It's Almost Here!!

Last year on stage at GBTA, I introduced my fellow industry partners to a documentary on aviation.  I am happy to say, the documentary is ready for the big-screen and it's available this week! 

The global premier of Living in the Age of Airplanes will happen tomorrow night at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.  After that, starting on Friday, the film will be available in select cities throughout the country.  I invite you to review the link and find a theater near you.  Take the family, share it with your friends and make a night out of it.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed.  If your city is NOT on the list, there is a link for you to try to get it to your town.

http://www.airplanesmovie.com/

While waiting excitedly, I, like the industry I love, keep going!  

The Ever Shrinking Airplane Seat

I overheard a conversation the other day of three people talking about the ever shrinking airline seat.  We all know they continue to get smaller in width in order to make more room on the plane for more seats.  We also know that people have been shown willing to buy more legroom at times.  Let's look at the stats.

The Journal of American Medicine states that 34% of people in the US are not just overweight, but obese.  Additionally, I found a statistic that says the average waist for men in the US has increased almost four inches in the last five years.  So, as the midsection increases, the seats gets smaller.  Riddle me that...

On the other hand, statistics produced by the CDC shows that from the 1960's to early 2000, the average height for men increased just over one inch and for women just over one-half inch.  So, with height increases of about an inch over 40 years, the airlines believe leg-room is the most marketable opportunity.  (Trust me, I LOVE the leg room, but I am not average or normal by any means!) 

The airlines talk about being customer centric, but continue to cram people into smaller seats and have to put up with their fellow passengers spilling over into their space.  With the new aircraft coming into the marketplace, I hope that someone at one of the airlines is looking to make better use of the space for the customer and not just their bottom line. 

Would people be willing to pay slightly more for more width, like they do legroom?  Right now, the airlines answer is "buy a second seat" if the problem is that bad.  We don't force the guy who is 6'11" to buy the seat in front of him.  If he wants extra leg-room, he can buy it for under $100 in most cases.  Another seat, well, that's an expensive endeavor. 

I encourage folks at the airlines to look at the stats and if they are really concerned about making the customer feel welcomed and appreciated, put some thought behind what could be 1/3 of the people on your planes.  Until then, don't look for customer satisfaction rates to improve at the same rate of increase as the US waistline...and keep going! 

The Human Race

I didn't blog last week because I was disappointed in the human race.  Note, we were coming off of the horrendous actions by the fraternity in Oklahoma and a bullying effort around an overweight person dancing and someone making fun of them on Facebook.  

Anytime people publicly go after another person (be it their race, reputation, gender, sexuality, you name it) they are bringing down their fellow human being.  Now, don't get me wrong, lively competition is great and I support it anytime, anywhere.  But maliciousness, name calling, back handed commentary is not competition!  It's done in a effort to hurt someone or their reputation and it accomplishes nothing! 

So, for those who want to partake in those types of activities, think before you act.  I always tell my kids, if what you say and do cannot be put on Facebook/Instagam for everyone to see, then it shouldn't be said or done!

Today, I will look for a four-leaf clover in hopes that my St. Paddy's wish comes true, and that is, that we all act with respect and honesty in our actions and in our words and as always, keep going! 

Would You Work For Free?

In their infinite wisdom, our government has decided to give a one week reprieve for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding.  Let those words sink in, one week and Department of Homeland Security...

When I see what is going on around the world with Isis, terrorist plots and drug cartels, I wonder what in the hell (sorry, I mean heck) are they thinking?!  Now is the time to focus on homeland security.  Now is the time to spend money to ensure our borders and entry locations are safe and secure.  Now is the time to make sure that the people who protect those lines know we have their backs.  Instead, they go to work wondering if they will be asked to protect our country without a paycheck!

Most who are reading this are in an office and working for corporate America.  What if you were asked to work for a day, a week, a month without pay?  Would you do it?  Would you be looking for other options?  Would you worry about making ends meet?

In my humble opinion, there is foolish money being spent all over in our government.  Why can't we stop that spending and leave the DHS to do their job; protect the homeland and protect the citizens in the homeland. 

151 and 9!

Just a few numbers to think about:

303 Days until Christmas

273 Days until Black Friday

151 Days until GBTA convention 2015

9 Open seats up for change on  the GBTA Board of Directors

That’s right, in 151 days, GBTA will be electing a new President, Vice President, 3 seats on the Direct Member side, 1 seat on the Allied side, 1 seat from the Chapter Presidents Council and the ALC leadership is up for grabs after a new President is elected so that is 2 more seats. 

This is HUGE for the organization.  If you are thinking about running, know of people who are thinking about running or think there are people who should be running, now is the time put those thoughts to action.  My 1.5 years on the board have been both eye opening and learning.  We are losing some tremendous leaders off the board and I would encourage people to think about this opportunity and join me on the board.  If you have questions or simply want to chat about the opportunity, by all means, please reach out to me.  I am happy to share my insight!  As I am getting ready to head into a board meeting, I keep going! 

Book From My Past

When I started with Rosenbluth International in 1994, I met Hal Rosenbluth and then, throughout my 10+ years with the company, I was able to interact with him on a number of occasions.  He left the industry in good hands with many people to Live the Spirit and keep the industry moving forward, but he also left us with a book that I still reference today.

"The Customer Comes Second" is a book about how Hal ran his company.  He knew that taking care of his employees, meant they would take care of his customers.  I remember at a Live the Spirit in Philly, Hal said, "I am the CEO of sleep."  He went on to say that the decisions he makes for his company will impact how his employees sleep at night.  Will they worry about their jobs, their families, their commitments and their communities?  His job, as he saw it, was to make sure people were able to rest well knowing that someone had their back.

I am a firm believer in the customer coming second mentality.  Whether I am on a plane, in a hotel or at the local grocery store, I can tell who loves or hates their jobs.  People who love their jobs are confident in their company, the leadership and their product and they want me, the customer to be happy.  People who hate their jobs are unhappy about something and therefore, I, as a consumer, feel it! 

While the book isn't Pulitzer Prize winning book, its worth a read for anyone who is trying to meet customer needs.  Trust, I am not giving up my Hal Rosenbluth autographed copy but I encourage you to find a copy, read it and enjoy it. 

As I continue to Live the Spirit, I also keep going. 

Love is in the Air

This week, many are planning a romantic night out with their soul mate, looking for the perfect card and the gift that says, "I love you!"  Augh...I am NOT a fan of Valentine's Day, never have been!  The love I am talking about is the love of travel managers with their data! 

Sad spin?  Probably, but its true!  When travel people gather in a room, many of the conversations are around data, how they are using it, how they are pulling it, where are they getting it, what are they doing with it, what are the KPI's they are measuring, etc. 

Here are some data points that I believe are sometimes overlooked and valuable when looking at a travel program.  (Note, these are not in order of importance!)  Also, they do not take the place of things like ADR, ATP, top destination, etc.  They should be looked to augment the travel data you are already receiving. 

1 - Supplier survey data.  In that detail, our travelers are telling them exactly what they feel about them and their products.  I don't have time to ask each traveler how they feel about airline ABC or hotel XYZ.  They are doing that and that is valuable to me and understanding traveler satisfaction is important to our decision process.  

2 - Buying patterns.  This one is can be vast and broad!  It can range from advance purchase to how/where they are buying.  They could vary based on regional variations to seasonal changes.  This is where the rubber meets the road and you can get understand what is happening and why. 

3 - Compliance information.  Some take compliance data with a grain of salt and some take compliance data with a whip!  However you use it, it needs to be consistent and supported.  If you simply gather the data to have and not use, that's fine because at least you understand what is going on.  If you use to show how some groups can improve behavior or compliance, that's fine too.  As long as you know what you are dealing with, you are ahead of the game. 

4 - Understanding of internal data metrics.  In this I would include things like regional headcount, roles of highest traveling population and what drives travel needs.  You have to know what your internal customer needs so you can meet those. 

So, whether you love or hate Valentine's Day, know that data is here to stay and maybe by looking at things through a different reporting lens, you might learn something about your program that you never understood or knew.  While trying to help my daughter create the perfect Valentines box, I keep going!