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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
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November 21, 2003

Hotels Say 'No' To Taxes — Here's a story with a happy ending: Three small New Jersey hotels have decided that they won't pass a 3 percent occupancy tax along to their guests. A newspaper editorial praised the decision, noting that "the savvy traveler who shops around for the best deal may be quick to pass on motels with an additional markup and head for the large national chain hotels that can afford to absorb the additional tax." But I suspect this isn't being done for competitive reasons, at least not entirely. Nickeling and diming travelers is just plain wrong — whether the hotel does it or the government does it. And saying 'no' to that makes perfect sense.

November 20, 2003

Cheapest Day to Fly? — People always ask me, "Chris, if I have to fly during the holidays, which days should I choose in order to save the most money?" So I asked Priceline to run a few numbers. The result? Worst days: Leaving Nov. 26, returning Nov. 30. (Average retail price for that ticket was $391.) Best days: Leaving Nov. 25, returning Nov. 29 (You would save an average $106 per ticket). Here's something even more interesting: Despite all the media hype about airline ticket prices rising, it seems the very opposite is happening. From October to early November, the price of the average Thanksgiving-travel ticket dropped by about $10. Meaning the bargains are actually getting better.

November 19, 2003

Grist For the Rumor Mill — When will Barry Diller buy another travel company? Is Richard Branson going to make a bid on US Airways? Is American Express looking to acquire yet another big travel agency? In the aftermath of the Orlando dot-com travel conference, the rumor mill is churning 'em out at a maddening pace. I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but one thing can be said for certain: The inevitable consolidation will mean fewer choices for you, higher prices and higher profits for the travel suppliers. And that's not necessarily good news for anyone — except maybe the shareholders of these enhanced travel companies. > Stupid Decision of the Month: The St. Petersburg Times reports US Airways has banned a passenger and stripped him of his miles for criticizing the carrier in public. A company rep tried to defend the action today on a forum frequented by US Airways insiders, but only ended up making the dying carrier look worse.

November 18, 2003

Please Spend More — The buzz at the PhoCusWright online travel conference, which just wrapped up today in Orlando, is that there's big money to be made selling business travel online. Actually, that was the buzz last year, too, but who's counting? Dot-com agencies and suppliers believe in the existence of a traveler who is willing to spend thousands of dollars on an unrestricted airline ticket, stay at a full-service hotel and drive a big rental car. I remember the last time two big Web sites pursued this mythical unmanaged business traveler — the pathetic horse race between Biztravel.com (which I helped start) and Trip.com (which I was a columnist for). How successful were they? So successful that neither exist any longer. Note to the online travel industry: Good luck. These business travelers have turned into mercenary travelers who will do anything for the lowest price.

Note: This Web log represents my personal views at the time of their writing. My views are subject to change without notice. Further, I can't vouch for the accuracy or integrity of links to source information.

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