Traveler’s Bill of Rights

Enter The Coalition for Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights
A one-woman juggernaut named Kate Hanni was on the American Airlines flight that was grounded in December, and has taken her story all the way to Congress. Hanni formed the Coalition for Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights, which is calling for a passenger bill of rights to be written into law; the organization's Web site is worth a look.

The Coalition's proposed Bill of Rights reads thusly:

All American air carriers shall abide by the following standards to ensure the safety, security and comfort of their passengers:

· Establish procedures to respond to all passenger complaints within 24 hours and with appropriate resolution within two weeks.

· Notify passengers within 10 minutes of a delay of known diversions, delays and cancellations via airport overhead announcement, on-aircraft announcement and posting on airport television monitors.

· Establish procedures for returning passengers to terminal gate when delays occur so that no plane sits on the tarmac for longer than three hours without connecting to a gate.

· Provide for the essential needs of passengers during air- or ground-based delays of longer than three hours, including food, water, sanitary facilities and access to medical attention.

· Provide for the needs of disabled, elderly and special-needs passengers by establishing procedures for assisting with the moving and retrieving of baggage, and the moving of passengers from one area of airport to another at all times by airline personnel.

· Publish and update monthly on the company's public Web site a list of chronically delayed flights, meaning those flight delayed 30 minutes or more, at least 40 percent of the time, during a single month.

· Compensate "bumped" passengers or passengers delayed due to flight cancellations or postponements of over 12 hours by refund of 150 percent of ticket price.

· The formal implementation of a Passenger Review Committee, made up of non-airline executives and employees but rather passengers and consumers -- that would have the formal ability to review and investigate complaints.

· Make lowest fare information, schedules and itineraries, cancellation policies and frequent flier program requirements available in an easily accessed location and updated in real time.

· Ensure that baggage is handled without delay or injury; if baggage is lost or misplaced, the airline shall notify customer of baggage status within 12 hours and provide compensation equal to current market value of baggage and its contents.

· Require that these rights apply equally to all airline codeshare partners including international partners.

Is this a fair response to years of shoddy treatment of the flying public? You bet it is. And is it better than what we have now? Absolutely. The current Customer Service Initiative mostly says "we'll try our best, but we don't really promise anything." It contains nothing whatsoever setting benchmarks, meeting deadlines, setting compensation amounts, requiring notifications, or just about anything hard and fast. It's all squish and slip.

For example, read American's policies regarding "Essential Customer Needs During Extraordinary Delays"; it's clear that these promises rang extremely hollow in late December 2006. The biggest change in the new bill of rights is that these "policies" will become law. It will no longer be enough to say "it's not our policy to starve our passengers on the tarmac" and have the issue just go away.

Is it unreasonable to ask this of the airlines? I don't think so, as, for the most part, the proposed bill simply holds the airlines to their own policies.

When You Deserve The Best

Many folks struggle with the idea of being deserving. They feel that there is something wrong about them. That's why they feel they don't deserve happiness, love, wealth, you name it. Here are three things to avoid when trying to change your life. When you are trying to feel you do deserve all the best.

1. Avoid comparing yourself with others, especially if they have more than you of whatever. You are unique and your situation does not match anyone else's. See yourself as an individual with your own special range of influence, which you truly have.

2. Avoid comparing your present life with your life as a child. You were essentially powerless as a child, as is every child. What was then when, you were a child, does not control what can be when you are an adult.

3. Avoid negative thinking. It is said that people have between 50,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day - - most of them negative. If most of your thoughts are negative, and they will be unless you make a concerted effort to change them, just think how you are perpetuating negativity in your life.

So, there is another side to this coin of thinking you deserve all the best. Here are three things to seek in your daily life - - leading to a better feeling about what you deserve.

A. Seek to define yourself as who you really are. One idea you need to distinctly consider is this: You are a child of the Universe. Yes, if you will, you are divine. Therefore, you deserve all the best.

B. Seek to know that what occurred in the past, whatever is was, need not limit you now. The past is gone. As much as is possible, forget it. Live in this moment. Make the most of this moment.

C. Seek to express yourself positively. You start that by be conscious (aware) of your thoughts when you take a minute, make a minute, to consider what you are thinking. Sounds peculiar, I know. But in order to halt the negativity in your thoughts, you must be come aware of those thoughts. Then, when you discover negativity, replace it immediately with positivity.

Now, take these things to avoid and things to seek and apply them to life now. I believe you will feel immediately more deserving.

Travel Gadgets

When the first iPad came out just over a year ago, we were sure it would transform travel: Apple's tablet computer married work and play utilities so well, it rendered a laptop excess weight on a vacation. Thirteen months later, our computing behavior has already evolved drastically. Everyone from VPs to restaurant sommeliers to preschoolers are using iPads everywhere. It did not take long for the tablet to find a place in our lives.

Since the second generation iPad was released a month ago, much has been said about the new lighter, smaller, faster model. And the fact that Apple has added significant new features to iPad 2—such as the front- and back-facing cameras—without raising the price (it starts at $499). Let’s consider what the iPad 2 does to further transform travel with its smaller size, new cameras, innovative new travel apps, and iMovie travel videos.

iPad 2 For Travel

1. Packable Size, Speed

Yes, the iPad 2 is light (33 percent lighter than iPad 1) and thin (thinner than the iPhone 4). It’s so fast—two times faster thanks to the A5 chip—that the graphics seem to fly across the screen as you use it. The sleek, skinny iPad 2 disappears in your handbag, tote, or backpack. And at the airport, iPads do not have to be screened separately in the security line.

2. Ample Battery Life

The ten-hour battery life means you can literally not worry about charging your iPad for days. Battery life is simply not an issue. The iPad also has its own voltage converter, so you just need to find a power adapter for your host country and you are all set.

Here are three ways to maximize your iPad’s battery life:

• Turn down the brightness of the screen.

• Limit the apps in your multitasking. Each open app is using a bit of battery. Close out of the apps you aren’t using.

• Turn off the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings when you are not using them. They soak up battery power.

3. Cameras for Video Chatting, Hi-Def Video, Photos

The much anticipated front- and back-facing cameras enable FaceTime chats from wherever you have a Wi-Fi signal—airport layovers, coffee shop chats, Madrid’s Plaza de Santo Domingo. More and more cities are publishing maps of their free Wi-Fi hotspots. Though the cameras' video is hi-def, the photos are less sharp than photos taken with the iPhone 4. But in reality, shooting photos and video on the iPad is a little strange. For my iMove travel video (below), I used my iPhone 4 to shoot photos and video, then synced to my computer, then to my iPad. You can also use the USB adapter to sync iPhone 4 photos directly to iPad.

4. Top Travel App Innovations

With the addition of the new gyroscope and cameras, and the existing GPS, the world of travel apps is about to take off. The gyroscope and GPS could enable some very cool virtual tour guides of favorite travel sites—say an iPad tour of Machu Picchu where you point your iPad at a feature and it tells you historical facts. Here are some of the more impressive new iPad travel apps out there:

• iMovie - $4.99

Optimized for the iPad, this app could transform you into a filmmaker. For travel videos, it’s amazing. It makes editing videos simple—little kids could do it. See the section below to read the full review.

• National Geographic National Parks Maps HD App - $4.99

This app pairs hi-res images of points-of-interest within National Geographic HD topo trail maps for 15 parks (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, and ten others). The iPad’s Digital Compass will locate you within the park when you are ready to start exploring.

• JetSetter - Free

This visually stunning, content-driven travel app lets you discover travel destinations through a gorgeous layout and photography. The stories and editorial reviews will tantalize you to take a trip—and the app even allows you to book a hotel stay with a cool calendar feature. It also has “Flash Sale” limited-time travel deals.

• Word Lens - Free, $9.99 per language

This app utilizes the camera to photograph and translate text. Right now it only works for English to Spanish and Spanish to English. Still it’s a remarkable service on the iPad. It’s not perfect. I tried it on my friend Mark Adam's new book title, Turn Right at Machu Picchu. It came up with “Turno Correcto a Machu Picchu,” which is a little off, but the possibilities are exciting.

• TripAdvisor - Free

Thanks to the iPad’s digital compass, TripAdvisor’s vast database of user reviews are made available on Google Street maps. Simply locate yourself via the GPS, then read reviews of nearby restaurants and hotels positioned on a Google Street View map. What’s surprising is all the local information. I always considered TripAdvisor to be best for international hotels. But with the app, I located myself in my apartment in Brooklyn and it showed me all the restaurants and businesses on my street with contact info and user reviews.

• Fotopedia Heritage - Free

Brilliant photos illustrate the world’s UNESCO World Heritage sites in this app. The Machu Picchu slide show alone has 59 images.

• FlightBoard - $3.99

This app quite simply lets you see the Arrivals and Departures flight boards in any airport. Pretty handy if you are dealing with weather delays.

• AllSubway HD - $.99

This is the first collection of subway maps from the world’s great cities, from Moscow to Munich to Perth. You don’t need a Wi-Fi connection to use it, so subterranean navigation is possible.

Starting in May, Apple is going to offer free travel app workshops for consumers at their 200+ U.S. stores. At these workshops, Apple instructors will show the latest and best travel apps available.

5. iMovie: Geo-Referenced Travel Videos

iMovie ($4.99), which we loved for the iPhone 4, is now optimized for iPad and so easy to use. The added screen real estate allows for great control and precision while editing your trip video. You can trim video clips before you add them to your edited material, and then re-edit the cuts throughout the process with multiple video editing tracks. The app is so superior, it gives you the confidence to actually cut together a video you could be proud of.

Sleeping Through Meetings

I was walking by one of my meetings and popped my head in to check and make sure everything was refreshed and looking good. Our meeting space comfortably holds quite a crowd so frequent checks help insure we consistently have everything for our meeting goers. In this case I had to stifle myself do to the man in the back of the room. He was head down, arms crossed and I’m sure tow breaths away from snoring.

This really got me thinking. I’ve been in meetings before that have been dry or tough to get through but I thank coffee or soda for getting me through those tough times, but how many people catch some Z’s in meetings?

You can find in the news how council members sleep through meetings or Youtube videos of people falling asleep there is a ton of stuff showing people falling asleep in meetings. So the guy in my meeting was not unusual but comical just like the girl in the video.

So what is the reason for people falling asleep? Is it a dry, monotone speaker, lack of sleep, not enough coffee? If you find yourself in a meeting and need to stay awake here are a couple of tips to use to keep your peepers open:

· Pretend to take notes. Writing things down will make you look fastidious, efficient and incredibly interested. Rather than notes, however, your pad of paper can be filled with an array of fun activities.

· Play word games. This is as easy as picking a word, such as "corporate" and seeing how many other words you can make from the letters. "Corporate" gives you: rat, rate, poor, coop, crop and crap, just to name a few.

· Count words. Certain speakers, in their monotone, may be prone to repeating certain words, utterance or phrases. It's fun and easy to count how many times Nancy in marketing says "newfangled," Vance in budget says "earmarked" or George from human resources utters "Um."

· Rate neckties. Start with a list merely rating all the different ties in attendance from 1-10. The list can then be broken down to rate the most colorful, the most original and one you would do nothing but hang yourself with.

· As mentioned, always keep one ear open to what the suits are rambling on about in case someone decides to ask your opinion.

· Don't doodle. Doodling on your notepad may be fun, but someone is bound to glance over and note your pages are filled with eyeballs, smiley men or other funky little illustrations. Whatever you are writing cannot be read from far away.

· If you must doodle, don't draw evil caricatures of the people in attendance. Someone is bound to see.

· Don't play tic-tac-toe with the person next to you. That's just too obvious.

Local Experiances

We took the team to Il Fornaio, in Old Town Pasadena. It might not have been my first choice as it's a chain restaurant. Natalie Robles of their establishment convinced me otherwise when I was looking for a venue. Natalie arranged a nice private room and still allowed us to order off the menu. All of the food was excellent and absoultly save room for dessert...even if you think you are full, when that cart rolls in, it's tough to resist. The three course Prix Fixe menu is a great value at just under $30.00. Take a look at ilfornaio.com or give Natalie a call.

Another great local experiance is Mignon Chocolate just a block from the hotel on Holly Street. I was working on creating a custom Easter Basket and came upon them. Opened 76 years ago, to this day they still produce amazing hand made truffles & fine chocolates. Anoush was very accomodating and helped me find just the right items. Taste the chocolate with Sea Salt or the Chile infused dark chocolate and you will know what heaven feels like. Mignonchocolate.com will set you on the path to redemption, but walk there instead, then you will feel like you have earned a treat.

Hotels in Japan

This story originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle but being in the hotel industry we never want to see this kind of thing happen to us so it is good to hear how some of our hospitality brethren handle times of distress. Here’s the article:

Here's a very interesting and heartfelt Q&A with Clarence Tan, CEO of IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan about the current situation at hotels in the country. (IHG is one of the world's largest hotel chains, with brands that include Holiday Inn, Crown Plaza and InterContinental hotels.)

I offer huge thanks to Mr Tan for taking to time, in the midst of Japan's crisis, to sit down and correspond via email with me (and the readers of this blog) about the situation.

Here goes:

Q: Have your hotels seen any normalization yet?

We operate 33 hotels across Japan, and we were extremely fortunate that none of our hotels sustained any serious damage. With the exception of ANA Holiday Inn Sendai [near the center of the quake] all our hotels are operating normally.

We have seen occupancy levels drop in the northern zone below the normal average. With the uncertainty of the developments at the Fukushima Power Plant and growing concerns relating to food contamination and safety, we are seeing the impact due to:

>Advisories on non-essential travel to Japan still in place

>Expatriate communities are heeding embassy advisories and leaving Japan

>Most multinational corporations have executed their business continuity plans and are either operating outside Tokyo or have temporarily relocated to other Asian offices

>Major airlines are also cutting back routes to Japan

In spite of the dip in occupancy, we are committed to staying open. We have activated crisis response and ensured contingency plans are in place at all levels according to our risk management procedures, but where possible we have kept the hotels running as normally as possible.

Clarence Tan, CEO, IHG ANA Hotels Group, Japan

Q: What about areas well away from the northern zone....perhaps down south in Osaka and other cities?

Due to the effect of relocation and contingency plans for most companies, we are seeing for the short term strong occupancy levels in areas such as Osaka, Fukuoka and Kobe.

Q: Is there any proof that the entire country is not shut down and that business travel is actually still taking place?

International business travel is very slow. Locally, we are still seeing travel traffic -- there is a general sense of people outside the affected areas trying to get back to normal as well as a strong display of the Japanese 'Can Do' spirit.

From our observation, the Fukushima incident and the associated concerns such as radioactivity contamination need to be resolved. Once that happens and rebuilding commences, there's a good chance that travel advisories will be lifted. The positive impact of this will lend itself to the road to recovery of the travel and tourism business.

On the whole, the country isn't 'shut down' -- it's coping with this unprecedented crisis with dignity and efficiency, and as an international business with deep roots in Japan, we are committed to helping with the recovery efforts to the best of our ability.

Q: Do you have any other observations to share from your hotels there?

It's too early for us to assess the full impact to our business; our energies have been focused on the welfare of our guests and our employees.

Other than the obvious impact we're seeing in terms of cancellations and low occupancy levels, we think it will be a while before we see the return of large scale events such as weddings, conferences and incentive trips as the country rebuilds itself -- both from an emotional and physical perspective.

We need our neighbors and everyone to understand and believe that Japan is safe and things are well under control once the Fukushima issue is put to bed.

We remain cautiously optimistic however -- the appeal of Japan as a travel destination is not likely to waver. In fact the support for the nation is overwhelming. I believe the tourism sector has the right platform to instill consumer confidence and we should work together as a community in the recovery-building phase following this truly unfortunate situation.

From our perspective as hoteliers -- our main role in hospitality is to provide shelter and service, and despite all the challenges brought on by the quake, this hasn't changed. It's been absolutely humbling to see the manner with which the people of Japan have reacted to this crisis. The discipline and national pride I've witnessed will stand Japan well in the road to recovery.

If you've got friends for family in Japan, or are trying to decide when or if you should travel there yourself, be sure to read my current BBC.com post "The State of Travel in Japan."

Travelers Diet

Let’s face it. You’re on a plane, traveling around for business. Airports, hotels, fast food… none of these scream you can eat healthy. Of course in some hotels you can find some menu items tthat include something healthy that won’t add too much to the waistline. Even airports are trying, but how long have those sandwiches been sitting there in their vacuum packed wrappings. And fast food is, well, fast food.

I know none of this is not the same as home cooked but here are some snacks that can have your taste buds enjoying themselves and you not having to let your belt out another notch:

Popchips Barbeque Potato Chips

PER SERVING (19 chips): 120 calories, 4g fat, 250mg sodium, 20g carbs, 1g fiber, 2g sugars, 1g protein

What Are They? These chips are innovative -- they're popped (not fried), so they taste great without all the oil. Clever!!!

Why We Love 'Em… Although there's no shortage of BBQ-flavored chips out there (even guilt-free ones), these are on a whole different level. Just the right amount of tanginess and crunch. Delicious!

Baked Classics Vanilla Frosting Multigrain Crisps

PER SERVING (one 1-oz. bag): 120 calories, 4g fat, 60mg sodium, 19g carbs, 2g fiber, 4g sugars, 2g protein

What Are They? The newest flavor from Baked Classics, these crisps are layered in a light coating of vanilla-frosting flavor.

Why We Love 'Em… They didn't look like much when we opened the package, but when we took our first bite, WOWEE! These really do taste like yummy vanilla frosting! Need we say more?

Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips

PER SERVING (1 oz., about 18 chips): 110 - 123 calories, 2 - 3g fat, 26 - 250mg sodium, 19 - 23g carbs, 2g fiber, 0 - 1g sugars, 2 - 3g protein

What Are They? These are our go-to guilt-free tortilla chips. Why? Because they're just so crispy and come in eight impressive varieties.

Why We Love 'Em… Flavor, flavor, and more flavor! The Chipotle chips are fantastic (a bit hot and sweet). The Mucho Nacho ones are awesomely cheesy. And we also enjoy the Yellow Corn (both salted and unsalted) and Spicy Black

Special K Sour Cream & Onion Cracker Chips

PER SERVING (27 chips): 110 calories, 2.5g fat, 230mg sodium, 22g carbs, 3g fiber, 1g sugars, 2g protein

What Are They? Don't let the name fool ya. These are just Popchips copycats. Not sure where the cracker part comes in, but they still taste great.

Why We Love 'Em… Sometimes sour cream & onion chips can be a bit overpowering in flavor, but these have just the right amount of zip. And 27 chips per serving is insane (in a perfectly wonderful way)!

Now next time your travelling and you rent one of those movies in your room, pop the top on one of these snacks and ENJOY!

Transition and a New Beginning

Hello and greetings from The Best Hotel in Pasadena. My name is Stephen Blaine and I am the new Director of Sales, here at the Courtyard by Marriott, Old Town Pasadena. I have now been here just about a month, which is just about enough time to start "swimming" on my own. I wanted to take a moment to pay homage to my excellent "swimming" coach and past Director of Sales, Mr. Mike Owen. After seven years here in Pasadena, Mike is moving on to bigger things and is now the General Manager of our brand new Courtyard in Santa Ana. It's being built right this very moment and is due to open in just a few short months. If you have have any business for Santa Ana, Mike would love to hear from you.. OK Mike, there is your 30 second commercial that I promised with the agreement that it is not business moving from this hotel to your new hotel....OK?.

Back to Pasadena.... Mike has really set me up for success here and for that I am forever thankful. Mike actually started this blog and now it is my turn to take the reigns. Reading past blogs from Mike both Basketball and Dog's seem to be the theme to which these two subjects I am not nearly as proficient as in, expertise (basketball) nor in, numbers (he has 5 dogs). I do enjoy both. I watched the final four yesterday and while I did not have a favorite, I almost always route for the underdog... go Butler! What matters most to me is that it is a great competitive game where the two teams slug it out until the very end.

Dogs are cool as well. We have two little dogs...Zsa Zsa, a Maltese, who is nine years old and our brand new puppy, Max (see picture above). Max is half Maltese, half Shih Tzu. The word Shih Tzu means "lion" and he is...all four pounds of him. Don't get me wrong, I love big dogs as well but anything that requires a large shovel to clean up after, is just not appealing to me. I am also under no illusion that these two offer any kind of protection what so ever...in an emergency, they will be the first to run away. The two dogs are still getting used to each other and are not quite sure if they like each other or not, competing for attention much like brother and sister. I hung out with these two alone all weekend and they did nothing but follow me around, everywhere like a shadow. I sit, they sit, I go to the kitchen they go to the kitchen, I take a shower.... you get it... This is the reason while dogs are great.... no other creature offers this kind of unqualified love.

This which strangely leads me to a quote I heard just yesterday from one of those financial gurus who was counseling someone about to lose their home. She has certainly made herself wealthy giving advice to others and actually once in a while stumbles upon the truth... she said " People come first, money and then things". This quote rings especially true to me. People do make the difference.

I have been in the hotel business my entire adult life. This is the ninth hotel in my career which has taken me from DC to Miami to Maui to San Francisco and to Los Angeles. My first hotel job was at a small hotel located in the Port of Miami. Every walk of life came through those doors from every nation in the world. No two days were ever the same and most days no two hours were ever the same. This is a place where a client just in from the Bahamas would bring me a cooler full of fresh Conch or lobster as a tip for making their last stay a great one. Truely amazing people and that is why I have been hooked on this business ever since.

At the end of the day, I am much more interested in hearing your stories than telling mine. So as we move forward in this relationship please share all you can about yourselves and about your passions and your lives. I am truly interested and most appreciative of the time you have graced me with today.