Mazatlan, Mexico and cruise lines just can’t seem to get along. Now saying major cruise lines overreacted by stopping ships from calling at Mazatlan, the cruise-port/danger-zone that most cruise lines stopped visiting after two men were shot close to a hotel frequented by tourists. The two men shot were not cruise passengers but that was good enough reason for cruise lines to divert ships.
“I believe there are parameters in the industry that they could have checked with and got more information from before they made this decision-and they obviously didn’t,” says Julio Birrueta of the Mazatlan Tourist Board.
What does that even mean? Let’s look again.
“…there are parameters in the industry that they could have checked with and got more information from before they made this decision…”
What? Like because the dead people were some other kind of tourist, that’s OK?
Cruise lines think it is not OK. Dead is dead and tourist is tourist and if they are cruise passengers, on a land tour, dropped in via skydiving or Eddie the Eskimo, cruise lines don’t want any part of it.
Pretty much ever since the Poseidon Adventure, little light bulbs go off in cruise line executives heads when danger is lurking. Just lurking. Danger does not have to jump out of the bushes and hold up passengers at gunpoint for ships to steam full speed ahead away from it.
Rightfully so.
Cruise ship passengers buy into the notion that traveling via the closed environment a cruise ship provides is safe. They expect that level of safety to extend to their time off the ship too, at least on the ship-sponsored shore excursions. While run by local vendors, there is an implied safety level that is undeniable. I had been told that cruise lines often send along crew members posing as passengers to check the quality and safety of shore excursions. I never really thought much of it until we were in Alaska on a Princess Cruises cruisetour last year.
On that tour was an adorable little boy who caught the attention of the group early on. Later, at an event for journalists along for the ride I was pleased to see that little boy’s father who was not a guest as we were but a member of the Princess management staff.
Yes, safety is a really big deal to the cruise lines.
Still, Mazatlan is a beautiful city with a relaxed atmosphere, great food and worthy of a visit, if not by sea, maybe by land and stay a while…in a safe part of town.
Once upon a time, I was addicted to travel reward programs. I see it now and laugh, but until seven years ago, I was hooked. I couldn’t let go of my HHonors card, and I lamented that, at the end of 2001, I was one night away from Diamond on Hilton and two away from Platinum on Starwood. Looking back, I see how ludicrous the whole thing is. And it has taken until this week to see how much more attractive the alternative is.
A decade ago, I had a great alternative to traditional hotel stays dropped in my lap, but I was too consumed by points-lust to realize it. I was on a project in central New Jersey and was in Bernardsville for a team dinner. On the street, we ran into a person from another project team on the sidewalk as she was walking into a small inn. She explained to us that she was happy to give up the points – the experience she had at that property was worth it.
We all laughed about her unicorns-and-rainbows perspective as we finished our walk to the restaurant, and for a few years, I found the notion so absurd that it became burned in my memory. That’s why it came back to me Tuesday, as I checked into the Cowpers Inn in Palo Alto.The small bed and breakfast, a few blocks from the conference I was attending, isn’t luxurious, but it’s comfortable and charming. I had plenty of space, a sufficient bed and free internet access. The room didn’t have a desk, which was the only flaw I could find for a frequent business traveler. That didn’t matter much anyway, as I spent little time in the room while in town. Looking back on the stay, I see the cost savings for your company, the charming accommodations and the pleasant management as having enhanced my stay, and I’ll book next year when I attend the same conference.
The greater lesson, however, is that business travelers have options. Rather than become a slave to the loyalty programs, you can assert your independence while enjoying your business trip more. Get out of the chains and into a small B&B the next time you go out on the road, or if you’re in a city, stay at a small independent hotel. They’ll get to know you, and the treatment you receive will be far superior to anything a large hotel can provide.
And if you hit the same destination regularly, that small inn will start to feel like a true home away from home.
I love the Business Travel Coalition. I really do. I see a press release from this organization in my inbox, and I start to smile. It’s like reading Business Insider headlines without stopping to think that they may be click-bait (not that I’m ever guilty of that, of course …). Well, the latest is downright hilarious. If you hate Delta, you’ll love the Business Travel Coalition.
In its latest statement, the BTC draws attention to a “predatory” move by Delta. In response to Frontier Airlines’ decision to open a route from Minneapolis to Kansas City, it says, the largest airline in the United States has pulled the trigger on routes from Kansas City to Boston, Columbus and New Orleans. According to the BTC, that’s some heavy-duty payback, intended to help Delta “maintain its monopoly position at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport.”
Ummmmm, really? It’s a pretty costly “retaliation” play.
Of course, Delta couldn’t have come up with this idea on its own. The BTC explains:
This is a page from Northwest Airlines’ playbook reminiscent of its 1993 response to entry by tiny Reno Air when Northwest announced it would overlay the carrier’s routes from Reno to MSP, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Yeah, of course it is. The people with aluminum foil on their heads and hanging from their ceilings are doubtless nodding in violent agreement right now. Fortunately, it gets better when you hear what BTC chairman Kevin Mitchell has to say about all this:
“As we saw in the U.S. during the 1990s, strategies of predation seek to drive low-cost competitors out of markets and create barriers – literal barriers of fear – for potential new entrants. Consumers may benefit from below-cost pricing in the short term, but once a new entrant is driven from a market, the incumbent airline can raise prices above competitive levels and recoup the “investment” in its strategy of predation.”
As the ol’ infomercial folks say, “But wait! There’s more!”
“Just as importantly, the anticompetitive behavior sends an unmistakable message to other competitors to not trespass on the incumbent’s markets anywhere in its network, negatively impacting consumers even more broadly. Make no mistake, Delta’s heavy-handed, punitive attack on this low-cost carrier is meant to chill all other low-cost airlines that might otherwise try to mount competition at one of the most concentrated hub airports in the U.S.,” added Mitchell.
Look, the BTC may have a point in all this. It won’t be communicated effectively, though, if they take this approach. In case you need a chuckle, here’s the full statement. First, though, you need a break, largely because these people are so bat-shit crazy. So, to break this up, I offer you some singing skeletons from Canada.l
Okay, now here’s the statement:
It’s deja vu all over again as Delta Air Lines seeks to maintain its monopoly position at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport (MSP) by retaliating against Frontier Airlines for deciding to initiate scheduled service from Kansas City to MSP on June 6, 2011. In a response that can only be considered retaliatory and anticompetitive, Delta beginning on June 6 will start flights from Kansas City to Boston, Columbus and New Orleans, and from Omaha to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport – all overlaying Frontier’s schedules. This is a page from Northwest Airlines’ playbook reminiscent of its 1993 response to entry by tiny Reno Air when Northwest announced it would overlay the carrier’s routes from Reno to MSP, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego.
“As we saw in the U.S. during the 1990s, strategies of predation seek to drive low-cost competitors out of markets and create barriers – literal barriers of fear – for potential new entrants. Consumers may benefit from below-cost pricing in the short term, but once a new entrant is driven from a market, the incumbent airline can raise prices above competitive levels and recoup the “investment” in its strategy of predation,” said Business Travel Coalition chairman Kevin Mitchell.
“Just as importantly, the anticompetitive behavior sends an unmistakable message to other competitors to not trespass on the incumbent’s markets anywhere in its network, negatively impacting consumers even more broadly. Make no mistake, Delta’s heavy-handed, punitive attack on this low-cost carrier is meant to chill all other low-cost airlines that might otherwise try to mount competition at one of the most concentrated hub airports in the U.S.,” added Mitchell.
In 2008 testimony before the U.S. Senate and House, in opposition to the proposed Northwest – Delta merger, BTC forewarned about the consequences of creating mega carriers and driving radical consolidation of the U.S. marketplace for commercial aviation services:
Strategies of Predation. “The resulting mega carriers would fortify their hubs with near-exclusive contracts with corporations and travel management companies, and other well-tested practices such as gate hoarding, schedule bracketing, triple frequent flyer points and travel agency override programs, making the barriers-to-entry for low-cost carriers of the 1990s seem low. Congress should be concerned with the market power of super-mega airlines and their incentive and means to frustrate new airline entry at hub airports.”
Indeed, the Delta-Northwest merger created the largest airline in the world; one that possesses the market dominance necessary to frustrate new entry at its hub airports, and one that can project its considerable power into adjacent markets, as also noted in BTC’s 2008 testimony:
Adjacent Market Power. “Congress should be concerned with these mega carriers’ ability to drive supplier prices to below competitive rates for travel agencies, travel management companies, airports, global distribution systems, parts suppliers, caterers and all manner of supply chain participants. Likewise, these carriers would have the power to accelerate the transfer of costs onto the backs of consumers.”
Delta’s move against Frontier adds further evidence and warning that the U.S. commercial aviation market is failing. Indeed, some two and one half years into the widespread implementation of programs that unbundle airline services from the base ticket, market forces are inadequate to drive airlines to make fee information available to the travel agency sales channel. As a consequence, not only were many consumers surprised at the airport by some $9.2 billion in airline fees in 2010, but because those fees are withheld from travel agencies and cloaked from the pricing discipline of a comparative shopping process, they are artificially high. This resulting economic inefficiency is a strong indication of market failure and cause for concern.
The U.S. Department of Justice and State Attorneys General should be on high alert to the return of strategies of predation and other anti-competitive practices in the airline industry. As serious as predation was in the 1990s as a threat to consumers and the competitive structure of the airline industry, today consolidation has made potential consequences worse by orders of magnitude. The U.S. DOJ and State AGs should send an equally unmistakable message back to Delta that it is being watched and that abusive, anticompetitive behavior in the airline industry will not be tolerated. Business travelers and consumers have been pummeled by a series of airfare increases, many of them hidden, over the last few years. They need — and deserve — more airline competition and not the return of old tricks of the past that are designed to kill it.
Armory week is always an exciting time for New York City’s art community. In addition to the main show that occurs on the city’s west side, there are seemingly countless smaller shows that have popped up all over Manhattan and in Brooklyn. If you’re looking for options … you’ve got ’em. Of course, serious collectors are drawn to the Armory, where you’ll find five- and six-figure pieces from established investment-grade artists who are represented by major galleries – household names for this world. If you’re looking for the next big name, however, the sort of artist whose work has yet to really soar, you need to check out the satellite shows.
Traditionally, Pulse has been among the must-see art fairs in Armory week, and for good reason. This time around, unfortunately, it didn’t measure up. Quite simply, Pulse lacked what its name asserts.
I walked into the pavilion on W 26th Street expecting to see edgy, interesting and engaging artwork, the sort of pieces that stop you, make you think and leave you with a broader perspective. I left the show a tad disappointed.
The greatest problem with Pulse was that few artists seemed to be taking any risks. Much of the fare was conventional, and it felt as though the artists (or, rather, the show’s decision-makers) were trying to play it safe. The exhibition appeared to be catering to a different audience, one that wasn’t willing to put its assumptions on the line. To those inviting a challenge, Pulse fell short.
Much of the work was devoid of expression. Artists either tried too hard to find the abstract – such as a video piece of feet and ankles walking through heavy mud – or they relied too much on shocking color. I haven’t seen so much pink and other bright colors since similarly hued ski jackets were in vogue in the early 1990s. And, the display of an empty wine bottle with “MUTE” printed on the label simply defines uninspired.
There were a few bright spots, though, particularly the exquisite layered video created by David Ellis. Nestled in the “Impulse” section of the fair, upstairs, the previous Pulse standout offered a time-lapse video that encompassed the creation of several pieces, all intricately and seamlessly linked together to create an ongoing narrative nearly 20 minutes long. Called “The Animals,” it provided an array of morphing geographic designs that occasionally stopped to show a (what I took to be) a walrus before continuing on to show further creations. The action didn’t stop, and the work reflected the vision necessary to be a true thought leader as an emerging artist.
Aside from Ellis, Pulse was on life support this year, and my fingers are crossed for something more engaging in 2012. If we learned anything from the art market bust of 2008 and 2009, it’s that we need fresh, original and interesting talent to engage collectors and the public.
Otherwise, art investment dollars will be funneled into the known quantities (a la Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol), driving up the price and creating a new bubble. We also learned that betting on the vapid creations of emerging artists who have “made it” – such as Damien Hirst – isn’t enough. The purpose of Pulse is to give the next wave of artistic geniuses a platform.
Now, we just need the next wave of artistic geniuses …
This year in Florida, South Beach Spring Break is on fire as thousands of students take time off from school and descend on one of America’s most popular beaches. I was there this week and lived to tell about it. Follow along on this first part of the tale.
Actually I was in town for a grown-up convention, Cruise Shipping Miami, one of the premiere events each year in the travel business which just happened to fall during spring break. More on that later.
The first two weeks of March traditionally bring the most action to Miami Beach in Florida, host to one of the biggest spring break celebrations in the world. This year was no exception and while crowds will dwindle as the month moves on, party people of all sizes, shapes and colors own the the streets, hotels, beaches and even parking garages.
I say spring-breakers “own the streets” but actually they own the sidewalks. The police own the streets and there are plenty of them on duty after a crazy spring break last year brought undercover cops this year.
“Tourists don’t come back after they see us taken over by brats from the mainland,” Frank Del Vecchio, an activist from the South Beach area told the Miami Herald. Locals who will be there long after spring-breakers have gone. They want the beach protected, trash controlled and behavior, specifically extreme cases of spring-break fever, addressed.
While an increased law enforcement presence seemed to eliminate most activities that would have resulted in a crime scene, pretty much everything else was allowed. Had I wished to buy any number of drugs, that would have been no problem. Drug-dealers on the streets of South Beach were operating at Jamaica-quality pestering level hawking everything from marijuana to Screaming Yellow Zombies, whatever those are.
Police searched coolers, some many times, coming up empty as beach party people learned to bury booze in the sand under a beach blanket or put it in their backpacks. Yes, just like on a cruise ship, there’s always a way to smuggle booze. I was proud of those kids, brought a little tear to my eye I must say.
Locals want it all under control but they also want money. In a struggle between “let’s keep the streets clean” and “we want money”, guess who came out on top?
Miami is set up to handle large crowds of people, this week was no exception and it was good to see a vibrant system operate at it’s peak of efficiency. Miami for spring break is near or at the top of everyone’s top-10 spring break list including StudentUniverse.com where Miami Beach comes in at #2. Miami offers a lot of attractions including a world-class zoo, seaport, museum, convention center and more. Number one on most To-do-in-Miami lists is South Beach which is not far from that convention center and Lincoln Road mall, a dining and entertainment complex frequented by tourists and spring-breakers.
Over at the grown-up convention, suited travel professionals (well, except for this one guy from Gadling in cargo shorts being all quirky and irreverent as those Gadling people are) from all over the world also descended on Miami’s convention center for a week of what is promoted as “the world’s most important and largest annual meeting for the cruise industry”.
This was an entirely different group of people.
Top executives from major cruise lines told of a unified cruise industry promoting a safe vacation experience on one of their safe ships in safe waters that lead to safe destinations. About halfway through the first day the theme was clear: Our ships do not believe in and stay clear of pirates, earthquakes, tsunamis and the Frito Bandito.
But far from all about business, attendees seemed to make time for fun too as seen in this video of the typically-Miami party hosted by Porthole Cruise Magazine and held in a converted parking garage.
Tourism here is down too like the rest of the world. Local people I talked to were glad to have the business and happy to put up with the mess it brings. Emilio Rodriguez, a Miami cab driver, told me “In a couple weeks it will be like somebody turned off the faucet and it will be slow again…but right now? Life is good.”
Indeed, hotel rooms can be as hard to find as parking spaces. But for those that stayed at a South Beach hotel, walking was the order of the day anyway leaving stumbling to be the order of the night.