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

August 3, 2004

Hotel Rates, Profits Jump This Year
Marriott International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Hilton Hotels Corp. last month all announced second-quarter earnings that show significant jumps in revenue per available room year over year of 13 percent, 17.1 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. Average daily rate increased in the quarter as well—3.7 percent at Marriott, 7.5 percent at Starwood and 3.6 percent at Hilton. Marriott and Hilton also reported occupancy results, which were up nearly 6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. Given the dominance in the marketplace of Hilton, Marriott and Starwood, their quarterly results are indicative of the industry's performance overall. The positive results suggest that the rebound hotel companies first reported at the end of last year is sustainable. Business Travel News | Posted 6:30 a.m.
• Biz Travelers Feel Room Rate Pinch (MSNBC)
• Beware of Hotel Parking Fees (NY Times)

Room rates are rising, and it seems the ones who are going to really pay are the business traveler. Who, of course, will probably just end up passing the expense along the us, their customers.

That Latest Fare Hike? Never Mind
American Airlines has given up on its proposed fare increases after some carriers declined to match the hikes on all their seats. American is following United Airlines' lead in making a new round of price cuts on select routes. The latest failed fare hike began late last week when American, the largest U.S. carrier, announced it was raising prices on domestic flights by $5 one-way and $10 on round trips. American, a unit of AMR Corp., said it needed to raise fares because of the high price of jet fuel. Sun Times | Posted 6:35 a.m.

Travelocity Bounces Back
Travelocity, a formerly profitable - and dominant - online travel agency that lost its market position to Expedia, says it has again reached profitability after two years of losses. Analysts said that while a rejuvenated Travelocity might not quickly challenge Expedia for market supremacy, it is far better positioned now for long-term success than it has been at any time since its tumble during the dot-com bust that started in 2000. The New York Times | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Is Independence Air Losing Steam? - The ticket counter was jam-packed just a week ago. But now that Independence Air has its feet on the ground, the crowd is thinning out. Caroline Leslie of Virginia said, "Our plane wasn't full, but there were about 30 of the seats full." Those numbers are worrying company executives. Last week, execs told analysts the airline sold fewer seats than initially expected, despite heavy marketing. 9 News | Posted 7 a.m.

One Keystroke Screwed Up Reservations System - It apparently took just one errant keystroke to foul up computers at American Airlines and US Airways over the weekend, grounding hundreds of flights while highlighting the vulnerability the carriers face by sharing a single system. The so-called flight operations system is hosted by Electronic Data Systems Corp. of Plano, Texas, which said Monday that it was still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again. AP | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Thousands of Travelers Stranded at MIA - Thousands of passengers remained stranded at Miami International Airport today, as airlines canceled 77 arrivals and departures -- an apparent domino effect of the heavy rain that is sweeping the region, provoking anger and discomfort at the airport and triggering a full-day flood watch. Most of South Florida remained under a flood watch until 8 p.m. today, as more rain arrived, adding to the three to five inches that fell in parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties on Sunday. Miami Herald | Posted 7 a.m.

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• Off the Record... thanks a lot, Qantas. I was at the National Business Travel Association conference yesterday (here's a related story), taping a story for NPR, and was so impressed by its new sleeper seat that actually massages you while you sit in it (no, folks, I am not making this up) that I dropped my recording equipment in mid-interview. Needless to say, I now have a big repair bill and a story that may never air. But the seat ... all I can say is, wow. Posted 7:10 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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