Recorded in the Orlando Downtown Marriott, I talk about a real rarity — a plane full of happy people. Also, the results of a recent study confirm that hotels are increasing their use of add-on fees and surcharges, and listener feedback about the timeliness of long-haul vs. commuter flights. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.
Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #36:
- Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
- Recorded at the Orlando Downtown Marriott
- Took a pass at staying in a Disney resort — great for family vacations but not for business
- A listener tells a story about a good experience traveling from New Zealand to the UK
- Another listener talks about clearing security in -40°C weather
- Bridge Music — Carolina by Jeremy Hopkins
- Had a happy flight down to Mouse Land with a plane full of international travelers
- A Japanese woman throws the flight attendant a curve by ordering an iced coffee
- Bridge Music — Black Cup of Coffee by Ask Me When
- Parking fees at hotels are starting to get under my skin
- Direct Link — PwC forecasts that hotel fees and surcharges will keep increasing in 2006
- Bridge Music — Pictures of You by Evangeline
- Leo Vegoda sent in an audio comment about his recent experience on a commuter flight from Amsterdam to London
- Bridge music from Podshow Music Network
- Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
- Direct link to the show
6 comments on “Podcast #36 – Happiest Flight, Long and Short of It”
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I completely agree with what you said about Disney resorts being great for families, I had a fantastic time there – they do simple things that are child-focused that Marriotts, Hyatts and Hiltons don’t do.
Your bridge music is excellent, I liked Pictures of You very much.
Hope to see it soon in the RSS feed, I’m going on a trip and this would be good listening material.
You made a comment on the show that you did not know if your Canadian listener meant -40 Celsius or -40 Fahrenheit, but that you assumed that he/she meant Celsius which would be much colder. As it turns out, that is the one temperature that is the same in both systems.
Chris from the Amateur Traveler podcast
Chris –
Thanks for that. I knew the two lines intersected, but didn’t remember it was at -40. No wonder he didn’t give a scale designation — it doesn’t make a difference.
Regards,
Mark
I was just at WDW Swan and Dolphin for a conference this past week. Bad, bad, bad place for a conference, business-wise that is. And the mid-80s vintage Michael Graves hotel room interiors drastically need upgrading (but I like the whimsical building exteriors) I was expecting more from a facility that had the Disney name on it. I kept hearing so much about the “Disney experience.” I know this hotel complex is not “on campus” and is operated by Starwood (the only good thing was the bed), but I expected more. Shula’s Steak House and the Todd English BlueZoo restaurants were excellent – but again only having two good places to eat during a four day conference does not make the grade as far as I am concerned. I am sure the folks with kid’s tagging along found it to be more than adequate, as they could ship the significant other and children over to the park during the day.
Allan
Mark:
I work in accounting for one of the major hotel chains and I responding to your comment about the add on fees at many hotels. While services such as movies, internet access, safe charges, and guest laundry generate revenue for the hotel they each virtually make no profit for the hotel. In fact in most cases we are just passing on the costs of the services that we are charged. If you can believe it, we pay in the tens of thousands each month to provide internet access to customers. In terms of parking charges I agree with you and believe that they should be free in the suburban hotels, however with many hotels telecom revenues steadily decling since the rise of the cell phone, hotels are forced to look for other revenue streams to keep profit margins up and keep wall street happy. In regards why hotels just do not raise their rates to make up the additional revenue it is because in this day and age with expedia/priceline websites where so many transient guests, which are so cost conscience, are able to easily to compare prices between hotels across a city, hotels are constantly struggling to balance rate with occupancy to maximize REVPAR. Hope this helps!
Doug
Doug –
Thanks for giving us that view from the inside.
Regards,
Mark