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March 2006
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8.
This is
Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update
Every once in
a while the airlines get it right. Industry leaders including American
Airlines and Delta will soon give up boarding passengers by rows, the
traditional back-to-front boarding system
Some airlines like America West already board window passengers first,
then middle seat passengers…then the aisle seats. The thinking is that
the new procedures shave about 2 minutes off the typical 20 minute
boarding process thus, no surprise here, getting planes in the air
faster and improving the bottom line.
Doing away with assigned seats completely seems to work well for
Southwest, spreading seating throughout the cabin.
Some travelers are unimpressed.
They feel and we tend to agree that reducing the number of carry-on bags
is the only sure way to prevent boarding bottlenecks.
Other are more blunt. If we weren’t so obese as a nation, says one irate
passenger, we’d have faster boarding times.
Maybe she’s right!
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7.
This is
Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update
For most of us, the Caribbean islands are a state of mind. Blue
waters, Pina Coladas and lots of sun.
The tropical climate is a common denominator but the islands are also united by
their vibrant festivals, wonderful expressions of local color and music.
Gayle Nagle Myers covers the Caribbean for
Travel Weekly, the industry
publication of record. So what should we look for this season, Gay
(Please download the
audio to
hear Gay Nagle Myers’ complete comments on the Caribbean islands and their
festivals)
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6.
This is
Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Audio
Postcard
(Please
download this
Audio Postcard to hear
Philadelphia come to life through the city’s wonderful soundscapes)
Gritty, hardscrabble Philadelphia has transformed itself into a one of
the hottest destinations in the country.
Maybe it has something to do with the city’s
famous cheese
steaks, sizzling on the grill at
Reading
Terminal Market
Or maybe it’s the unexpected pleasure of listening to ragged, homegrown
gospel sung by the shoeshine guys to the snap snap of their shoeshine
rag.
Philadelphia is history, classy art museums, and cutting edge galleries
side by side with hardware stores and funky cafes. It’s elegant eateries
like the 4 masted sailing ship turned restaurant, the
Moshulu.
It’s jazz bars and boutique hotels in the old city.
Ben Franklin’s 300th birthday party at
The
National Constitution Center is a magnet for families who come to
marvel at the great man’s sense of humor and genius.
Philadelphia is proud of itself. And it shows!
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5.
This is
Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update
The math is
simple. But deceptive.
If a hotel room cost two hundred bucks, that’s a hundred bucks per
person, because hotels assume two people are sharing the room.
But if you’re not a couple and are traveling alone, you’re still paying
$200.00, which amounts to a penalty for single travelers since they’re
paying a two people rate!
Hotels and cruise ships don’t give single travelers a price break
because that cuts into their revenues. And so the single traveler exist
as second-class citizen in the travel world.
Some travel agents like
Singles
Travel International plan trips where singles share rooms with
other singles, of the same sex we might add.
But that can be uncomfortable for many.
The industry can and should do better.
Some hotels do offer a reduced rate for singles, but they’re often
inferior rooms.
Noah may have had it right, but unless you’re on an ark, traveling in
pairs shouldn’t have to be the only way to go!
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4. & 3.
This is
Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update
Travelers are
becoming addicted to on line travel sites that post reviews of
properties and destinations by people who’ve actually stayed at the
places they write about.
Reading what these people have to say is reliable and trustworthy,
reassuring to get the scoop on a hotel’s beach or quality of service by
people like us, and not from a pr blurb or just one travel writer.
Or is it?
It seems unhappy customers are far more likely to comment negatively on
a hotel than those whose experiences are positive.
That’s OK if the comments are true. But many of the posted comments are
just plain false, causing a lot of damage to the inn or hotel.
One inn owner burned by what she considers an unfounded, negative
posting questions the motives of these disgruntled review writers.
(Please download the
audio to hear Massachusetts’ inn keeper Diane Pabich’s comments
about online posted reviews)
Tomorrow we’ll talk with the Editor of
Trip Advisor,
probably the leading reviewer-oriented travel web site on the Internet
Yesterday we
heard from an inn owner whose property was, in her opinion, unfairly
maligned by a guest whose on line comments, she says, were false and
even harmful.
The guest’s comments were posted on a popular web site carrying reviews
of hotels and resorts by people who stayed at the places they write
about.
We argued that these first hand comments by actual travelers are very
useful…but can also be untrue and occasionally even malicious
Trip Advisor.com
is one of the most compelling of these review-oriented sites, and Editor
Steve Kaufer explains how his site works with the thousands of comments
posted to it.
(Please download the
audio to hear Steve Kaufer’s comments about his web site’s posted
reviews)
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part 1
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part 2
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2.
This is
Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update
It’s tempting
to lament the demise of the travel agent. After all, on line travel is
up very significantly and there are 15,00 fewer travel agents today than
just a few years ago.
But wait. Can online travel agencies and web sites deliver the quality
of travel experience that a savvy travel agent can?
Conde Nast Traveler
sent two of their top travel reporters on a complex trip to India. One
booked the trip exclusively on line.
 The other, Brook Wilkinson, booked her trip using a travel agent.
Who had the better overall experience? We asked Brook Wilkinson herself.
(Please click on the
audio to hear Brook Wilkinson’s full comments)
So don’t count the travel agent out just yet…especially for complicated
travel.
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1.
This is
Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update
 The
man himself says it all “I love a great deal.”
The man is real estate honcho, casino magnate, TV
personality and larger than life impresario with perfect hair, Donald
Trump.
“The Donald” has partnered with mega companies
Travelocity and American Airlines to create his own on line travel web
site, www.GoTrump.com
He personally assures us that he has negotiated the best rates for
thousands of hotels and vacation packages to ensure we’re “getting the
lowest online rate.”
In fact, he promises that if bookers find hotel rates online that are
cheaper than those on his site,
GoTrump.com will
match the price, and give the consumer an additional 20%.
We assume he can afford such generosity and his site does have more
pizzazz than the other look-alikes…he also believes the power of his
name will drive business and enhance bookings.
You know, he’s probably right
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