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Avenue Hotel Opens in Chicago
The Avenue, a contemporary, post-modern hotel, has opened just a half block east of Chicago´s Michigan Avenue.

It has 150 one-bedroom and junior suites and 200 guest rooms. It has Special Tech rooms with iMac, dedicated T-1 Internet connection and color printer for business travelers and kid-friendly rooms with games and child-oriented décor.

It has more than 18,000 square feet of meeting space. It also has Stay for the Cure packages; ten percent of proceeds go to the Chicago Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and an Eco Avenue program supporting environmental and conservation initiatives. (Source: Avenue press release).

Aloft Hotel to Open at Dulles Next Spring
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has broken ground on the aloft Dulles South, which will open near Dulles International Airport next spring. It will be in the heart of the technology corridor and close to corporate offices in aerospace, technology and telecommunications as well as Westfields business park.

Aloft hotel rooms have loft-like, nine-foot ceilings, over sized windows, wireless internet, one-stop connectivity solutions for multiple electronics including PDAs, cell phones, mp3 players and laptops. (Source: Starwood press release).

What You Paid to Travel in 2007

American Express has analyzed North America-based domestic and international air, hotel and car rental rates for 2007 and found that international rates saw increases across the board, while domestic fares and rates were stable.

• Average international fares increased a record 8 percent
• Since 2004, the average international airfare has increased by 21 percent
• Domestic fares stabilized-but that was after a 7 percent jump from 2005 to 2006
• The expansion of low fare carriers and passengers booking farther in advance helped domestic fares
• International hotel rates increased, domestic rates flattened
• Car rental rates increased 4.4 percent-firms re dealing with high operating costs

Companies can achieve savings in this kind of environment with a well-managed, dynamic travel program and by clearly communicating policy changes with travelers, according to Hervé Sedky, vice president and general manager for American Express Business Travel. (Source: American Express)

Airlines Up Change Fees, Institute Minimum Stay Requirement

In airlines ongoing quest for additional revenues in the face of $120-a-barrel oil, several network carriers have upped their change fees and re-instituted Saturday night stay and/or minimum stay requirements.

United Airlines increased its change fees by 50 percent to $150 and added a Saturday night stay requirement on routes in about 65 percent of its markets.

Continental upped its change fee to $150 for domestic and $250 for international flights. US Airways upped the cost of its change fees by $50, to $150 for domestic and $250 for international flights.In some instances, top customers, such as elite members of airline loyalty programs, are exempt from these fees.

In addition, United, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Continental have instituted minimum stay requirements on all or many of their routes.

Meanwhile, most network carriers and some low cost carriers, including Jet Blue and Air Tran have added fees for checking a second bag; fees range from$10 to $25. (Source: airline press releases).

Compensation Doubles for Involuntary Bumping
If you’re involuntarily bumped from your flight, you’ll get twice as much as you used to get. Effective this month, if you’re bumped you can receive up to $400 if you’re rescheduled to arrive within two hours of your original arrival time on domestic flights, four hours on international flights, and up to $800 if you’re not rerouted within that time frame.

The rule now covers aircraft seating 30 people or more; it previously covered flights with 60 seats and up. Reimbursement is determined by the price of the ticket, its refundability and the length of the delay. (Source: DOT press release).

DOT, FAA Announce Plans Designed to Ease Congestion
Even though airlines are reducing their domestic capacity, many by as much as five percent, aviation congestion remains a problem.

The Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration have
announced a new routing alternative that will provide an “escape route” into Canadian airspace so that aircraft can fly around summer thunderstorms and high winds. And, the FAA is opening a second westbound route for aircraft, which will provide a parallel route along a heavily traveled corridor, which should cut westbound delays out of New York.

The DOT has also proposed auctioning off a limited amount of slots-the number of flights airlines can operate in a single day-at LaGuardia. The Air Transport Association, an airline trade group, is opposing such market-based solutions, saying that the DOT doesn’t have the authority to institute auctions and congestion pricing and that they are inconsistent with international practices. (Source: DOT, ATA press releases.)

Fare Expert Finds Majority of Airline Attempts to Hike Fares Are ticking
When Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines announced their proposed merger, they said that stratospheric oil prices have fundamentally changed the economics of aviation.

Oil prices are fueling mergers and other alliance, bankruptcies (more than a half dozen this spring, with the latest being the premium transatlantic carrier Eos), capacity reductions and ongoing fare hikes.

Rick Seaney, CEO of the airfare monitoring site FareCompare.com, has been tracking airline fare increases and reports that the airlines have attempted 14 price hikes so far this year; nine have been successful.

Summer demand and soaring fuel prices are making airlines comfortable with these increases, meaning travelers need to lock in summer travel now. (Source: FareCompare.com)

Virgin Atlantic Adds Second Dulles-London Flight for Summer
Virgin Atlantic has begun a second daily flight between Washington Dulles International and London Heathrow. The flight will operate until October 26. (Source: Virgin Atlantic press release).

Border Crossings Get Tougher for U.S. Citizens

Americans who cross into Mexico and Canada by land on a regular basis are
encountering new rules requiring them to prove citizenship upon return or risk being denied entry into their homeland.

The change, effective January 31, requires production of a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, at the border—a departure from past practice in which an oral declaration would suffice, and a precursor to more stringent rules requiring a passport for transnational travel.

“For the safety of the American people, the United States cannot have an honor system at the border,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. “Requiring secure and reliable documentation at our borders will drastically reduce security vulnerabilities posed by permitting entry based on oral declarations alone.”

The rules, which apply to U.S. and Canadian citizens older than 18, are a departure from long-held practice, but the government said the security implications are huge. Between October and December 2007, it said, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers reported 1,517 cases of fraudulent claims of U.S. citizenship. Travelers who cannot produce a valid document may face delays, the border agency said.

A list of qualifying documents can be found at CBP’s Web site. U.S. travelers became eligible to begin applying for a new trusted traveler passport card on February 1 in anticipation of the narrower border-crossing document.

Homeland Security originally was scheduled to implement passport requirements this summer, but Congress postponed the rules by a year. The State Department said it would begin taking “pre-orders” February 1 for the new wallet-sized passport card, designed as a cheaper passport alternative for border-state residents and others making frequent land border crossings.

The fees will be $45 for adults and $35 for children. Passport fees were slated
to rise on February 1. Passport Details

Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton will implement a smoke-free policy at more than 300 properties in the U.S., the Caribbean and Canada.

Both brands expect to be completely smoke-free in the U.S. and Canada by Dec 31. The two Starwood brands have begun converting all smoking guest rooms to nonsmoking rooms in preparation for the new policy.

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Major Hotel Chains´ Internet services

Best Western
Free Internet is a standard in the United States. The brand is working on making it a standard in Europe.

Carlson Hotels
Began phasing in free Internet service as an in-room amenity at Radisson Hotels & Resorts in 2005 and into Latin America this year. Some lobbies offer free WiFi.

Hilton
Extended Stay, mid-price brands offer free Internet access. Individual upscale properties offer free access.

Hyatt
Upscale properties generally charge for Internet access. Midprice Hyatt Place offers free WiFi throughout hotels.

Intercontinental
Holiday Inn offers free Internet access. Extended stay brand Staybridge Suites made WiFi a free amenity in both the lobby and in rooms this year. Upscale properties generally charge for in-room service, although some offer free lobby Internet.

Marriott
Introduced free high-speed and WiFi to guest rooms three years ago at its midprice and extended stay brands and this summer announced that it is eliminating WiFi charges for guests in public areas. Upscale and luxury brands still charge for Internet Service.

Omni
Among the first upscale brands to make free WiFi a brand standard

Starwood
Four Points by Sheraton offers free wired and wireless Internet access. Many W Hotels offer free WiFi access, but in-room Internet connections usually carry a charge.

Wyndham
Free Internet access for mid-priced brands. Select upscale properties give Wyndham ByRequest members access.

Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines during fourth-quarter 2007 earnings calls said they have reinstated the Saturday-night stay requirements in select markets.

In fare analysis conducted for Business Travel News, Harrell Associates found the six legacy carriers placed Saturday-night stay restrictions on 4 percent of the 2,813 one way or roundtrip fares evaluated in late January in each carrier’s top 40 routes.

That is slightly up from the 3 percent of restrictions found for the same carriers in the same markets last September. However, the most recent data from Harrell shows that of 763 roundtrip fares evaluated, 13 percent carried Saturday-night stay restrictions.

Robert Mann, President of airline consulting firm R.W. Mann & Co., said the restrictions are “the sort of thing that will, without changing prices, fence business travelers into the higher fare categories—it will also tick them off, but that’s a separate issue.” Not all legacy carriers have joined the Saturday-night stay reintroduction. “We have not done that anywhere yet and frankly don’t see that happening across the industry,” US Airways CEO Doug Parker said in the carrier’s earnings call last month.

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AirTran’s reservations system will be capable of handling code share flights within a few months, opening up the possibility that the carrier could take on code-share partners for the first time, said AirTran CEO Robert Fornaro.

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American parent AMR Corp. next year plans to divest American Eagle, its regional subsidiary, with a spin-off to AMR shareholders, a sale to a third party or some other form of separation.American Eagle operates about 1,700 daily flights with about 300 aircraft and will generate about $2.3 billion in revenue this year.

AMR said the move would enable American to focus on its mainline business while allowing American Eagle to pursue growth opportunities.

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Continental signed up with JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV to bring seatback TV viewing to Continental´s domestic passengers on certain aircraft.In addition, the carrier will introduce Live TV’s in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity for e-mail and instant messaging. Continental expects to charge a $6 access fee in economy.

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In January, JetBlue Airways debuted refundable fares, allowing purchasers to change reservations, including passenger name, or receive a full refund for cancellations prior to departures.It said refundable fare pricing would depend on haul length, but would be $50 to $100 higher than its highest nonrefundable fare.

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Carriers to add Direct U.S. - China Flights

• American 2009 China-Beijing*
• Continental 2009 Newark-Shanghai*
• Delta 2008 Atlanta-Shanghai
• Northwest 2009 Detroit-Shanghai*
• United 2008 San Francisco-Guangzhou
• US Airways 2009 Philadelphia-Beijing*
• Air China 2009 Beijing-Washington & Shanghai-San Francisco
• China Eastern 2008 Shanghai-Los Angeles1
• China Southern 2008 Beijing-Newark, 2009 Beijing-Detroit
• Hainan Airlines 2008 Beijing-Seattle, 2009 Beijing-Chicago & Beijing-Newark
• Shanghai Airlines 2009 Shanghai-Seattle & Shanghai-Los Angeles

Although airfare analysts said the first half of 2007 brought little action in terms of fare increases, the latter half saw several widely adopted fare hikes in the domestic market—largely due to the surging cost of fuel to airlines.

By some estimates, airfares are expected to grow by up to 5 percent this year from 2007 levels, as legacy carriers continue to scale back domestic capacity and keep their airplanes exceedingly full.

However, anticipation of a potential economic slowdown has sparked demand concerns among domestic carriers.

Average Domestic One-Way Airfare, Mid-market

• 2006 - $452
• 2005 - $398
• 2004 - $296
• 2003 - $322

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American Express
will receive $2.25 billion from Visa to settle a conspiracy lawsuit this month, and the card vendor said it intends to use the first $1.13 billion payment of that settlement this quarter to invest in business-building initiatives, including its rewards program.

Specifically, American Express is considering enhancements to methods of estimating its liability for Membership Rewards including a new statistical approach to estimating redemption rates.

Other investments will include marketing, promotion and cardmember services, and American express will decide on whether to invest future settlement payments on a quarter-to-quarter basis, according to the company.

The lawsuit, pending since 2004, stems from American Express’ claims that Visa, Master Card and their member banks blocked American Express from having bank-issued cards in the United States.

All banks in the lawsuit also have been dropped as defendants as a result of the settlement, leaving MasterCard as the sole remaining defendant.

Following are policy changes to the US Airways frequent flyer program:

Tickets purchased on or after March 1, 2008 for travel on US Airways on/after May 1, 2008 will earn the actual number of miles flown and will no longer earn a minimum of 500 miles per segment.

Tickets flown on partner airlines after May 1, 2008 will earn the actual number of miles flown. Tickets purchased prior to March 1, 2008 will continue to earn the 500 mile minimum for travel after May 1, 2008. Accrual on flight segments greater than 500 miles in length are not impacted by this change. Members redeeming miles for award travel online within 14-days of departure will be assessed a quick ticketing fee of $50 per ticket.

A quick ticketing fee of $75 per award ticket will continue to apply for award tickets purchased from US Airways Reservations. Chairman’s and Platinum Preferred members booking within 14-days (both online and by phone) are exempt from the fee.

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Many business travelers are taking a ho-hum attitude about staying connected to the office while in flight.

According to a survey by Orbitz for Business, 44% of business travelers would alter their flight plans to have a wifi connection available while airborne, but only 8% would sacrifice convenience or pay more to get a flight with Internet access.A majority of business travelers polled, 56%, don’t see an airborne wifi connection for laptops, phones and PDAs as a necessity.

Thirty-six percent said they would look for a wifi connected flight but would not sacrifice schedule convenience and price to get one.

Several carriers plan to test wifi connections, even as the debate over the security of air-to-ground wireless communications continues.

The results of the Orbitz survey would indicate that public pressure to provide wireless service in the air may be lower than anticipated, at least among business travelers.

“Technological advances have made business travelers today more productive than ever before,” said Dean Sivley, chief operating officer at Orbitz for Business. “While there are those who use flight time to catch up on work, and wifi will enhance that ability, there are also many who view it as valuable downtime.”

The survey found 57% are opposed to cell phone use in flight. The debate around cell phone use continues to center on the privacy of other passengers and the annoyance level although security concerns also remain.

“If ever endorsed, many travelers feel it would be hard to rest with the person next to them talking on a cell phone,” Sivley said. Business travelers generally see themselves as respectful of others, according to the survey; 84% said they tried to be as quiet as possible when making a wireless call in a public place, and said that those who didn’t extend that courtesy were intrusive.

Some business travelers look forward to a flight as quiet time.

Twelve percent of respondents said they used travel time to relax from the cares of work and didn’t want to talk on the phone.

Hotels

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Opens in Downtown Boston
InterContinental Hotels Group is opening a 72-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites in downtown Boston. The hotel is expected to open this summer after a $2 million renovation to a historic 100-year-old building.

It is on Friend Street, directly across from the TD Banknorth Garden, and within walking distance to Boston’s famed historical attractions, including Fanueil Hall, Boston Commons, Beacon Hill and the Old North Church.
(Source: InterContinental press release)

Car

Hertz NeverLost Launches Online Trip Planning
The Hertz NeverLost in-car navigation system has added a new feature: Online Trip Planning. It means you can plan your trips online from your home or office by going to www.neverlost.com , then save it on a USB storage device and then insert it into the Hertz NeverLost system.

Online Trip Planning incorporates information from the Yellow Pages, establishments along highway corridors, city guides and other information.
(Source: Hertz press release)

Rail

Amtrak Institutes New Security Procedures
Amtrak is deploying its new specialized Amtrak Mobile Security Team to patrol stations and trains and randomly inspect passenger baggage. The Mobile Security Team supplements ongoing patrols already in place.

The Mobile Security Team’s squads may consist of armed specialized Amtrak police, explosives-detecting K-9 units and armed counter-terrorism special agents in tactical uniforms.

They will screen passengers, randomly inspect baggage and patrol stations. These squads also may sweep through trains using K-9 units.
(Source: Amtrak press release)

Spot Light

E-Commerce Customer Satisfaction
A University of Michigan report finds that customer satisfaction with the e-commerce industry has improved, with one exception: online travel. The American Customer Satisfaction Index found that, in aggregate, online travel was down 1.3 percent to 75. Expedia (78) and Travelocity (74) both dropped 1.3 percent. Orbitz registered the only gain (+1.4 to 75). The reasons, according to the study: Big online travel agencies are seeing stiff competition from supplier

• sites such as hotels and airlines as well as from online search engines like Kayak
  or Sidestep
• The pool of people booking online is not increasing. In fact, a Forrester Research report says that nine percent fewer people booked online in 2007 than it 2005. The industry is losing shoppers, although those who do shop online are spending more money.
• That means that, to get new customers, online players have to woo them from their competitors. Customer service is the way to do that, but online travel agencies also have to compete on the low prices that supplier sites and search engines promise consumers.

(Source: University of Michigan press release)

A free weekend day from Avis
is right around the corner.

We’re always in the neighborhood with great cars and valuable offers.

You can receive one FREE weekend day on your next three-day rental that includes a Saturday night! An advance reservation is required. Valid at participating Avis locations.

Coupon # TUTA034
Expiration Date: 12/31/08

Terms and Conditions: Coupon valid at participating Avis locations in the contiguous U.S. on an intermediate (group C) through a full-size four-door (group E) car. Dollars off applies to the time and mileage charges only on a minimum two-day weekend rental.

A Saturday night keep is required. Taxes, concession recovery fees, vehicle license recovery fee, customer facility charges ($10/contract in CA) may apply and are extra. Optional products such as LDW ($28.99/day or less, except in Louisiana $49.99/day) and refueling are extra. Coupon must be surrendered at time of rental; one coupon per rental.

May not be used in conjunction with any other coupon, promotion or offer. Weekend rental period begins Thursday, and car must be returned by Monday 11:59 p.m. or higher rate may apply. Offer subject to vehicle availability at the time of reservation and may not be available on some rates at some times.

For reservations made on avis.com, dollars off will be applied at time of rental. An advance reservation is required. Renter must meet Avis age, driver and credit requirements. Minimum age may vary by location. An additional daily surcharge may apply for renters under 25 years old. Rental must begin by 12/31/2008.

Rental Sales Agent Instructions At checkout

• In CPN, enter TUTA034
• In AWD, enter XXXXXXX
• Complete this information:
RA #: __________________________

Rental Location: __________________________

• Attach this coupon to tape

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