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

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October 6, 2004

Storms Dampen Florida Tourism
The four hurricanes that struck Florida during the past two months may have a long-term dampening effect on Americans’ plans to visit the Sunshine State, according to a new survey issued today by Orlando-based travel marketing, advertising and public relations firm of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell (YPB&R). The hurricane impact study was conducted three days after the departure of hurricane Jeanne from the state revealed that five percent of travelers who had plans to visit the state prior to the arrival of the hurricanes actually cancelled a trip as a result. An additional four percent postponed a trip. But fully twenty percent stated they were less likely to visit Florida between now and the end of 2004. Hospitality Net | Posted 6:35 a.m.
• Port Canaveral Ailing After Storms (Sentinel)
• Hurricanes Cut Into RCCLs Profits (AP)

For visitors to Florida, this can only translate into one thing: more deals. Stay tuned for details.

Days Inn Settles Price Gouging Suit
The state Florida Attorney General's Office on Tuesday said it had reached a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged a West Palm Beach hotel gouged its customers by hiking its room rates for consumers seeking shelter from a hurricane. Under the settlement agreement, Janus Hotels and Resorts Inc., doing business as Days Inn Airport at 2300 45th St., agreed to pay $70,000, including $10,000 for restitution to 49 consumers. The remainder will cover costs of the investigation. Any excess balance of funds will be paid into the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. The hotel also agreed, without admitting to any wrongdoing, to refrain from future violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the price gouging statute. Sun Sentinel | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Did You Get The Lowest Fare?
When Tina and Kriscy Vo bought Northwest Airlines tickets to Los Angeles to visit their parents, they had no clue of the wide range of prices on the same flight. They assumed everyone — except for first-class passengers — was paying the same price. But their flight last Friday had at least 25 different published fares, and that doesn’t include special Internet sale prices available at various times. “We just booked the tickets,” said Kriscy Vo, 31, of Warren, a manicurist. “I guess we don’t know if we got the best price.” Detroit News | Posted 6:50 a.m.

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Travel Safety 'Experts' - It's always a good idea to keep an eye on - and an eye out for - the competition. So the other day I ran a search on Google for "travel safety expert." The search returned 69 listings, nine of which pointed to columns I've written or articles where I've been cited. Not a bad percentage I suppose, except that the search also returned 24 listings for Kevin Coffey, my one serious competitor in the corporate travel safety biz. What's more Coffey captured the top listing as well. (Rats!) This exercise was both instructive and motivational, but the most interesting part was in the listings that were returned from other "travel safety experts." Featured story from Travelcomment | Posted 7 a.m.

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Congress Extends Passenger Protection - With carriers accounting for nearly half the U.S. airline industry's passenger capacity facing bankruptcy or possible failure, Congress is moving to extend a law that makes healthier airlines pick up the slack should travelers become stuck with worthless tickets. An amendment slipped into the Senate intelligence bill would push forward for another year a provision in the 2001 airline bailout law that requires stronger carriers, within reason, to accommodate passengers whose travel plans are disrupted. Reuters | Posted 7 a.m.

Striking San Francisco Hotel Workers Locked Out - A group of 14 San Francisco hotels that are engaged in a bitter labor dispute said Tuesday that a lockout of union workers will continue next week, beyond the scheduled end of a two-week strike against four of the hotels. The hotels and the union representing 4,000 striking and locked-out workers on Tuesday both called for a return to negotiations. But they did so separately and without an agreed-upon time or location. Chronicle | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Gatwick Baggage Handlers Strike Today - Hundreds of baggage handlers at Gatwick airport will stage another strike today in a dispute over workloads and the suspension of a union official, with further walkouts being planned. Members of the Transport and General Workers Union will stop work for 12 hours from 8am, forcing managers and other staff to deal with passengers’ luggage. The union claimed that Servisair had spent £500,000 on contingency plans during two previous strikes last month. Scotsman | Posted 7:10 a.m.

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