Photo of the Day (12.20.10)

by Mike Barish on

There’s nothing more frustrating on a road trip then getting stuck behind a slow-moving bus or truck that you are unable to pass. Not only are they holding you up, but after a few miles (or worse, a few hours), you simply just get sick of seeing the exact same vehicle in front of you. The only saving grace is if, when you finally do get to pass, the driver of that massive vehicle honks the horn and waves.

I suppose the scenery made being stuck behind a bus slightly more tolerable for Flickr user Michael in TN, who took this photo in beautiful Denali National Park. Still, I have a sneaking suspicion he passed that bus the first chance he got.

Taken any great photos during your road trips? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

Five real reasons behind business traveler hotel choices

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It’s not just flights – business travelers are easing up on cost when it comes to hotels, too. Rather than try to stretch their dollars until they squeal, road warriors are finally looking for ways they can be a little happier when sleeping in beds that aren’t their own (unless, of course, they’re sharing a bed with … well, you know).

Hotels tend to love business travelers, because they have cash to spend and tend to use it for more than just the room-night. Restaurants, bars and other services – these guys know how to open their wallets!

So, how do they choose? The latest Orbitz for Business / Business Traveler Magazine Quarterly Trend Report offers the five priorities that business travelers want when they decide to offer up their credit card information. While some are mundane, others will shock you:1. Give us a reason to be loyal: business travelers are whores for points, and that means loyalty programs top the list. Rather than save the company some cash, they want to make sure they won’t have to shell out to take the wife, girlfriend or mistress out of town for a few days.

2. Close to work: business travelers are interest in proximity to the reason they’re staying in a hotel. Speaking from experience, nobody wants to wake up in a hotel and then drive half an hour to visit a client. It blows.

3. All in one place: on-site amenities make life easier. That includes wifi, on-site cleaners and an exercise center. Nobody’s going to be happy wandering around town to find this stuff.

4. Size does matter: size of the bill, that is. For business travelers, hotel room rates still make a difference. Cheaper tends to be better.

5. The need to see stars: this one actually surprised me. Business travelers care about a hotel’s star rating. I never looked at it from that perspective but was always interest in choosing a place that didn’t feel third-world (having made a few bad choices along the way).

The least important factor? Well, that’s whether a particular hotel is on a company’s preferred supplier list. And, only a handful said that user reviews were “extremely valuable in their selection process.” As expected, sharing a room is almost totally out of the question.

Five perks business travelers MUST have

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you’ve ever been a road warrior, you know that the following is true. Spending hours upon hours on a plane several times a week, every week of the year, even the smallest benefits can make a profound difference. It’s sad but true that happiness is measured in on-time arrivals and exit rows, but such is the nature of frequent business travel.

According to the latest Orbitz for Business / Busienss Traveler Magazine Quarterly Trend Report, what business travelers want is changing. During the recession, cost was paramount, as cash-strapped businesses put pressure on employees to keep expenses under control in a bid to protect profit margins. Now that economic conditions are changing, travel priorities are too.

Ancillary services are gaining importance, as passengers are looking for ways to be comfortable again, especially if looser travel budgets are resulting in more time on the road. According to IATA, the airline industry is likely to pull in an aggregate $8.9 billion in profits from ancillary services this year, indicating that the money is likely to come from somewhere.

Let’s take a look at the five things the white collar travel folks are beginning to crave:1. A seat in the aisle: this isn’t surprising; everyone wants the chance to stretch out, even if it means the risk of getting slammed by the beverage cart.

2. Priority access at the security line and early boarding: hey, nobody wants to wait, right?

3. Airline lounge or club access: if you’re going to be stuck in an airport, you might as well enjoy it.

4. A seat at the front of the plane: boarding isn’t the only priority – business travelers want to get off quickly, too.

5. Extra leg room in coach: sense a theme here?

Like the opportunity to keep one’s dignity while flying, baggage check didn’t make the top five. Though among the most used ancillary services for leisure travelers, it came in sixth for business travelers, likely because frequent fliers have learned to avoid checking their bags at all costs. Interestingly, the least-used ancillary services are priority standby for an alternative flight and internet access, though I expect the latter to increase as it becomes more widely available.

Consumers spending again, travel included … but what’s next?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

We know that people around the world are traveling again. U.S. travel exports are up, and the airlines are having a solid year (relative to 2009, at least). Meanwhile, two years after the financial crisis erupted only a few miles from where I sit now, people are spending money again. Consumer credit is once again the culprit, as Black Friday deals touted financing with long periods of interest-free money use.

Favorable deals are enticing consumers who don’t really have the money to spend, but they’re lured in by offers that are “too good to be true.” As Newsweek reports, “Old habits die hard.”

Consumer debt by household is down, and savings habits are on the rise, but the increase in spending from a consumer base so recently battered does make me wonder what comes next. Is borrowed money going to fuel growth in retail, consumer product and travel sectors, as it did through 2007? Is this a house of cards that’s waiting to collapse (yet again) when easy money dries up and the consumers find themselves as squeezed as they did in 2009?

Leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts!

[Thanks, @jasoncoletta, photo by TheTruthAbout via Flickr]

Long-haul travel decline result of visa difficulty

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Where did all our long-haul travelers go?

According to a CNBC report, Americans just aren’t crazy about long distances. From 2000 to 2009, long-haul travel fell by 2.2 million in the United States, while it surged by 46 million for the rest of the world. Difficulty in securing visas for U.S. access is part of the problem, and the impact is one that affects our economy, as it makes it more difficult for the hospitality industry to bring foreign money to us.

Nonetheless, foreign travelers are still finding ways to bring their cash to our pockets. Visitors to the United States spent $88.2 billion in the first eight months of 2010, up 10 percent from the same period in 2009.




[photo by Dave Heuts via Flickr]