“The Westin Effect”
Posted by GoDeeGo on January 30, 2008 in Hotels
I have been a traveling consultant for 9 years, and that’s a long time to not sleep in ones own bed. When away from home, the bed seems to rank at the top of the list. What a disappointment when you are ready to crawl into bed after a long day’s (and night’s) work to […]
Flightstats
Posted by Noid on January 30, 2008 in Travel
I have been using this great tool for about 6 months now and its called Flightstats. It allows you to see the status of any flight, or any airport. Now it does all the cool stuff like show you a nice map with red/green/yellow indicators over the airports, email you flight updates in real time and show security line wait times, but what is really nice is the historical data on flight routes you can peruse. When I need to go to DC, for example, I can look at every carrier to BWI, Dulles or Reagan and see which route, by which carrier and at which time is usually on time. Ah…being on time…the little things in life (or the consulting life 
) that give us joy. One other great feature is their Airport Chatter where other road warriors like yourselves can post what’s happening at your local airport so the rest of us can benefit. It may be a head’s up on only 4 security scanners running or even that parking lot A is full.
LAX Security Line = Awful
Posted by Noid on January 15, 2008 in Travel
I don’t know whose job it is to manage security lines at airports, but whoever it is at LAX needs to be fired. This airport is one of the worst for security lines I have ever been in and I have been in a lot. It amazes me the differences in security lines across the country. Aren’t they all managed by TSA? Why are some so long and some so short?
For whatever reason, Southwest’s terminal seems to be worse than the others. The picture above is a the actually security line going out the door and down the street over 100 yards! What you don’t see is the snake inside, the stairs to another snake and then the detectors. Always leave some extra time for LAX security.
Not to mention the airlines employees get a special line and can skip ahead of anyone. Look, they may be working, but I am too and I don’t get to skip lines.
The W Hotel - Almost as Cool As They Think They Are
Posted by chiz on January 3, 2008 in Hotels
So I decided on my last trip to San Diego to try something new and spend a few days at the W Hotel. All in all, I was very happy with my experience there, despite the relatively high unintentional comedy factor this place exposes itself to. First the positives:
We arrived at 11am and our room was ready! And the reason?… well what I came to realize was, besides the special rooms they reserve for those high rollin or oft visiting customers, rooms are assigned as you step in the lobby and check in. Fairly simple idea, but not one used by most hotels. So we rolled up to the 9th floor, and opened our door as the cleaning crew was getting the room next to us ready for the next arrival.
The concierge desk. The W’s stance is “Whatever, Whenever”. And I must say they lived up to that as well as you can expect any hotel to. The concierge desk is staffed 24/7 with friendly knowledgeable people who anticipate customer needs and are ready with a solution to most questions asked right away.
The beds. Man are they comfortable. And if you’re a fan of the minimalist look, you’ll love the rooms.
Now the “unintentional comedy” factor:
Drink names such as Porn Star and Show me Some Love are poured into tiny martini glasses and the bartender has the nerve to take 13 bucks plus tip for one…. absolutely a racket, but it’s hilarious because all those people wanting to be seen buying one, hand it right over.
Everything has life. Inanimate objects talk to you through signs, like the headphones in the gym saying “well hello there. feel free to use me while you work out , but use the sanitary rags next to me to clean me off so I can make the next customer as happy as you”Very cute.
The rooms have chalkboards in them… yes chalkboards. Complete with chalk and an eraser. Consider the W markets a young crowd and they promote “indulging”, I can only imagine some of the creative pictures wiped off those chalkboards by the cleaning crew.
All in all, if you can find a good deal (we found a special for 200 a night), I’d say go for it just to say you’ve been there. Don’t pay full price though.
Most On Time Airlines
Posted by Noid on January 2, 2008 in Travel
Forbestraveler.com just released an article with on-time ratings of airlines. If you read my post on Southwest you know how I am a big believer in their efficiency and model. Well, consequently they are rated the number one on time airline amongst the national carriers. Their strategy is simple, buck conventional wisdom. Do not fly to massive hubs and connect people there and use smaller, less congested airports!
Among the big U.S. carriers, Southwest recorded 80.4% annual on-time arrivals, making it the most punctual of the major fliers (and third behind Hawaiian and Aloha). It also holds the highest percentage of on-time arrivals (82.1%) since the DOT began tracking this information in 1987, making it the most on-time U.S. carrier overall.