And The Winner Is.....

First of all, if you think I know who won the GBTA elections from last week, you are wrong!  Second, if you think I paid attention to the Emmy's, you are wrong there too.  I was busy tearing out a bathroom vanity that night which made my husband come home and say, "WTH?"    

I am talking about who is going to win in this era of airlines throwing down the gauntlet on customer service.  Delta, owning that space for a long time now, has basically said to United and American....BRING IT!  They are so confident that both of these carriers will not catch, much less surpass them in the area of customer service that they put their money where their mouth is.  If United AND American both surpass Delta's numbers, they will make a payout to corporate customers who are performing.

Back to the title about the winner....the Customer, for once, should be the winner here!  United and American aspiring to be the better versions of themselves will help the customer.  If they improve their customer satisfaction, on time arrival, bag handling, yadda yadda yadda, the customer wins.

For someone who wants all suppliers to understand the importance of the customer, this is like the Superbowl and America's Cup Racing tied in a bow.  I will be watching this space closely to see how it plays out.  I think as American and United make gains, Delta will keep pushing the envelope.  Again, customer wins!

Congrats to Delta for pounding their chest on this and for setting the bar high.  As a traveler and corporate customer, I applaud you and ask you to keep going! 

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, The Polls Are Now Open!

Starting this morning, all GBTA members will have the opportunity to cast their ballot.  On the ballot, there are three contested races.  They are, noted in alphabetical order:

1 – Vice President of GBTA – Jeremy Gardner and Mark Ziegler

2 – Allied members will vote for one of three candidates for GBTA Board Member – Billy Boss, Kelly Christner and Dick Nabors

3 – To pass or not to pass the bylaw amendments.  – Yes or No

There is also two uncontested races.  They are:

1 – President GBTA – Christle Johnson

2 – Direct Member at Large – Cindy Shumate, Bhart Sarin and Karin Thompson

You have 10 days to cast your vote.  10 days to let your voice be heard.  10 days to help shape the direction of GBTA.  Each of the elected officials will speak with your voice within the Board Room.  Like I tell everyone about any election, if you don’t vote, don’t complain!  If you complain long enough, you just might run…like I did! 

If you are GBTA member and you did not receive your voting information, please call Election Services Corporation at 1-866-720-4357 between 9a-5p eastern.  You can also send an email to GBTAhelp@electionservicescorp.com.  

With one year left of my term, I keep going and looking forward to welcoming the new members of the board to be with me! If you did not receive you ballot, please contact

PS - Not that anyone has asked, and probably no one cares, but in the contested races, I will be voting for Mark Ziegler and yes on the by-laws.  (Note, I cannot vote in the allied election, so best of luck to all three.) 

Watching Lufthansa

On the heels of Lufthansa's implementation of a 16 Euro fee to all tickets issued on LH Family ticket stock, this weekend, their pilots announce a strike on long haul flights.  Then, today, in their ongoing quest to be the world's top airline, they cancel numerous short to medium haul flights this week.  Over 100 flights cancelled in just a few days. 

In a survey recently posted, already over 50% of travel buyers in the US are looking to change how they are doing business with the Lufthansa family...then, this!? 

I get it that Germany has different rules around employment, unions and bankruptcy.  What I don't get is how pilots think they can impact people's ability to do business time and time again and still people will chose them!?! 

Someone tell me how this 16 Euro fee is going to make up for all these cancelled flights! Someone tell me how 100+ cancelled flights make the airline reliable, profitable and the airline of choice of people in the region!  Someone tell me how this timing (many Europeans coming back from holiday) could have been worse! 

I have friends who work there and I know they are shaking their heads over this.  They are coming back from a vacation to this...crap!  What will it take to fix their financial issues?  With many already saying they are selling away from them, I, like the rest of the industry will watch how this will impact them moving forward, or not.  Should I say, their ability to keep going, or not....

Cold Call Email Etiquette

 Last week I received an email that said, “Hello Mr. Turner.”  I had to look to ensure it was meant for me and yes, it was!  It was sent to my email address and not in BCC fashion.  

In this world of automated cold calls and auto email distribution lists, I get that this happens, but the impact can be treacherous for the person sending the note and the company that they represent. I get it that most of the time, these are being sent by an automated tool, but what happened to being diligent and testing these tools?

I didn't reply to this email because it wasn't addressed to me.  I also looked at the company website and made a mental note about it for the future when we are looking for suppliers in that field so I can make sure they are not involved. 

So, when you are out cold calling, make sure your tools and products are doing what you ask them to do, create a positive experience for the recipient that it leaves them wanting to know more about you and your company, as opposed to getting put on a list of another sort.  

Keep going folks, its worth it! 

Name and Shame Game

In the aftermath of the Ashley Madison data breach, I am left wondering what’s next. 

First, Target, a household name is hacked and at the expense of millions of people’s bank accounts and information.  Then, places like Home Depot, Michaels, Neiman Marcus, and PF Chang’s follow in their ill fated fortune.  Again, at risk, banking information, possibly some personal information like address, contact info, etc.  In those instances, people were after cold hard cash and the ability to access more and more of it.  Then, there is the recent Sabre breach that hits pretty close to home for us in Travel. 

The Ashley Madison breach has me shaking my head.  Look, I am not stepping up for the people who were using Ashley Madison to step out, but what were the hackers after?  Money?  I don’t think so.  Extortion?  Possibly if it was the right person.   Name and shame?  That’s my guess!  Knowing that people are simply out to bring others down in this era of data breach bedlam (kind of a pun) is scary.  Maybe they were looking for the names of politicians, celebrities, etc. and I am sure they found them, plenty of them!  They also found plenty of people who never thought their names would be out in public.

Back to my question, what’s next?  Will pharmacies be hacked to share the names of people with illnesses?  Will education systems be under attack for the information on students in specialized programs?  Will Netflix be hacked so people can see I am hooked on binge watching Scandal and Grace & Frankie? 

Then, when they get this info, what will do with it?  What does sharing the Ashley Madison list do for the hacker?  While I don’t think thievery is good, it’s a motive that most people can understand.  I don’t get it! 

I am going to keep going through all of this and hope that those impacted by any breach do the same! 

Back to School Advice

Few pointers for those going back to school or college soon:

1 – No one will remember what you wore the first day of school and more importantly, no one cares.  You think that’s a big deal, but honestly, it’s not so get over it!

2 – It’s not just the end of summer break for you, its also that for your teachers, instructors and school staff.  They would probably love another month of vacation, but they are there for you, so you be there for them.  Show respect, stop whining about having to be there and suck it up! 

3 – School is not meant to be JUST your social network.  You are expected to learn and be an active participant in your education and in the classroom.  Use your voice in classroom instead of after class in acts of bullying or gossip! 

4 – Speaking of bullying, when you see it, STOP it.  If you don’t think you can stop it, at the very least, report it!  If you are a victim, speak up.  If you don’t feel strong enough to report it, ask someone to help you.  If you are a bully, know you are being watched.   Everyone in school sees through you and in the years to come, you will regret your decisions and your actions.  It’s not too late to be a better person. 

5 – If someone looks like an outsider, they probably feel like one.  Make at least one attempt to include them.  Sometimes people sit on the outside because they choose to, other times, its simply because they were never asked to come in.  Just ask!

6 – One of the most respected and sadly, underpaid careers is being a teacher.  Years from now, you will look back and think about something a teacher said, did or demonstrated that made a profound impact on your life.  Don’t take the chance of missing that because you were not paying attention! 

7 – Everyday you leave for school or when you leave the house for college, your parents are praying that you return home safely, are using school to prepare yourself for the world that is waiting and are proud of you! 

Who Says Bricks and Mortar Can't Make Money?

If I had an extra few million dollars lying around, I would invest in brick and mortar all day....and build hotels!  This is a fabulous time for the folks in that industry. 

Hotels are running at peak capacity day in and day out.  When they aren't sold out, they actually don't really mind because it’s a break from the daily grind of being everything to everyone.  They are turning away business during the week and on the weekends, enjoying the robust growth in leisure travel.  They are selling rooms at prices they never dreamed of and selling out, day after day. 

It's a great time for the hotel industry and while they are flexing their muscle here a little, I would remind hotel owners of a few things:
1 - Enjoy your profits but invest in your product!  These hotel rooms that are being used, day in and day out, need to be kept up.  Your lobbies need to be places that are safe, clean and welcoming. 
2 - Reliability is key!  People come to expect service when they are, I don't know, PAYING for it.  Make sure everything from your staff to your Wi-Fi provider is reliable.  When room rates increase, so do expectations.  Make sure you are ready to meet them.
3 - Know your competition and their product!  The person down the street is looking to fill their hotel just like you, what are they doing to bring people in the door?  What are they providing that you aren't?
4 - Don't lose for the sake of winning!  Don't ignore that long time corporate partner because you can sell your rooms at a better price on the street.  The tables will turn and when they do, being on the outside looking in is not a great place to be. 

Lastly!
5 - Consider your distribution model.  I challenge corporate hotels to sell corporate rooms on the GDS and internal sites only.  Those other rooms, put them out on the .com sites, OTA's and brokers. 

These are high times for the hotels and I am glad to see them being profitable.  I know that many corporate buyers are trying to find ways to deal with massive rate increases in some markets.  To those buyer I say, keep going, you got this!