Travel and Leisure Services Outsourcing
A survey by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, conducted in Q3 and Q4 of 2009, indicated that loyalty programs need some re-thinking. A whopping 44 percent of the over 700 respondents mentioned that they experienced too much junk and spam e-mail due to enrolling with loyalty programs. Thirty-eight percent felt there were too many conditions and restrictions, and 37 percent believed that rewards lacked real value. So how does one make a loyalty program successful?
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As Iceland’s volcanic eruption had everyone glued to their television sets and other communication devices, scores of flights were cancelled leaving thousands of passengers stranded. It raised a larger question to the travel industry in terms of their readiness to handle a crisis of this size and manner. Online forums echoed days later that companies, which had outsourced their travel operations had handled the crisis better.
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As travelers, we have all been exposed to the pains of tarmac delays more than once. However, with the advent of the new ‘3-hour rule’ the DOT assures us that they will manage the evil airlines that do not care about their passengers. The new rule comes about despite many of the carriers already having implemented measures to guard against prolonged delays on their own. The DOT, in a move that basically states they have no confidence in the industry to govern itself, has imposed the new 3-hour rule stating that every airline must allow passengers to deplane from domestic flights if the tarmac delay is beyond three hours. The fines for violating the rule are as high as USD 27,500 per passenger, which works out to USD 3 million or more for a stranded 737.
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"With the recovery of the economy, fuel prices moderating, capital markets opening and both companies having solid liquidity, it was the right time to get involved in merger discussions," said Jeff Smisek in a recent interview to Bloomberg about the United-Continental merger. And a couple of days later, the deal had been struck. History was created with two big airlines ─ United and Continental ─ merging to become the world’s largest global airline. This was an example of consolidation in the airline industry that no one could miss. "The United-Continental merger would give passengers of United and Continental access to many new destinations: United serves 100 cities that Continental doesn't, and Continental flies to 136 cities that United doesn't," reported The Wall Street Journal. And as a frequent flyer of United, I was definitely pleased to say the least! However, I found mixed reactions from the industry and passengers with apprehensions mostly leaning towards a hike in fares.
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The role of the traditional revenue manager (RM) in the hospitality industry is changing. Historically, his primary task was to ensure that rooms were booked and if not, ensure that they were filled up with “warm bodies” to generate room nights. In effect, the revenue manager was managing capacity and the associated record keeping
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In some cases, it is prudent to dial down the visibility of incentive travel. However, the productivity and morale-boosting impact of incentive trips have been long established as motivational. Increased productivity, in nearly all cases, outweighs the cost of the trip. Most participants are not six-figure salary earners. Often, they are employees or dealers who go the extra mile to increase the company’s overall profitability.
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When someone decides to follow you on Twitter, i.e. read your posts and updates, you are flattered. Similarly, you might choose to follow a Hollywood diva, professional athlete, or The New York Times as an indication of your interest.
Twittering is innocuous fun. But what if someone posted their negative experiences at one of your favorite restaurants, or some “shady” holiday resort started following you? You would be wary and block their “hard sell ” tweets. Or you could vent your frustrations with a tersely-worded tweet or comment on Facebook knowing your followers would read it. They would take your opinion about the restaurant seriously or ignore any twits from the resort.
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As a regular flyer, I definitely enjoy and take full advantage of all the privileges I receive as a member of multiple frequent flyer programs -- faster check-ins, priority security lanes, easier upgrades, advanced seat selection, increased premium seating availability and on some carriers, access to free TV/Internet – which are some of the important ones to me. As an old ad for Cathay Pacific put it: (I can then) arrive in better shape.
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It was a bad evening. A severe thunderstorm had delayed flights out of Washington’s Dulles International Airport. My flight to Minneapolis arrived three hours late, well past midnight. Tired and weary, I trudged to the baggage carousel only to find that my bag had not flown with me. The airline baggage staff assured me that it would be delivered to my hotel by noon the next day. They also mentioned that they had a huge backlog because of the inclement weather on the east coast.
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According to the latest report from PhoCusWright, 40% of online travel shoppers in the United States do a price check on websites of Online Travel Agents (OTAs) before booking direct with the supplier. Given this trend, OTAs should think of better ways of converting website visitors into customers. Analytics could provide the answer.
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