Hyatt’s problems increase as chain is boycotted

by Katie Hammel on

The Hyatt hotel chain is facing more trouble after firing nearly 100 housekeepers and replacing them with contract workers. Though a rep for Hyatt has denied that the fired workers were “tricked” into training their replacements and were not given severance, it seems the public isn’t buying it.

Union officials at the Boston Taxi Drivers Association have said that the 1700 drivers in the union will boycott Hyatt Boston locations, refusing to pick-up or drop-off fares there, unless the housekeepers are reinstated. The Massachusetts Governor has even gotten in on the action, saying that unless Hyatt rehires the fired workers, he’ll direct all state employees to stay at other hotels.

In a letter he sent to the CEO of Hyatt, the Governor said that while he understood that tough economic times meant making tough decisions, he thought that the manner in which the staff was let go was “so inconsistent with the expressed values of the Hyatt organization and basic fairness” that he did not think that “any other remedy other than full reinstatement” was appropriate. He also said he didn’t wish to instate a boycott but that the workers were treated so unfairly that he had no choice but to do so.

Of course, Hyatt fired back, saying “We do not understand why the Governor is putting more Massachusetts jobs at risk instead of working with us to find jobs for employees affected by the realities of these unprecedented economic challenges.” Looks like neither side will be backing down, and the only people who’ll suffer will be the workers.

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Montreal Musts, to stay: Downtown digs at Opus Hotel

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The boutique hotels of Old Montreal are an obvious draw. The neighborhood is charming, with cobblestone streets flanked by art galleries and cute eateries. This is the Montreal most tourists seem to want to visit. But, especially if you’ve been there before, it may be worth trading the old world time for the energy in the downtown area. The Opus Hotel, on the corner of la rue Sherbrooke and boulevard Saint-Laurent is centrally located, not far from a metro station and wraps you in style from the lobby to the pillow.

Upon entering the hotel, you find a carefully decorated lobby. It’s clear immediately that design is a priority at Opus Hotel, and the open concept provides a glimpse of a seating area, away from the bustle of the front desk, where guests can relax, peck away at their laptops, drink coffee and sit either together or apart. The columns provide something of a dividing line between check-in and sitting area, but the concept is reinforced by various forms of sculpture … giving you something to enjoy whether you’re waiting for your key or sipping an espresso on the other side.

Remember to have your key handy when you step into the elevator (security measure for the property’s guests); it will save you a few seconds of fishing through your pocket when you want to get to your room and wash the smell of the plane off your body. The ride is short, and before you know it, you’re in your space for the next few nights, a carefully appointed guestroom that offers plenty of elbow room and design that is sufficiently tasteful and edgy to leave me feeling like Opus Hotel made a mistake in letting me stay there.

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The rooms may vary slightly, with those not yet renovated having a separate room for the toilet. I prefer the post-renovation style, which has the entire bathroom in one room (didn’t like the closet concept). Flop onto the bed – fortunately it was firm enough for me without feeling like a sidewalk, so I think it will appeal to almost everybody – and look up. The ceiling has an unfinished cement look, which complements the soft colors used on the walls.

Dine at the hotel’s restaurant, Koko, at least once. I enjoyed the restaurant a little over a year ago and was excited to see that nothing had changed. The menu – which brings together Asian and continental European cuisine, is tasty, carefully presented and attentively served. The cocktail menu will keep you busy (don’t try them all, at least not in one sitting), but skip the usual after-dinner drinks when it’s time for dessert. Instead, opt for a Canadian specialty such as ice wine or ice cider … or both, as I did (it was worth it, and I’d do it again).

Perhaps most important, I noticed that the staff at Opus Hotel didn’t need to wait for a stupid look to cross my face before offering to help with anything … and they entertained my feeble attempts to speak with them in French. Being able to listen to me butcher the local language with a straight face is pretty much the height of customer service, so it’s unsurprising that they nailed everything else.

If you want to feel like a star, this is the hotel to call home on your next trip to Montreal. You’ll be treated like a celebrity – but without the worried looks about how much damage you’ll cause to the room. And, you’ll feel like one in this style-savvy establishment. A stay at Opus is always a smart move.

Disclosure: Tourisme-Montreal picked up the tab for this trip, but my views are my own.

Inside Zurich’s finest hotel, Baur au Lac

by Grant Martin on

Zurich is famous as the financial and cultural capital of Switzerland, a vibrant metropolis of over 1.6 million residents, a city full of sharply intelligent, extremely focused, well-dressed people. It’s a clean, refreshing environment, with culture and class balanced perfectly to create the ideal city and tourist destination.

Baur au Lac, arguably the best hotel in the city, reflects these traits perfectly. A boutique, five star member of the Leading Hotels of the World, Baur au Lac (literally, Baur hotel on the Lake) is nestled at the foot of the designer shopping district among the waterfront, canals and lush green parks of Zurich. And with a series of recent renovations, they’ve catapulted to the front of technology, style and culture.

Externally, the first thing that a visitor might notice when visiting Baur au Lac is the Rolls Royce Phantom. This year’s model, it’s just one in a fleet of several luxury vehicles at the hotel’s disposal for picking up guests at the airport or for running errands around to city. And it’s the sort of opulence that guest can used to during their stay.

%Gallery-73743%Before one even enters the proper hotel, it’s best to take a peek into the remodeled Terrasse, a sprawling, stone patio with covered, outdoor seating for light snacks, a full bar and a commanding view over the park just in front of the property. This is a great place for a business lunch, snack before going out into the city or evening beverage before a night out on the town, complete with ample shade, bustling waitstaff and a cool atmosphere.

The adjacent Pavillion Restaurant has also been remodeled and features the finest, modern Mediterranean fare.

Internally, Baur au Lac has just finished a massive remodel to reflect today’s style and culture. It’s difficult to tell from the 1844 architecture outside and the awe that one feels when stepping into the main lobby, but each room reflects all of the current state of the art in hotel quality, complete with flat screen televisions, sprawling, cavernous bathrooms and butler service on every floor.

Specific to this remodel, are the stunning new suites. This year, Baur au Lac finished an extensive remodel to create 22 of them, each an outstanding model of contemporary design and aesthetic. For those in the more traditional frame of mind, classic suites are still available.

You can read more about the hotel at their extensive website, where bookings and other photos of the new suites are available.

Holiday Inn opens NYC hotel made entirely of key cards

by Katie Hammel on

As part of an effort to build buzz around the relaunch of 1200 Holiday Inn hotels this month, the lodging chain has opened a very special hotel in New York. It’s not your average hotel though. It’s made entirely of hotel key cards.

The “Key Card Hotel” was built by Guinness World Record holder Byran Berg, who first broke the record for “World’s Tallest House of Freestanding Playing Cards” in 1992 at the tender age of 17. Since then, he’s broken the record 10 times. Now he’s created a life-size (though small at 400 square feet) hotel made of key cards. Visitors can’t actually stay in the “hotel” (and would you really want to sleep on a bed of plastic?), but they can come marvel at Berg’s creation, which is made of 200,000 cards and weighs two tons, tour the lobby, guest room, and bathroom, and learn about the Holiday Inn’s “Keys to Change” promotion and the many improvements that will be taking place at the brand’s properties. By the end of 2010, over 3000 hotels in the chain will be updated, at a cost of $1 billion, making it the “largest relaunch in the history of the hospitality industry”.

As part of the promotion, guests can enter to win free nights at one of the relaunched Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express locations around the world. One grand prize winner will also receive a 3-day, 2-night trip to any Holiday Inn hotel in the world, including round-trip air transportation. To enter, just sign up on the promotion’s website.

The Key Card Hotel will be open at New York’s South Street Seaport from now until September 21. During the promotion, Berg will also create a 9-foot tall replica of the Statue of Liberty using playing cards in the lobby. The online contest runs until October 22nd.

The best from the weird and wacky world of tourist complaints

by Scott Carmichael on

We tourists are a curious bunch – apparently, by paying for our trip, some of us feel we are entitled to absolute perfection. In this lineup, we’ve listed several of the most insane lawsuits taken to court by tourists.

Have you ever encountered something so ridiculous on a trip, that you had to take your case to court?

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The case of the slutty Dutch girl and the kitchen staff

A Dutch family visited the judge demanding a full refund of their vacation, as well as compensation for having to move to a new resort.

Apparently the situation at their original resort was unbearable, forcing them to relocate to a more expensive location.

What the Dutch forgot to tell the court, was that their daughter had slept with the entire kitchen staff, forcing hotel management to fire most of them.

Verdict: case dismissed

The case of the stupid locals enjoying their own beach

A German couple pleaded their case at the local court, demanding compensation for a spoiled vacation.

The 2 Germans were very upset that their (public) Mauritian beach was also being used by locals. And obviously, the one thing that can spoil a vacation, is having to interact with the people that actually live there.

Verdict: local judge throws case into a local trash can


The case of the outhouse is not an acceptable bathroom?

A Swedish tourist visited his court to beg for a full refund of his vacation.

His complaint? His remote farm destination lacked in-building bathroom facilities, and he was forced to use an outhouse. Apparently this was just too much for him to deal with.

Verdict: case ended up in the crapper



The disturbing case of the do not disturb sign

It takes a special level of stupid to mistake the do not disturb sign on the inside of your door for a warning to stay in your room. That didn’t prevent one tourist from filing an official complaint asking for her money back.

When she arrived at her hotel, she got to her room, and stayed there for several days, claiming the hotel staff forced her to stay indoors. After a little digging, the court found that she saw the sign, and mistook it for a “don’t you dare leave this room” sign.

Verdict: This woman probably does need to be locked in a room somewhere.


The case of the loud mosque

A Dusseldorf court listened to the rants of a German tourist demanding his money back. His vacation had been ruined by the daily call for prayer at a local Turkish mosque. In the weird little world of this tourist, calls for prayer are to be silenced when he’s enjoying his vacation.

Verdict: Stupid tourist should be forced to listen to “case dismissed” every day for a week.

The case of the snores galore

Snoring people are everywhere – including airplanes. However, when a German tourist was treated to several hours of loud snoring on his flight to South Africa, instead of just chalking it up to another annoyance of air travel, he went to court to demand a full refund.

Sadly for him, the court had to explain to him that snoring people are just part of life, and told him to stop wasting their time.

Verdict: a snooze case


The case of the super fertile pool water!

There have been many stories of immaculate conception in history. But none was as weird as the story of a Polish girl that got impregnated through the pool water at their Egyptian resort.

The mother of the girl insisted that her daughter did not have sex, and that the only explanation had to be the filthy sperm infested waters of the hotel pool.

Verdict: This case is dead in the water



The case of nobody told me the fire could burn me

Burning Man may not be the kind of vacation destination suitable for everyone, but 50,000 people make the trip each year. This year, one visitor walked around the large bonfire, getting closer and closer each time.

Eventually, he tripped, and fell right into the flames, burning his hands. Because nobody had told him about the dangers of fire, he took his case to court demanding someone pay him for his stupidity.

Verdict: case fizzles out



The curious case of too many Germans

Brits and Germans have a very special relationship when they are abroad. And by special, I mean they hate each other.

Germans steal all the pool chairs in the morning, and Brits get drunk and wake the Germans up very early, forcing them to get up even earlier for their pool chairs (pardon the stereotypes).

One British tourist had enough – he took a trip to court demanding his cash back. His complaint? His travel agent had failed to mention that his destination was also popular with Germans. And apparently, too many Germans is enough to completely spoil your vacation.


Verdict: Klage abgewiesen!

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