Committed occupancy is up 4.8% and average daily rates are up 4%. That´s according to TravelClick´s October 2011 North American Hospitality Review. TravelClick is a technology provider for hotels worldwide.

Cities showing the most growth in occupancy this year are: Detroit, Charlotte, Houston, Seattle and Philadelphia. Those with declining occupancies are: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, Dallas, Honolulu and Phoenix. Hotel demand for the first quarter of 2012 is up 15 percent. Markets showing strong first quarter growth are Indianapolis, Detroit and Chicago. (Source: TravelClick press release).

Rail Amtrak Adds Free WiFi to 12 More Trains
Amtrak has added free AmtrakConnect wifi service to 12 East Coast trains. Trains that carry nearly 60% of all Amtrak passengers now have free wifi. These routes include trains running between Virginia and Boston; New York, Albany and Buffalo and between New York, Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

Other routes that now have free wifi: New York-Charlotte; Boston-Portland; New York-Rutland, Vt.; the New Haven-Springfield shuttle and Washington-St. Albans, Vt. wifi is now also available on cars with hotspot window stickers on Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Palmetto and Pennsylvanian routes.

Wifi was already available on Acela Express trains and on Cascades service in the Pacific Northwest. (Source: Amtrak press release).

Business Travel Cost

Business travel costs will inch up next year because of the demand for face-to-face business contacts and a shrinking supply of airline seats, hotel rooms and other travel products, according to the annual American Express Global Business Travel Forecast. Travel is essential to business, but companies are being more cost conscious than ever.

• Airlines will continue to trim their fleets, so airfares will probably increase in the low to middle digits.
• Business class airfares will probably increase the most.
• Hotels should be able to hang on to the single digit gains they made this year for business travel rates.
• Mid to upper scale hotel rates will probably increase slightly in North America.
• There will be regional differences, as businesses seek to capitalize on business opportunities in emerging markets such as Latin America and Asia.

The travel industry is trying to regain pre-recession pricing and profitability in the face of economic anxiety, says Christa Degnan Manning, director of Expert Insights Research for American Express Global Business Travel. (Source: American Express press release).

The aviation industry recognizes that and is trying a variety of short term and long term changes that are designed to make airport security faster and more pleasant. One short-term initiative is the Transportation Security Administration´s PreCheck experiment at four U.S. airports.

Airline customers volunteer information about themselves in the hopes that it will speed their trip through security. Eligible travelers go through a lane with expedited screening. Passengers participating in the program are certain frequent flyers from American Airlines and Delta Air Lines’ frequent flyer programs as well as participants in the Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler programs.

The TSA is testing PreCheck at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Dallas/Fort Worth International and Miami International airports. (Source: TSA press release).

Airlines, Consumer Groups Lobby Against New Taxes
Airlines, pilot, flight attendant and other airline unions and consumer groups are fighting proposed tax increases on airlines and their passengers, saying the new taxes will cost jobs.

The first tax would add a $100 departure fee to all flights. The second would double the existing passenger security tax to $5 per one-way trip in 2012, and triple the taxes to $7.50 by 2017. It is currently $2.50 per flight segment per one-way trip, maxing out at $5.

The coalition says that nearly 120 members of the House of Representatives have told congressional leaders that the $100 departure tax would cost airlines $1 billion a year. The coalition has launched a website, www.stopairtaxnow.com. (Source: Air Transport Association press release).

Airline CFOs and Cargo Heads Glum About the Next Year
A monthly survey of airline CFOs and cargo heads, which has been a fairly accurate economic predictor, finds that their expectations for profitability for the next 12 months is down significantly.

It’s down more for cargo, in particular; airlines are seeing sharp drops in this area. However, even though confidence has fallen to levels seen in the first half of 2009, airlines say they are continuing to hire new employees. (Source: International Air Transport Association October Airline Business Confidence Survey).

Airlines Take in $1.5 Billion in Baggage Fees and Reservation Change Fees
Airlines collected $1.5 billion in baggage fees and change fees in the second quarter, according to the Department of Transportation. Airlines took in $887 million in baggage fees and $612 million from reservation change fees. Delta Air Lines topped the list, collecting $392,000 in fees, followed by American Airlines, $249,936 and United Airlines, $164,767. So far, the DOT tracks only baggage and change fees, but it has proposed requiring airlines to report a total of 16 different fees.

Separately, travel technology company Amadeus estimates that airline ancillary revenue will total $32.5 billion worldwide in 2011. It projects that ancillary revenues for major U.S. airlines will increase to $12.5 billion this year from $6.7 billion last year. That is 38 percent of the global total and represents seven airlines: Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian and U.S. Airways.

Amadeus partnered with Ideaworks, a consulting company, on the projections. Ideaworks believes the majority of ancillary revenue for US major airlines comes from selling frequent flier miles. Baggage fees account for 20%.

The rest comes from a la carte items such as selling food and beverages wifi, early boarding and other benefits.  US-based airlines have readily adapted to an a la carte world, but they also benefit from consumers who are keen to get frequent flier miles. (Source: DOT, Amadeus press releases).

Aeromexico

Travel Industry Opposes New Aviation Taxes
Both the aviation industry and travel and tourism industries are opposing the President Obama’s plan to impose $3.5 billion annually in new taxes on airlines and their passengers to help pay off the country’s budget deficit. A major bone of contention: an increase in the Aviation Passenger Security Fee.

The proposal would up it to $5 per flight. It had been $2.50 per flight segment, for a maximum of $5 per one-way trip. The fee would then increase by 50 cents each year through 2017, maxing out at $7.50. Fifteen billion dollars of the new taxes would go into the General Fund for debt reduction, with any money beyond that going toward the Transportation Security Administration´s (TSA) discretionary appropriations.

The Air Transport Association says fee increases will force airlines to raise fares or reduce service, which will mean fewer jobs. According to the ATA, federal taxes and fees in the United States account for $61, or 20%, of the cost of a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket.

The U.S. Travel Association, a travel industry advocacy group, also opposed the tax, saying that any increase in travel fees should be invested directly into the national travel system and infrastructure. The travel industry in general has taken the position that governments are responsible for national security costs, not specific industries. (Source: ATA and USTA press releases).

Airlines Lose Bid to Delay Implementation of New Consumer Protection Rules
Three low-cost carriers lost their legal challenge of new Department of Transportation consumer protection rules scheduled to go into effect Jan. 24.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia denied Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airines and Allegiant Airlines’ attempt to block a rule that would require them to include all taxes and fees in the fares they advertise instead of breaking them out separately. The airlines say that they differentiate themselves with low fares and want consumers to know how much of what they pay goes to taxes.

Airlines also asked the court to review a ban on raising airline prices after consumers buy their ticket. And they protested the new rule requiring airlines to let consumers cancel a flight without penalty within 24 hours of booking that flight.

Many airlines, already do this; including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines and US Airways. But Spirit says that consumers will abuse this and the result will be higher ticket prices. The court denied the airlines´ challenge, saying that they had not met stringent requirements for such as stay. (Source: court documents).

Airlines Lose Bid to Delay Implementation of New Consumer Protection RulesAirlines Lose Bid to Delay Implementation of New Consumer Protection Rules

One in five users of Gogo inflight internet service say that they’ve switched carriers because they´d rather be on flights with inflight internet service, according to a survey of 7,000 Gogo users. Inflight Wifi is particularly important to business travelers, according to Gogo, which provides inflight Wifi to eight airlines. Three airlines have Wifi on their entire domestic fleet: AirTran Airways, Delta Air Lines and Virgin America. Five more have it on select aircraft; they are: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways. (Source: Gogo press release).

Pace of Air Travel Growth Starts to Slow
As expected, passenger air travel growth began to slow in August, according to numbers just released by the International Air Traffic Association. Passenger demand was up 4.5%, less than the 6% July increase.

North American carriers reported the weakest performance with growth of just 2.9%, which was partly a result of equally slow growth in capacity. This is a sharp downturn from stronger growth earlier in the year, as reflected in the 5.6% year-to-date demand expansion. However, North American carriers had the highest load factor at 86.1%. (Source: IATA press release).

Bar at the Maritim Park Hotel

PKF is Bullish On Hotels Despite Economic Gloom
Hotel demand growth over the past two years has been surprisingly strong, according to PKF Hospitality Reseach, which is forecasting that room revenue for hotels will grow 7.2 percent this year, more optimisitc than forecasts earlier in the year.

The reason for this optimism, PKF says, is that 91 percent of the people in the workforce have jobs, the unemployment rate among educated workers, who make up the largest majority of the travelling public, is under 5 percent and corporate profits are soaring to new highs. All these factors are why the hotel inudstry has seen a growth in demand despite the weak economy.

Demand is growing faster than the supply of hotel rooms is growing. PKF says this means hoteliers can start to raise rates—average daily rates thus far have lagged other major indicators for hotels. (Source: PKF press release).

Rail

New Try to Expand High-Speed Rail
A new report says that high-speed rail can work in the U.S. but that it will take a fresh appraoch that focuses on public-private partnerships that supplement state and federal funding with private funding. It woud mean prioritizing high-speed rail in areas such as California, where work on a high-speed line is moving forward, and the northeast, where the Acela already competes well with airlines.

The recommendations are in a report by the Lincoln Institute, which has worked on high-speed rail internationally for decades. It points to the example set by Asian and European countries whose trains go 185 mph or faster.

It recommends putting high speed stations in city centers with lots of connections to buses, subways and commuter rail. (Source: Lincoln Institute press release).

Global corporate travel booking grew by more than 10.2% in August 2011 over August 2010, accroding to Pegasus Solutions, a global hotel reservation processing company. August improved over July, when the pace of growth flagged in the face of mounting financial market tensions.

Pegasus noted other trends showing that companies are trying shave travel costs but not eliminate travel.

• Length of stay is growing very slowly, increasing from 2.2 nights in August 2010 to 2.21 nights in August 2011.
• Booking lead times are increasing gradually, from 17.44 days out in 2010 to 17.79 in 2011.
• South America showed the greatest revenue growth—30.3% year over year.
• North American and Europe reported 13.6% and 15.2% revenue growth, as those markets grappled with the impact of Hurricane Irene and concerns about the debt crisis in Greece and other European countries.

Source: The Pegasus View report

1. Ensure that your OnePass and MileagePlus account information appear the same in each system
   • Names and Addresses must be an exact match
2. OnePass and MileagePlus Account Numbers
   • Eight digits for OnePass and 11 digits for MileagePlus
3. Be sure you know your OnePass PIN or password and your MileagePlus password

Steps 1: Link My Account

1. Select one of the two URLs: United or Continental
2. Select one of the two frequent flyer programs and enter your account number and then your password. Click continue.
3. You will be prompted to enter your other frequent flyer program information. Click continue.
4. You have successfully linked your accounts and can now transfer award miles anytime you´d like by going to United or Continental. You will be prompted to enter one set of login credentials. Please proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Combine My Activity

This step will combine EQM/EQS for each program and may help achieve elite status. This also ensures status matching for existing elite customers.

1. Select one of the two URLs: United or Continental
2. Once you select one of the URLs above, you will see important information about registering your account.
3. Select Register now. You will see a new screen that takes you to Register my Accounts. Select one of the frequent flyer programs; enter your account number and then your password.
4. Enter your other frequent flyer program information. Click continue.
5. You have now successfully requested your elite qualifying activity to be combined, and if applicable, your elite status matched.

Troubleshooting:
If you are unable to link your account or receive an error message, this may be a result of data not matching in both accounts. (i.e. The name or address on your MileagePlus and OnePass accounts do not match). If that is the case, you can update your address online at www.united.com or www.continental.com. To update your name, or if your accounts match but you are still seeing this message, please call MileagePlus Customer Service at 800-421-4655 or OnePass Customer Service at 800-554-5522.

Air fares in the first quarter of 2011 increased 2.3% from the first quarter of 2001, compared to an overall increase in consumer prices of 26.8%during that period. Passenger airlines collected 71.3% of their total revenue from passenger fares during 2010. (Source: Department of Transportation).

Airlines Expect to See Some Economic Recovery
Airlines expect to see some economic recovery in the next 12 months, according to the International Air Transport Association’s latest quarterly Airline Business Confidence Survey.

Fuel, of course, remains a problem, but it’s somewhat offset by strong traffic demand. And, airlines are also more optimistic about the broader economic outlook. Many airlines reported improved traffic volumes during the second quarter of 2011.

Traffic in general was up, with air travel in May up 4% from the beginning of the year. Finally, Jet fuel prices are lower than they were $130 per barrel instead of $140, but still nearly 50% higher than the average level the same quarter a year before. (Sources: IATA).

May Number Improve for Both Economy and Premium Travel
The number of passengers in both premium and economy grew in the second quarter, an encouraging sign after a disappointing first quarter, according to the International Air Travel Association.

It says that premium travel typically grows in line with developed countries international trade, which has been growing at three to four percent. On the other hand, business confidence is also a good indicator for air travel and confidence has declined in the past several months. This suggests that the May data may be exaggerating the underlying growth of premium travel.

The picture is a mixed one across geographic regions. On the North Atlantic, premium traffic is up 12.4%, reflecting strengthening trade. Europe and the Asia markets have also grown, 13.2%. But another key premium market, the Pacific, remains weak with a growth of less than four percent, in part because of events affecting Japan. (Source: IATA press release)

U.S. Air Travel Reports Spending Increases in June, But At a Slower Pace

The Air Transport Association said air travel spending was up 7% in June 2011 compared to June 2010. It was the 18th consecutive month of revenue growth for U.S. carriers, although the overall rate of growth is slowing.

Challenges lie ahead, especially with the jet fuel expected to average 40% higher than the 2010 average. The ATA said the U.S. domestic revenue grew nearly six percent. Transatlantic revenue grew 5.6 percent, transpacific revenue increased 5.5% and Latin American/Caribbean revenue grew 22 percent. (Source: ATA press release).

Airlines On Time Performance Up Over Previous Month But Down from Last Year
Major carriers´ on time performance was better in May than April but down from May 2010, according to the Department of Transportation. Tarmac delays of three hours or more jumped to 16 in May 2011, up from one in May 2010 and four in April 2011. But 14 were on the same day when bad weather hit Chicago´s O´Hare Airport. (Source: DOT press release).

St Regis luxury. Notice the TV in the mirror.

The growth in average daily rate remains sluggish. Among the top 25 markets, Detroit and Houston reported the largest occupancy increases for the quarter, 10.1 percent each. New York City reported the largest occupancy decrease, falling 1.1% to 85%, followed by Washington, D.C., with a 0.9-% decrease to 76.4%.

Two markets reported double-digit daily rates increases, San Francisco San Mateo, Calif. 13.6% and Oahu 11.3%. (Source: STR press release).

Occupancy Gains Continue to Outpace Room Rates Increases
PKF Hospitality Research is forecasting that demand for U.S. hotel rooms in 2011 will increase a solid 4.9%, while the average daily room rate paid by guests will rise a modest 2.4%.

The 4.9% rise in occupied rooms forecast for 2011 compares to the 7.6% increase in lodging demand for 2010 reported by Smith Travel Research (STR). Both growth rates are well above the STR long-term average annual demand growth rate of 1.5 percent. The increase in demand is surprising, given stagnant employment and continued weakness in housing markets, according to PKF-HR. (Source: PKF-HR press release).

Business Travel …
Smart and Liking it

Business travelers today are increasingly using technology to travel smarter and to adapt to life on the road, according to a new study by the Global Business Travel Foundation and Concur, which provides travel and expense management tools. Among some of the study´s major findings:

• Most say there´s no substitute for being there in person 78% and an equal number enjoy traveling for work
• Nearly half 46%, say staying in touch with family and friends and staying safe while traveling are the most important goals of their trip
• At least two-thirds travel with laptops, wireless broadband, portable GPS and smartphones
• Nearly half, 46% have to work with tight budgets
• The average trip lasts four days and costs $1,837
• Business travelers tend to be college educated 71%, 38 years old on average, and male 59%

The study identified five types of business travelers: the Veteran 33%, the Road Weary (25%), Wide-eyed and anxious 21%, Passionate High-Tech 14% and New Recruits 7%. (Source: GBTA press release)

Williamsburg-American Express

$FIRSTNAME$,

All of us here at Williamsburg wish you a very pleasant summer. It is a great time of year with the children out of school and many of our clients enjoying their mid summer family vacation.

After a very difficult first quarter with spikes in fuel costs, numerous cancellations due to bad weather, and a slow economy, things in the travel industry have improved significantly.

US Airline Traffic & Passenger Revenues Are Up
Once again, major U.S. airlines saw their passenger revenues increase, 14.4% in May, the 17th consecutive month they're seen an increase, according to the Air Traffic Association.

Because of North American airlines’ cautious capacity management, carriers continued to trim capacity in April and May and traffic was up over year.

Read More

Hotels Doing Better at Keeping Customers Happy
Starwood’s The Luxury Collection had the highest satisfaction score, and Ritz-Carlton was a close second.

InterContinental Hotels Group conducted a pilot test on mobile room key and is evaluating the results.

How it works: On the day you’re scheduled to arrive, the room number and the digital hotel room key is sent to your mobile phone.

Hotel room rates are rising as demand for business travel increases, according to the latest American Express Business Travel Monitor.

Read More

If you are planning fall meetings and corporate events, we are pleased to assist with items such as destination and hotel site selection, on-line registration, and group air travel programs.

The cruise industry, in particular, has great values for holding meetings at sea, with all meals, meeting space, and audio visual included in the cruise price.

It has been a record breaking year for us here at Williamsburg-American Express. We greatly appreciate your business, your partnership with us, and your friendship.

Terry W. Brennan
President
Williamsburg-American Express

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Hotels Doing Better at Keeping Customers Happy
Hotels are doing better at keeping you happy, according to the latest Market Metrix Hospitality Index covering the first quarter. Guest satisfaction across all segments is up a bit, 1.1 points, to a score of 84, with luxury and economy hotels showing the most improvement, up 2.5 to 88.5 and 1.6 to 80.5 respectively.

Starwood’s The Luxury Collection had the highest satisfaction score, 93, up 6.3 points. Ritz-Carlton was a close second, 92.9, up 2.6 points. Overall, guests said that they felt more comfortable, welcome and respected. (Source: Market Metrix press release).

Hotels Test Virtual Room Keys That Let You Bypass the Front Desk
If you’ve ever waited in a lengthy line while checking in for a big meeting or at a large hotel will love the idea of using your phone as a virtual key to your room, enabling you to bypass the front desk and the line and go straight to your room.

On the day you’re scheduled to arrive at the hotel, the room number and the digital hotel room key is sent securely to your mobile phone, according to VingCard Elsafe, which is working on this kind of technology.

InterContinental Hotels Group conducted a pilot test on what it calls “mobile room key” and is evaluating the results to see if the practice can be rolled out to other hotels. (Source IHG public relations department, VingCardElsafe press release).

Room Rates Rise Moderately
Hotel room rates are rising moderately as demand for business travel increases, according to the latest American Express Business Travel Monitor.

Average domestic hotel rates increased 3 percent to $150 in Q1 2011 over Q1 2010. Average international hotel rates increased 4 percent to $238 in Q1 2011 over Q1 2010. Cities showing the highest hotel rate increases in the first quarter of 2011 over 2010 were San Francisco, 16 percent; Seattle, 9 percent; Austin, 8 percent; Omaha, 8 percent and New York City, 8 percent. (Source: American Express press release).

Air Traveler Satisfaction

Airline passengers continue to say they’re discontented with the service they get, even as hotels, fast food joints and restaurants see customer satisfaction increase, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). One major culprit: baggage fees.

• Dissatisfaction with airlines dropped 1.5 % to an ACSI score of 65–a very low score
• Passengers cited poor service and fees for baggage and other services as major sources for their discontent
• Passengers who had to pay for checked baggage were the least satisfied–their ACSI score was 58
• Since more than half of airline passengers pay to check their bags, the negative impact of those fees is significant
• Southwest Airlines, which does not charge to check bags, actually saw its ACSI rating rise to 81, scoring the highest, as it has for the past 18 years

Source: ACSI press release.

Airline Traffic is Up Again
Air traffic was up 6.8 percent in May, according to the International Air Transport Association, although political unrest in the Middle East and the European currency crisis are having some impact.

North American carriers continued to trim capacity, by .4 % in April and .5 percent in May. North American traffic was up 4.5% and capacity was up 5.5% over last May. Because of North American airlines’ cautious capacity management, they had the highest load factors (81.8%) of all the regions.

European capacity was up 10.9% and its load factors were 77.7%. Asia Pacific growth was less than other regions, just 4.7%, because of the continuing impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. (Source: IATA).

US Airline Passenger Revenues Are Up for the 17th Month in a Row
Once again, major U.S. airlines saw their passenger revenues increase, 14.4% in May, the 17th consecutive month they're seen an increase, according to the Air Traffic Association. Much of that is due to an 11% increase in yields.

Trans-Atlantic revenue increased 13% from a year ago. Trans-Pacific revenue rose 12% as higher passenger yields offset a drop in the number of passengers following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Latin American/Caribbean revenue grew 26% as passenger yields rose 19%, the largest increase of any region.

The busy summer travel season and an improving economy could help airlines deal with high-energy costs. (Source: ATA press release).

Airline Transactions Dip, but Fares Increase
The number of airline transactions that is, tickets sold is decreasing slightly, but airfares are increasing, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp., which processes the vast majority of airline fares.

In May, transactions dipped .9% year over year and 1.66% year to date. But fares went up--4.49% year over year and 6.9% year to date, showing that airlines are for once managing to increase fares and improve their yields.

Meanwhile, the American Express Business Travel Monitor is reporting that domestic airfares for first quarter exceeded pre-recession levels for the first time, rising ten percent over the first quarter of last year.

Rising oil costs and an increase in business travel are two reasons for the increase. The average first quarter domestic airfare is now $247. International fares, however, remain lower than their first quarter average, but could surpass that later this year, according to the Business Travel Monitor. (Source: ARC, American Express press release).

Low-Cost Carriers Continue to Increase Their Market Share
Low cost carriers now operate more than one flight in five in the world, according to OAG FACTS (Frequency and Capacity Trend Statistics).

OAG said that global seat capacity in June was up 5% over last year and frequency was up 3%. But low-cost carrier’s capacity and frequency were up even more, to 9%. Europe has the highest percentage of LCCs, with 28.2% of all flights operated by LCCs. (Source: OAG press release)

Airlines Move Forward on Developing Bio Fuel
Airlines keep looking for alternatives to oil, whose price fluctuations plague the industry. Seven major U.S. carriers have signed letters of intent with Solena Fuels for a future supply of jet fuel that would be derived exclusively from biomass to be produced in California.

Solena’s GreenSky California biomass-to-liquids (BTL) facility will turn post-recycled urban and agricultural wastes into 16 million gallons of neat jet fuel per year by 2015. The airlines are all members of the Air Transport Association. (Source: ATA press release).