Enjoy the government’s new airfare rule. It might not last.
Power Trip
An elite-level frequent flier card used to be a passport to a better flying experience, offering access to special waiting areas, preferred seating and priority first-class upgrades. But lately, frequent flier status has come to represent something else to many business travelers: a de facto insurance policy against more declines in customer service.
Just when travelers thought they had run out of things to complain about at the airport, their fading laptops and cellphones have signaled yet another problem: a shortage of power outlets.
The Fairmont Washington knows Andrew Breslow’s room preference, his fondness for foam pillows and his favorite cocktail: Jack Daniels with club soda. But that is not why Mr. Breslow, a tax lawyer from Southlake, Tex., likes to check into the hotel on his extended business trips to Washington.
It turns out a business travel hotel is a business travel hotel, after all. Some hotels that only a few years ago rebranded themselves as “family friendly” resorts have been quietly phasing out promotions and programs meant to attract families with children. One reason is that their rooms have been filling up with more of their core business customers.
For years, hotels have increasingly saddled their customers with nonnegotiable surcharges for everything from the use of an in-room safe to a general resort fee that pays for amenities that were once part of the room rate.
Like most other business travelers who publish blogs, Steve Broback discovered their power by accident.
The perpetually strained relationship between corporate travelers and tourists tends to get a lot of attention this time of year, with spring break just wrapping up and Memorial Day, the official start of the summer vacation season, only weeks away.
Most first business trips go off without a hitch. But a minority hit snags that are destined to become part of business travel lore.
As health care costs rise, companies are increasingly looking at ways to make their employees healthier, and business travelers are particularly at risk for medical problems. They are frequently stressed out and overworked, and often subsist on vending machine snacks and takeout food.
Few people are more preoccupied with their health than business travelers. They were a cautious lot even before bird flu began to spread, before talk of a possible influenza pandemic.
Of all the annoyances business travelers have to endure while on the road, not one comes close to keeping a mileage log. Airline and hotel troubles come and go, but tracking business miles is a constant. Most business trips are done by car, and the vehicles most often used are personal or company cars in which every mile must be painstakingly recorded for tax purposes.
It is not difficult to find a business traveler who is hopping mad at Hertz these days. Krishna Kumar, a program manager from Santa Clara, Calif., for instance, says he was taken aback by the car rental company’s decision to tighten its terms and conditions. “When I saw them,” he said, “I was very upset.”
As Web sites that publish guest hotel reviews become more influential, some hotels — from bed-and-breakfasts to large resorts — are going to greater lengths to ensure that their properties are rated highly. Their efforts, analysts say, range from encouraging guests to write flattering reviews to, in extreme cases, submitting bogus recommendations to Web sites.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
I'm on Facebook: Please "like" 
WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? If you're having trouble with a travel business - any business - and you've reached a dead end, maybe I can help. Send me an
Get me a room
April 10, 2006
Room service, get me a room! It hasn’t quite come to that, but with record-high occupancy rates predicted for summer, vacationers need to get busy and book. The luxury hotels below are a good bet, but even they’re filling up.
Be the first to comment