Are hotel star ratings getting out of hand?

At one time, staying in a “four-star hotel” meant you were experiencing the peak of luxury. Luxurious rooms, top-notch accommodations and plenty of amenities. But increasingly a four-star hotel is no longer enough, with uber-high-end properties in Europe racing to claim six or, in the case of the Burj-al-Arab in Dubai, even seven-star ratings. At what point do the hotel stars become meaningless? The BBC took a look at the hotel-star “ratings game” in a recent article, noting the jumble of competing systems and confusion it causes for consumers.

According to the BBC, the ratings have become a subjective measure of amenities depending on the place. In much of Europe for instance, stars are assigned based on random factors such as whether the property has an elevator or includes breakfast, not by factors like building age or cleanliness. There’s similar confusion in the United States, where competing organizations like AAA and Forbes Travel offer customers conflicting systems. Those in the hotel ratings business acknowledge the confusion, though minimal steps have been taken to change the process.

The next time you check into that “Five-Star Hotel,” make sure you know what you’re paying for. In a world of increasing hotel rating inflation, there’s still plenty of room for debate.

Hundreds of flights cancelled as Iberia workers go on strike

Thousands of passengers were left stranded today as workers at Iberia Airlines walked off the job for the first day of a two-day strike.

Iberia was forced to cancel more than 400 of its 2,000 flights for this Monday and Tuesday as cabin crews protested the fact that they haven’t received a pay increase in four years. This is a tough situation for Spanish workers, who live in a country with one of Europe’s highest inflation rates, between 3.6 and 4 percent annually in the past few years. And that’s just the official rate. Living in Madrid I can say that here at least it seems to be much higher.

Spain’s national airline has been hit hard by the recession and this new blow will only worsen its situation. It couldn’t be helping Iberia’s chances of clinching a proposed merger with British Airways either.

Information on the affected flights is available here.

Tourists will have to tango with inflation or worse in Argentina

It is starting to look like deja vu for Argentina. The country came out of a terrible financial crisis only a few years ago. The 2001 slide seems like a distant memory for residents of Buenos Aires, who crowd into restaurants and spend their money freely. The government has been busy spending too. They are in debt after revamping the country with new schools and other civic projects.

And, unlike neighboring countries, Argentina did not build up its financial reserves for a rainy day. Now, with inflation at nearly 25% according to economists (the government says its only 10%), there are storm clouds on the country’s horizon. Could there be a repeat of 2001, when the economy came crashing down and tourists became targets of kidnappers seeking ransoms? It’s possible. The US and the IMF, who basically bailed out Argentina in ’01 might hesitate before doing it again. But the chaos of ’01 has not yet hit again. But, with uncertainty in the air, travelers might want to opt for a bit of Southern Hemisphere sun in Brazil, rather than B.A.

[Via Wash. Post]

Why charging extra for all checked bags–or for carry-ons–is a bad idea

In the past week and a half, after Grant posted about the charge for checked bags, I’ve listened to commentators and have had conversations about the checked bag fee. The general feeling that I’ve heard–and also mine, is, if airfares need to go up in order to compensate for fuel costs, so be it., but charging for one checked bag makes people more disgusted with airlines. Nickel and diming people isn’t a well thought out plan for customer satisfaction.

Lately, I’ve noticed that the price of most grocery store items have gone up. Following the airline model of business would mean stores would charge extra for the person to pack your grocery bag. That’s what discount grocery stores do-but not stores that want to attract customers for the shopping experience. The extra cost for bagging groceries and for the cost of getting items to the store and on the shelves is in the cost of the food.

Recently, when I went to dinner at a restaurant, there was a sign posted to let customers know that the prices had gone up $1 per main course. The increase had started on April 30. Customers knew of the change before they sat down. That seems reasonable.

Knowing what something will cost beforehand, once and for all, provides better mental health, in my opinion. When I’m searching for airplane ticket prices, I’m drawn to the sites that list the total cost up front with the taxes added in right off. If the first price says $250 and then I find out that the added fees bring the cost considerably higher, I go from thinking I landed a deal to feeling like I’ve been taken for a ride before I’ve actually had one.

Gas pump woes: More than just the price

I just read in this New York Times article that the increasing gas prices in the United States are creating problems at some gas pumps–actually all gas pumps. It’s not because people are throwing themselves on the hood of their cars weeping as the total bill climbs.

I just had a flash of a movie scene. Ben Stiller in the persona of his Something About Mary character–the high school prom guy, cleaning the windshield of his car, weeping–his tears are falling in streams, mixing in with the cleaning solution from the gas station squeegee. Those weird serenaders are in the background singing a gas pump price tag lament.

No, this is not what is happening at the pump. What is happening is that some pumps have pump computers too old to handle the $4 plus a gallon amount. They are stuck at $3.99. As a temporary solution until the new computers arrive, gas station owners are charging half the dollar amount at the pump and doubling the total at the cash register. They have official permission to do so, (There is an application process.) I bet that’s a psychological jolt when someone goes to pay. If you happen to come across an old gas station pump in your travels, this is one situation you might come across.

Another interesting point the article makes is that the modern, computerized machines are breaking down more often because of the speed the pump’s mechanism needs to turn to get higher and higher numbers. The higher the numbers, the faster the numbers turn, so the faster there is a breakdown. This is my understanding.

What is the limit of the new pump computers you may wonder? Just how pricey could gas get if one uses them to project ahead? $9.99. This is like Y-2K, but this time there is a problem. It will take about five months for all the pumps to be updated because of the back log with filling orders.