likely that these children will endure lifelong consequences as a result of having limited access to nutritious foods.

Funds raised through the Great American Dine Out support No Kid Hungry™, Share Our Strength’s campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. The battle won’t be easy, but it is simple for you to help make a difference.

All you have to do is go out to eat… easy, huh? Restaurants all over the country from fancy white tablecloth destinations to little taco joints are going to be donating a portion of their proceeds to Share Our Strength all next week. A quick Google search for my zip code showed 75 participating restaurants within 3 miles of my house in D.C.

The best part of this (other than helping children get food!) is that most of these restaurants will be giving you an extra incentive to donate – like free food! At Corner Bakery, a $1 donation gets you a free whoopie pie. If you grab dinner at Boston Market, you can donate a dollar and get a coupon for a free side dish on your next visit. Not too shabby, aye?

The more you dine out this September 19-25, the closer we get to making sure no child in America grows up hungry… So get out there and EAT!

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Photo of the day: Ketchican, Alaska

Posted on September 17, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

This ain’t no zoo folks… Lacey Jacobson snapped this photo with her cell phone during an excursion in Ketchican, Alaska. I think she was just as surprised as the bear was. I got this picture as a text message in the middle of the afternoon and couldn’t resist sharing it with the world. Bravo Lacey.

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The Trick to Hotel Reservations

Posted on September 15, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

I can’t stress enough what a great deal loyalty programs are. Literally every decent hotel in the country has some kind of loyalty program – be it Mariott Points, Hilton Rewards, Kimpton InTouch, etc. They are (usually) free to join and come with some nice perks.

It boggles my mind when people refuse to sign up for loyalty programs out of fear of spam. Seriously people, having to click “delete” on an email once or twice a month is not the end of the world. I’ve been in the hotel business long enough to be positive that when you sign up for a hotel loyalty program, you will save money. 

  • Before you make a reservation, join the loyalty program so you can enter in your loyalty # when you book. That automatically gives you preferential treatment in the hotel’s reservation software… think of it as being put in the front of the line.
  • Nicer rooms - loyalty guests have emails “on file”, meaning that you can get a survey about the hotel after you check out. The hotel will put you in a better room because you are a club member, partly because they want repeat business (the goal of a hotel) and partly because they are afraid you’ll give them a bad review.
  • Free wifi - most nice hotels still charge for wifi. Most loyalty programs entitle you to free wifi. Even if the loyalty program doesn’t include free wifi, you can most likely explain to the front desk that you are “a loyal rewards club member who stays at your hotels all the time with my gigantic multi-national company located just around the corner and you’re high school buddies with the hotel’s general manager”. Remember, EVERYTHING is negotiable in a hotel. They’ll waive the fee.
  • Deals and discounts – loyalty members get discounts that the public doesn’t. Most hotels offer special promos like a weekend stay for 50% off or a free bottle of wine when you check in. If you take 5 minutes to go online and join the loyalty club before you book your reservation, you’ll probably find a better deal.
  • Social media – Hotels have Facebook and Twitter accounts, some even have blogs! Check out the hotel’s Facebook page and comment or like something. Try writing on their wall saying that your excited for your visit. Usually, the person who runs the Facebook account doesn’t see much action, so they would be more than happy to hook you  up with a little something special.

Captain Kirk represents the wildly popular Priceline.com

Expedia, Hotels.Com, Priceline, Kayak, etc. are known as “3rd Party Booking”, meaning that you buy the rooms from them. These websites are both good and bad. They are especially good for last minute travel – when a hotel has spare rooms, they auction them off to the 3rd parties who then sell them to you very cheap. If you just want a bed to sleep in and aren’t picky about hotels, 3rd parties are your best bet. They are especially bad if you have ANY type of special request.

  • No Special Requests - Want a non-smoking, handicap room away from the elevator with double-beds? Ain’t gonna happen. 3rd party reservations only guarantee that the room will sleep the number of people you put on the reservation, NOT THE NUMBER OF BEDS. Every day I had a couple guys who booked a cheap room on Expedia, only to find out they would be sharing a queen size bed. That’s a good way to create an akward situation.
  • Don’t expect a nice room. 3rd parties get the last pick of rooms, so the tiny room in the corner between the ice maker and gym are saved for the people paying the least. Hotels block rooms based on (in order); VIP status, handicap-accessible needs (obviously), loyalty status (club members get better rooms), length of stay (longer the better), rate (higher the better)and type of booking. Obviously if you’re a VIP you will land a nice suite, but if you’re paying $75 at a 4 star hotel, expect a refurbished broom closet.
  • You are not guaranteed a room. Surprise! Hotels overbook just like airlines and restaurants. Just because you have a reservation, you aren’t necessarily going to get a room at the hotel. When a hotel gets overbooked, the 3rd party reservations are the first to get sent to another property. Sure you might make a reservation at a Marriott and get sent to the Ritz (I’ve seen it happen), but more than likely you’ll be stuck in the Best Western next to the airport.
  • Less Important – No 3rd party booking company or current hotel employee would ever agree with me on this one, but speaking from experience, Expedia/Hotels.com/Priceline guests are simply looked down upon by staff at high end hotels. Do you ever get the feeling that the snob working the front desk of the Ritz is judging you? He is. 3rd party guests tend to get the shaft, unless the hotel has a super-friendly staff, or is hurting for business because you are paying the lowest rates and the hotel has to pay a commission to the booking company. 

Now don’t be scared from what I just wrote – 3rd party booking isn’t bad, it’s just not for everybody. I just returned from a 2 week road trip across the country and spent 5 nights in Expedia-booked hotels without any problems. If you are a picky person or are planning a hotel-centric vacation, book through the hotel. If you are just looking for a place to crash or don’t care much about your hotel, book on a 3rd party. If it’s last minute and you need a place, you won’t find a better deal than Priceline/Expedia/Hotels.com.

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Photo of the Week: Big Tex

Posted on September 13, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

This photo of Big Tex was taken by ChronicWanderlust contributor James Pritchard at the Texas State Fair. He welcomes people as they enter the Fair Grounds. This was taken Saturday 17 Oct 2009 during the Red River Shootout football game of Oklahoma vs Texas.

Photo: James Pritchard

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Fresh off the press: Updated travel photo section!

Posted on September 12, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

That’s right folks, the travel photo gallery has been updated with all the best pics on Chronic Wanderlust… Check’em out!

Beautiful roads in Big Bend, Texas

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7 Secrets of a Hotel Employee

Posted on September 11, 2010 by chronicwanderlust

  1. Comforters are not clean. I’ve worked in many luxury hotels and as clean as hotels are, it still grosses me out when I see people use the comforters on a hotel bed. They are not clean. Not at all. Anywhere. Period.
  2. Cash is king. Do you want better service? Throw a few bones to the bellman or concierge, more often than not, they will appreciate the gesture and give you better service. You would surprised at how little people tip the low-level employees… sure the concierge gets a tip, but if you stiff the bellman or doorman, I guarantee that they will let their coworkers know that you’re a cheap bastard. Expect the level of service that a cheap bastard gets. (Think tiny rooms across from the elevator or next to the ice machine).
  3. Join the loyalty program!!! It blows my mind when people refuse to sign up for hotel loyalty programs out of fear of spam… loyalty members get better prices, more perks and better service than normal guests. Hotels will send you emails once you’re on their list, but they don’t bombard your inbox because they want your business and will try to not piss you off.
  4. Show up late. Check-in time at most hotels is 3pm, but it’s pretty common that all the rooms won’t be cleaned/ready by check-in time. If you show up at 1:30pm thinking that you’ll get first pick, you’re wrong. The guests staying in the best rooms probably haven’t even checked out yet. Be patient and show up a couple hours later, more than likely you’ll get a better room… remember, the rooms that are ready first are still clean from the night before, meaning that they weren’t good enough for all the other guests.
  5. Room service sucks. Yeah it’s a luxury, but it’s simply not as good as the restaurant. On average, room service prices are 20% higher than the hotel restaurant and they also tack on a 20% auto-gratuity, in addition to asking for more. The food is also a limited version of the restaurant menu and is usually prepared by the new-guy in the kitchen who isn’t quite ready for restaurant dinner service. In my years of experience, room service food is more expensive and lower quality. Don’t waste your money. (Plus, room service servers always pick some food off your plate in the elevator).
  6. Hidden Fees – Go figure, some hotels have little hidden fees that get tacked on to your bill when you check-out. Sometimes they are “pool charges” or “resort fees”… always ask before you check-in if there are any charges so you don’t get a shock when you check out.
  7. EVERYTHING is Negotiable – Hotels are hurting right now, even the big fancy ones like the Ritz. There is nothing at a hotel that isn’t negotiable, it’s like buying a car. Does your hotel charge $10 for wireless? Try putting on a big smile, saying please and let them know what a loyal, long-time and important customer you are. If the clerk shoots you down, ask for the manager. If the manager shoots you down, go online and find the general manager’s name. Then call the hotel from your cell phone and ask to speak to the GM, only using his/her first name (i.e. “I’d like to speak to Bob please”), when the GM answers the phone, explain how upset you are, blah blah blah. You should get what youwant by that point.

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