Commission

Hotels Believe Customers Appreciate Resort Fees? Really?

June 11, 2019By Edward Pizzarello17 Comments

A top voice in the hotel industry thinks hotel guests appreciate resort fees. I have yet to meet a hotel guest that agrees with that sentiment. What’s your opinion?

How Marriott’s Partnership With TripAdvisor May Deliver Them Higher Ratings (And Profit)

June 24, 2015By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

The Marriott partnership with TripAdvisor is an interesting one. Marriott is the only major top-tier chain to negotiate a direct booking deal with TripAdvisor (Best Western has one as well). What does this mean for the accuracy of TripAdvisor’s rankings? How about the future of companies like Expedia and Orbitz?

SPECIAL GUEST: Hear Nomadic Matt Talk About His Experience Testing Positive For COVID-19

Nomadic Matt is our special guest on the podcast this week, talking about testing positive for COVID-19, his symptoms and recent travel that lead up to the diagnosis.

Airbnb Taking a Beating During Coronavirus Pandemic

The travel industry is getting hammered by the coronavirus crisis. Business and leisure travel have both declined considerably. And, due to the lack of clarity when things will improve, future bookings are being impacted at an alarming rate. United is flying nearly empty planes, even after grounding a large part of their fleet. They’re not alone, with literally dozens of airlines grounding their entire fleet. The damage isn’t limited to airlines. Marriott has already furloughed 2/3 of their corporate staff. And, Airbnb is nowhere near immune, taking a healthy beating […]

Travel Will Speed Up The Recovery For Our Family (And Maybe Yours, Too)

We won’t be the first family to step back on a plane. But, it won’t be long after it’s safe to travel. It’ll be just the medicine we need. I can’t wait.

Big Move: Hilton Extending Elite Status And Adds Flexibility To All Reservations

Hilton is the first of the big hotel chains to make a move, and in a big way. They’ve announced changes to their elite status program and reservation flexibility that are very positive for customers. Is it enough for them to steal business from their competitors? We’re months away from having that answer.

United Airlines Is Flying 84% Of Their Seats Empty Today

United Airlines has a load factor of only 16% today with 40,000 passengers booked worldwide. This is according to a source at United with knowledge of the daily operations. There are tons of airlines who have grounded significant portions of their fleet due to the current crisis surrounding coronavirus. Some friends of mine are tracking cancelations around the world and you can view their work here. United currently appears to have 68% of their fleet of 786 airplanes grounded right now, spurred by lack of demand due to COVID-19. United […]

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]

Edward Pizzarello - April 1, 2020:
Christian, I was focusing more on the business equation here, and my [...]

Christian - April 1, 2020:
I feel bad for the employees. As to the company, well... you're [...]

Call vs. Email For IHG Certificate Extension, How To Get Food Delivery Credits, Hilton Did Something GREAT, & More! - Your Mileage May Vary - March 29, 2020:
[…] travel reservations. Pizza in Motion had a post about how Marriott [...]

Edward Pizzarello - March 28, 2020:
Well, in the case of someone who already qualified in 2019, it's [...]

Patrick K. - March 28, 2020:
Right, but it’s still only the 1-year extension, previously offered, not 15 [...]