eTravel Project

Jonathan Tisch - Conference Chair

I recently attended the prestigious NYU Hospitality Conference, where I was invited to speak at the alumni panel “Buildings for the next generation” and discuss needs and wants of gen X & Y.

At the conference, I was somewhat surprised with the optimism shown by most hoteliers. While economists and finance people see a full recovery in 2011, they affirm that we are already seeing some good signs of recovery and banks are starting lending again.

Another point that struck me – perhaps because I deal with the luxury travel market – was that most upscale CEOs have decried rate reductions. Nowadays, most properties are discounting like crazy, cutting personnel and increasing staff productivity by cross-training their employees. Corporate clients are in a position to negotiate rates and ask for more perks. However, lowering rates does not always work to boost demand and drives revenues down.

An interesting article about this can be fount at BTNonline.com.

[youtube width="325" height="244"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKIqGYRuvbk[/youtube]

The Swiss Tourism Board posted a video announcing that it was seeking volunteers to join the Association of Mountain Cleaners. The video claimed, “The Association of Mountain Cleaners… makes sure that our holiday guests can always enjoy perfect mountains. Using brooms, brushes, water and muscle power, they clean the rocks of any bird droppings.”

At the end of the video, visitors to myswitzerland.com were invited to take a mountain cleaner aptitude test and submit their name for a chance to win a week’s holiday in Switzerland.

They got tons of media coverage around the world. No kidding. Simply smart!

Condé Nast Traveler, at its tenth annual Readers’ Travel Awards, let the readers decide who is this year best in travel in its category.  The results are derived from the largest independent poll of consumers’ preferences, the Readers’ Choice Survey, second in size only to the U.S. Census. A record number of travelers, over 28,000, voted this year.

This year, many perennial favorites hold on to their top spots: Singapore Airlines is again the #1 International Route Airline, San Francisco, the #1 U.S. City. There is some big news this year: for only the second time in Reader’s Choice history, there’s a perfect 100 score. The honor goes to the La Scalinatella Hotel on Capri. Check the entire list of winners by category.