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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

April 21, 2004

Hotel Chain Restricts Online Booking
InterContinental Hotels Group on Tuesday provided the latest example of how hotel companies are aggressively seizing control of online booking practices. The 3,500-hotel chain said it would adopt new standards for selling inventory via third-party travel sites such as Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz. The new standards, which were approved last week by franchisees, go into effect May 20. Among the concerns about third-party online travel sites cited by Intercontinental are unclear marketing practices that confuse consumers by infringing on trademarks and inaccurately presenting room inventory; antiquated booking procedures, such as fax and E-mail confirmations, that often result in lost reservations; pricing inconsistencies that leave consumers unsure where they'll find the best room rates; and an inability to make real-time changes to the inventory available on third-party sites. Intercontinental says it no longer will do business with third-party sites that aren't making changes to solve these problems. InformationWeek | Posted 7 a.m.
-- BTN: Standards are among industry's 'most stringent'

• Pay attention, because the balance of power on the Web is shifting away from third-party agency sites and back to the suppliers (at least when it comes to hotels). That means if you really want to get a deal on a room, you might have to check the hotel's site first. Send us your comments.

Ex-US Airways CEO May Take Millions
US Airways Group Inc.'s former president and chief executive, who stepped down this week because of friction with unions over cost cutting, will collect a multimillion-dollar severance package. The airline has not disclosed the exact amount of David Siegel's severance, but its annual proxy statement indicates he is entitled to receive a $4.5-million payment and possibly more, within five days. The severance is available even if Siegel left voluntarily, as long as he cited good cause. Siegel stepped aside Monday, saying he felt obliged to do so in order that the company could implement cost cuts necessary to avoid a second trip into bankruptcy. Many of those cuts would have required employees to submit to another round of substantial pay cuts, and union leaders' relationship with Siegel had deteriorated. AP | Posted 7:10 a.m.
-- Observer: New CEO follows old plan

Travel Writers Face Cuba Trip Fines
A retired couple from Strafford is facing $55,000 in fines for trips to Cuba they made while writing a travel book for bicyclists. Wally and Barbara Smith traveled to Cuba four times - once for a vacation, and the next three to do research for Bicycling Cuba, a book that came out in November 2002. In doing so, they violated U.S. sanctions that prohibit most US citizens from spending money in Cuba, a country that has no diplomatic relations with the United States. Now the Smiths could pay a $55,000 fine, although they plan to contest that at hearings in Washington. To the Smiths, it's a matter of principal. They're opposed to the sanctions. "We think it's morally wrong to try to essentially wreck the economy of a country that has not done anything against our interests, of substance, for 40 years, and poses absolutely no threat to us," said Wally Smith. AP | Posted 7:25 a.m.
<-- Bloomberg: Bush steps up pressure on Cuba travelers

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• And finally ... my comments yesterday about the USAirways Today provoked a number of responses. First, a clarification: I'm told the travel editor is, in fact, still at USA Today, though he's been moved to another job. Second - to those of you who suggested I was being too kind - may I point out that the "Nation's Newspaper" doesn't need another critic. It has its own problems, as evidence by the sudden resignation of its top editor yesterday. As for US Airways, things can only get better. Posted 7:30 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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