Archive for the 'Business Travel' Category
Do good, get 50% off at 2 Washington, D.C., hotels
June 30, 2009 1:54pm
Proving it can pay to be nice, the Savoy Suites Hotel and the Carlyle Suites Hotel in Washington, D.C. are cutting room rates in half for guests who sign up for community service programs. For every five hours that you volunteer, under the “Serve America and Stay in D.C.” deal, you get 50% off one night’s bill.
What’s the catch? Well, the hotels say the deal is nonrefundable (meaning your charge card is charged immediately), and availability is limited. The offer is also timed for summer, when the nation’s capital can get steamy.
Fliers like Alaska and JetBlue, but airline customer satisfaction falls
June 30, 2009 8:01am
Baggage and other fees frustrate us, and pricey tickets make us petulant. In fact, the flying public is so annoyed that satisfaction with airlines fell for the third year in a row, hitting a four-year nadir, a new survey found.
Blame it on the economy.
“Twenty-nine percent of overall satisfaction is driven by pricing and costing,” said Paula Sonkin, vice president for travel and real estate industries for J.D. Power and Associates, the company in Westlake Village that released the report today. “Given the economy and the fact that 29% is the cost and all the fees… it’s not surprising that satisfaction went down again.”
But there are bright spots. Based on a 1,000-point scale, among traditional carriers, Alaska has become a flier favorite, scoring 671, followed by Continental (669). And JetBlue (750) continues to be the low-cost darling, with Southwest and WestJet close behind (both at 736).
Customers found much to love about these carriers, including the flight crew (Alaska), in-flight services (Continental), the aircraft (JetBlue) and costs and fees (Southwest).
No refunds, says Clear, the Registered Traveler vendor
June 23, 2009 7:40pm
Fliers who paid $199 in annual fees to Clear, a Registered Traveler vendor that fast-tracked them through airport security until it suddenly shut down late Monday, shouldn’t expect refunds.
“We’re not in a financial position to offer any refunds,” said Jason Slibeck, chief technology officer for Verified identity Pass Inc., the New York-based company that ran the program until, it said, talks broke down with its senior creditor.
What do to? A couple of options:
Metrobus shuttles and alternative routes available for D.C. Metro commuters
June 23, 2009 9:51am
The Washington Metro Transportation Authority has asked D.C.-area commuters to avoid the Red Line after the collision Monday that left at least seven people dead and injured more than 70. The crash took place between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations. Metro has provided alternative routes and metrobus shuttles for passengers. The MARC Brunswick train line is also closed today.
Metrobus shuttles: There will be free Metrobus shuttles to take passengers around the crash site, traveling between the Silver Spring, Fort Totten, Brookland-CUA, Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood and Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metrorail stations. Metro warns commuters that there could be long lines and wait times.
Working Red Line routes: The Red Line will still run between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations and between the Shady Grove and the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metrorail station.
Closed Red Line route: The Brookland-CUA, Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations will be closed to Red Line traffic.
Metrobus alternative routes: To avoid the service disruption, Metro suggests that passengers get themselves to Metrorail stations between Shady Grove and Grosvenor-Strathmore, or use the following Metrobus lines:
• Metrobus C8 line (Glenmont to White Flint)
• Metrobus Q2 line (Wheaton to Rockville)
• Metrobus C2, C4 line (Wheaton to Twinbrook)
• Metrobus J1 line (Silver Spring to Medical Center)
• Metrobus J2, J3, J4 line (Silver Spring to Bethesda)
• Metrobus L7, L8 line (Friendship Heights)
On Twitter – @mvngmomentarily and their blog MovingMomentarily, described as “a blog about the love-hate relationship D.C. has with the Metro,” are following other D.C. Metro commuter experiences on Twitter and linking to news updates related to the crash.
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: Wreckage of a rush-hour collision between two Metro trains in Washington, D.C., that killed at least seven Monday. Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press
Registered Traveler flier-pass vendor Clear shuts down
June 22, 2009 6:26pm
A major vendor that fast-tracks fliers through airport security for an annual fee of $199 will end operations tonight, according to its website and a former employee, leaving hundreds of thousands of customers in the lurch.
UPDATE: No refunds, says Clear, the Registered Traveler vendor
The website of the so-called Clear program, launched by New York-based Verified Identity Pass Inc. four years ago, today carried this message:
“At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear will cease operations. Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.”
No one answered the company’s phone this evening, which simply carried the recorded message, “You’ve reached Clear Registered Traveler.”
Southwest Airlines deal offers $38 fares for 12 hours
June 18, 2009 10:00am
Southwest Airlines is selling $38 one-way summer fares, today only, through its DING! desktop application, which posts short-term deals. The sale started at 7 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m., Pacific time.
The deal: It seems to beat some of the lowest prices out there. When I checked Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) round trips for July 14 to 18 on Kayak.com this morning, the lowest one-way fare was $49. Ditto for Southwest’s own (non-DING!) website.
Luxury Peninsula Shanghai hotel opens for bookings
June 18, 2009 7:15am
The exclusive Peninsula Hotels group, which runs luxury lodgings in just eight cities including Hong Kong and Beverly Hills, has begun taking reservations for its ninth, opening Oct. 19 on the waterfront Bund in Shanghai. Nightly rates start around $470 for a superior room and top out at $12,430 for the 4,305-square-foot Peninsula Suite.
Paul Tchen, general manager of the new 235-room hotel, said it will blend high-tech perks borrowed from the Peninsula Tokyo, such as in-room fax/copiers and unlimited VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calls around the world, with retro touches such as Art Deco design and traditional Sunday tea dances in the lobby.
Pakistan bombing shows hotels are still vulnerable
June 9, 2009 2:50pm
Today’s fatal bomb attack in Peshawar, Pakistan, shows that hotels popular with foreigners and local elites remain terrorist targets, despite stepped-up security.
After hotels fitting that profile were bombed last fall in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Mumbai, India, killing scores of people, the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. told its members that the attacks “may be the beginning of a resurging and alarming trend of luxury hotels becoming magnets for terrorist activities.” It urged hoteliers to review security procedures.
Despite Air France crash, there’s little cause to fear flying
June 6, 2009 2:57pm
Although horrifying, the May 31 crash involving an Air France jet that took more than 200 lives doesn’t represent the true risk of flying. (Update: Two bodies and a briefcase containing a ticket from the flight were found in the Atlantic Ocean, Associated Press reported today.)
Your chances of being killed on a commercial airplane are tiny — far less than 1 in a million. Last year the worldwide rate was about two deaths per 10 million passengers, according to the International Air Transport Assn.
There were about two dozen fatal airline accidents worldwide in 2008, it said, which is pretty typical. And about 500 people total died. That’s a tragic toll. But think how many people get killed in car accidents: usually more than 40,000 every year in the U.S. alone.
Still, you might wonder: Is my airline safe?
Ticket sales open for Los Angeles-Cuba flights
June 5, 2009 2:01pm
Nonstop to Cuba? Si! A Long Beach company is marketing weekly nonstop flights to Havana (HAV) from Los Angeles (LAX) that will begin June 30. Because of U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba, most customers will probably be Cuban Americans who have family there. But that could soon change.
“It’s been really, really busy,” said Michael Zuccato, general manager of Cuba Travel Services Inc., which opened ticket sales Tuesday.
The cost: Round-trip coach fares for the charter flights, on a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 that can carry 150 passengers, are $889 per adult, $779 for children under age 12 and $89 for infants, plus tax, Zuccato said. First class costs $1,395 per adult or child and $698 for infants, plus tax.
