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Wednesday Travel Ticker: Ski Dazzle to open
Ski Dazzle, the ski and snowboard expo, opens Thursday for four days at the L.A. Convention Center. Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for children 6-12. For info, click here …. Solvang is hosting holiday wine tastings, pageants and more throughout December. For details, click here …. Half Moon Bay, 40 miles south of San Francisco, is also holding holiday festivities that include gingerbread bakeoffs, tree lightings and boat decorating. For details, click here …. Snow has closed Yosemite’s Glacier Point Road for the season, the National Park Service reports. All roads within the park are subject to chain control or temporary closures due to hazardous driving conditions. For Yosemite road and weather conditions all season long, call (209) 372-0200 …. Football great Don Shula’s empire of 34 restaurants expands with the first Shula Burger, at the Postcard Inn Beach Resort Marina at Holiday Isle in the Florida Keys …. San Francisco’s four Hyatt hotels are offering a special holiday package through Dec. 31 in support of the San Francisco Symphony’s 100th anniversary. For details, click here …. Expect woof sailing aboard a dog lovers cruise to Alaska Sept. 8-15 from Cruises Cruises Cruises Inc. The trip departs from Seattle …. Travelers Insurance recommends that those leaving home during the holidays be sure to alert a neighbor that they’ll be gone. Also, do not broadcast your departure on Facebook and other social media, the insurer advises …. North Lake Tahoe’s Kings Beach lights its Christmas tree Friday at 5 p.m. Festivities include photos with Santa, cookie swap, craft stations for kids and hot cocoa …. The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito holds “Home for the Holidays,” a free open house, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For details, click here, or call (415) 289-7325 …. Travel quote of the day: “Those who know me well will understand that idleness is not in my nature, and so it is my intention to accept one of the offers that have come my way over the years. I have decided to join the Emerald Creek Group, an investment firm.” (American Airlines Chairman Gerard Arpey in departure note to employees)
Top Five Winter Travel Destinations of 2011 (PHOTOS)
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Tourists who visit Italy during winter don’t have to get into museums, palaces, and top archeological sites through long queues.
Culturally, Italy has one of the best environments during winters with opera, symphony and midnight mass at the famed Basilica in full swing. Plus the opening of La Scala, a world renowned opera house in Milan, adds to traveler’s experience.
2. Spain
Spain ought to be a winter destination for it’s the only place in Europe that offers sunshine during the winter months.
Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands and Morocco make for ideal getaways in Spain if you are looking for warmer days in winter.
3. Dominican Republic
The off-season travel to Dominican Republic will start from mid-December until early March before the spring break peak season arrives.
An optimal weather, low prices, winter baseball and of course, whale watching call for a visit to Dominican Republic during this time of the year.
4. San Diego
With fewer tourists flocking to San Diego during winter, the city’s famous tourist attractions, including San Diego Zoo, offer better discounts for families.
5. New York City
December, January and February are the best months for any visitor to New York City since the city is covered with snow during these months.
There are cultural advantages too. “Many hotels see a dip in visitors this time of year, so they offer deals worth wearing a heavy coat for. This is also a great time of the year to take advantage of discounted Broadway tickets for shows that often sell-out during the summer,” Travel-Ticker’s tour operators says.
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Airlines Cut Back, Hotels Step In
Your Own Concierge
A few years ago, the Peninsula Beverly Hills hired Jimmy Bardolf as the hotel’s director of transportation and resident “airport concierge.” Mr. Bardolf, along with his staff of five, meets guests at Los Angeles International Airport, gets them access to airline lounges and helps solve all manner of problems, including securing better seats on planes if available. At the airport Mr. Bardolf can be seen carrying around a 30-pound briefcase filled with everything from baby wipes to Krazy Glue for broken nails.
“Instead of guests having a poor experience here and making up for it when they get to the hotel,” Mr. Bardolf said from one of several cellphones he carries while at the airport to connect with hotel staff members and guests, “we try to be a concierge at the airport and make their lives a bit easier whether they’re coming off an hour flight or a 14-hour flight.”
While there is no charge for arriving guests, departing guests pay $100 per family for speeding up the security process and getting access to airport lounges. That’s at least $100 less than American Airlines charges per couple for a similar V.I.P. option called Five Star Service.
Other hotels are teaming up with airports to offer similar services. Several Jamaican resorts, including Round Hill Hotel Villas and Island Outpost Hotel Villas, have a relationship with Club Mobay, a V.I.P. service at Montego Bay airport that speeds departing guests through security and immigration and into a 10,000-square-foot lounge with Wi-Fi, showers, bar, mini-spa and a kids’ corner, for $30 a person — about $5 less than you pay at the airport as of Dec. 15.
And guests of the new Four Seasons Marrakech who use the hotel’s pickup service for 600 dirhams ($74) are whisked to a V.I.P. lounge to have their passports checked instead of waiting in line at customs.
Luggage Solutions
Overburdened with luggage? Leave your bags at home. Last year, Westin Hotels Resorts began lending guests New Balance sneakers and workout apparel to help reduce bulk in carry-on bags. Shoes come with new socks; sports shirts, pants and bras are washed between workouts, and shoe soles replaced.
Fairmont Hotels Resorts offers a free similar program with Adidas gear for elite members of its loyalty program or $10 per stay for other members. Other hotels like the Four Seasons Chicago and the Ritz-Carlton Chicago (also a Four Seasons hotel) eliminate the need for luggage completely by storing clothes for repeat clientele, at no charge beyond laundering. Guests arrive to a closet full of clothes that have been laundered and pressed.
For a $315 fee, the Trump SoHo in New York goes a step further, curating guests’ garments with the help of the luxury valet company Garde Robe, which stores and catalogs clothes by size, color and season, and will pull together outfits for specific occasions.
Hotels are also helping travelers dodge overweight luggage fees. Last year, the Hampton Inn Suites Wesley Chapel, just north of Tampa, Fla., installed a luggage weight scale in the lobby after overhearing one too many guests vent about getting hit with overweight or excess luggage charges.
“We ordered a luggage scale right then,” said Janet Arnold, general manager of the hotel, which also keeps a variety of postal boxes for guests to ship items home if it will help them keep costs down. “It gets used about five times a week on average.”
Food for the Plane
From the Four Seasons Seattle to the Jefferson in Washington, D.C., many hotels now offer meals to go. Roughly 60 percent of departing guests at One Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico, order from the Air to Go menu, which includes sandwiches like slow-roasted pork on pita bread or grilled chicken breast with fruit and a cookie, for 280 pesos (about $20). The Four Seasons Seattle introduced a Flight Bites menu last year, with meals like pasta salad with grilled eggplant and tomatoes, cured meats, pickles and cookies served in compostable containers, for $30.
The Montage Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, has $18 boxes packed with local fare like sandwiches made from Creminelli salami and Gold Creek aged Cheddar, homemade granola bars and honey pops made by the resort’s resident beekeeper. And Hilton’s Hampton Inn chain offers free On the Run Breakfast Bags packed with water, fruit, a muffin and a cereal bar each morning.
A Place to Relax
A growing number of international hotels are adding their own airport lounges for guests who want to freshen up after a long flight or relax before takeoff. Last year, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai opened an airport lounge at Kona International Airport with a wet bar, Wi-Fi, charging stations for electronics and refreshments. In February, three of Hilton’s Maldives Resorts — the Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi Resort Spa, Waldorf Astoria Maldives and Conrad Maldives Rangali Island — opened lounges (one for Hilton guests and one for Conrad and Waldorf guests) at the seaplane terminal of Male International Airport offering showers, Wi-Fi, a children’s play room, shoulder massages and a resident chef who serves up smoked salmon pizza, Thai fish cakes and other dishes. The lounges, which stay open until 11 p.m., are free to guests upon arrival. Departing guests pay $80 per adult and $40 per child.
Hotels at airports are also stepping up. For example, Sheraton Hotels Resorts offers half-day rates at its airport properties for travelers with long layovers or delays who want to spend the time in the privacy of a hotel room.
Brimming with ideas and solutions
Now in its 10th edition, the International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes, France, will showcase the industry’s diversity while examining the latest trends in luxury travel AS the 10th International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes, France, opens its doors to the future of luxury travel from December 5 to 8, TTN speaks to Simon Mayle, ILTM marketing manager. What can exhibitors and hosted buyers look forward to at ILTM 2011? We are delighted to be celebrating 10 successful years of ILTM as the leading ‘private’ event in luxury travel bringing together the world’s leading purveyors of luxury travel with a collection of unique travel suppliers to allow relationships to develop. We continually seek the newest and most exciting additions to luxury travel experiences as well as providing the global platform for the most classic and recognised in luxury travel. This year, we will reveal insights and trends into the future of luxury travel and address the needs of the new generation of luxury travellers at the ILTM Ultratravel Forum, with a high-profile panel comprising Ellen Bettridge, vice president of US Retail Travel Network, American Express; Justin Wateridge, UK managing director, Abercrombie Kent; Frank van der Post, managing director Brands and Customer Experience, British Airways, Jennifer Fox, president, Fairmont Hotel Resorts and the Honorable Sir Rocco Forte, chairman, Rocco Forte Hotels. Finally, we are delighted to welcome Isadore Sharp, the founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, as ILTM’s guest of honour this year. What’s new at ILTM 2011? ILTM will reveal the hottest new gastronomic delights, chic boutique hotels, most private island getaways, relaxing spa and wellness retreats and authentic experiences – many of these new and independent discoveries could well be the ‘next big thing’. Following its successful launch at ILTM Asia earlier this year, ILTM will introduce a dedicated education programme in Cannes to help both luxury buyers and suppliers understand clients’ needs and deliver the highest standards of service. The programme takes place on December 5 at 3 pm at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès and comprises tailored seminars led by luxury travel experts. These sessions will offer insights into the Asian market; the Latin-American market; how best to engage with the cruise market; understanding the role of an luxury inbound tour operator, CSR and a focus on the very topical boom in gastronomy across luxury travel worldwide. In our recent Global Trends Report, we identified that luxury travellers today focus on authenticity and experiential travel, including off-the-beaten-track destinations, environmental commitment and culinary experiences and adventure. We will respond to the demand to see more new and exciting authentic products and highlight some of these ‘hidden gems’ taking part in ILTM to our hosted media who attend the event from across the world. Can we expect to see new exhibitors and products? More than 1,200 suppliers will cover the complete range of luxury travel at ILTM 2011, 51 from the Middle East, compared to the 40 that attended ILTM 2010. The show is recognised as the leading event for the luxury travel community. We have achieved this by continually seeking the newest and most exciting additions to luxury travel experiences including Riad Kneife Vintage and Design Shopping Services, which offers a tailored and unique approach to the largest vintage and design markets in France; Pikaia Lodge, which takes luxury eco-adventure travel in the Galapagos Islands to its next level; and Calvados Club takes visitors on a unique journey through the old world charm and chic retreats of Croatia. ILTM will also feature 1,200 hosted buyers, 63 of whom are from the Middle East, while each buyer will take part in 52 meetings. The Ultratravel Forum will discuss ‘The Needs of the New Generation of Luxury Travellers’? How would you define the new generation luxury traveller? This new generation seek the authentic, the new, the actual experience as opposed to the five-star magnificence traditionally associated with those with large amounts of money to spend. They are interested in getting ‘under the skin’ of the destination and looking for their luxury supplier to be engaged with and giving back to their local communities. Gastronomy is also important – spending time with a top sommelier, enjoying master-cookery classes, joining the chef when he goes to the market. Emerging new destinations is another trend. Luxury travellers like the feeling that they are explorers discovering a new destination. Myanmar, Cambodia, Bhutan, Asia and Latin America fulfil this remit as does Croatia and Iceland. What kind of products are these new generation luxury buyers looking for? Delivering the highest standards of service is paramount to elite travellers, but nowadays, so too is a dedicated and active environmental programme and a commitment to corporate social responsibility. ILTM 2011 will welcome travel suppliers who have developed products designed with its surroundings and local communities in mind. For example the 18-roomed Cicada Lodge in Australia which opens next year will enable guests to visit the oldest known indigenous rock art site in the world (only accessible by helicopter), still wholly owned by the indigenous Jawoyn people – the oldest living culture in the world. On the other side of the world, Pikaia Lodge is the next step in the evolution of luxury eco-adventure in the Galapagos Islands – a five-star eco-lodge, set to open in 2013 after almost 15 years planning to meet the highest of levels of environmental design and carbon neutral operation. The past four years has also seen its owners build a comprehensive social responsibility programme with the local community. ILTM is also profiling tours of the Antarctic, snow-polo and safaris – a truly eclectic range in luxury travel. What is the extent of luxury travel in the Middle East? The Middle East travel market is key for ILTM as it is still one of the fastest growing inbound markets as well as one of the fastest growing outbound markets. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has recently revealed that within the next 20 years, two million additional Arabs will travel abroad. Moreover the Middle East is a popular destination for many luxury travellers because of the fascinating cultural heritage and the high level of service. What is the future of luxury travel and what new trends can we expect to see in 2012? Our research is showing that the luxury travel market 2011 is healthier than 2010 and the signs are that 2012 will be the first year of real growth. Luxury travel remains all about delivering value, both in terms of personal value and value for money. Luxury travellers are very clear about their preferences. They have moved towards a quieter understated luxury and plan their trips with a focus on authenticity and experiential travel – enriching once-in-a-lifetime experiences. For operators and agents it is essentially about creating a package that is personal as well as authentic and memorable.
Many Coweta County tourist destinations show off the past – Newnan Times
Published Wednesday, November 30, 2011 in Local
Special
The Mary Ray School in Raymond south of Newnan was recently recognized as one of Georgia’s “Places in Peril” by the Georgia Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Natural Resources. The old McIntosh Trail also crossed beside the school, and a remnant of the old roadbed remains.
By Jeff Bishop
The Newnan Times-Herald
People are looking to visit and experience places that “authentically represent the past,” according to Janet Cochran, regional tourism representative for the state of Georgia.
Cultural tourism involves “traveling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present,” Cochran told a gathering of local University of West Georgia students recently.
“It includes historic, cultural, and natural resources,” she said.
Local examples might be the restored Coweta County Courthouse, local antebellum homes, the McIntosh Trail corridor, and the Mary Ray School in Raymond.
The three key elements are “experience,” “authentic,” and “stories,” she said.
“Those are the three elements that make heritage tourism stand out from other types of tourism,” Cochran said.
The proposed Newnan Community Theatre Company play concerning the John Wallace murder trial would be an example of an “authentic” bit of local history which can be “experienced” as a living “story” in the restored courthouse.
“How does Georgia tell its story?” Cochran asked.
The types of stories experienced through cultural tourism “cannot be exported, they cannot be moved,” she said.
People find out about Georgia’s stories through various means — whether that’s through word of mouth, through an online blog, by reading about them in magazines or books, or by seeing a travel show on television, she said.
“And what you need to remember is that when someone walks into your community after traveling, they might be tired, they might be looking for somewhere to eat. Are you going to send them to the next town up the road, or are you going to direct them somewhere local? Tell them a story to go along with it.”
She said it’s one thing to tell them to go to Sprayberry’s Barbecue. It’s quite another to give them good directions, mention that the eatery had its beginnings as Houston Sprayberry’s gas station in the 1920s, that Lewis Grizzard used to eat there, and that one of the South’s most notorious lynchings took place across the street.
Visitors tend to gravitate toward a Bed and Breakfast not just because it’s different from a hotel, but because “there’s a story connected to it,” she said.
“We work with travel writers all the time, and they are always looking for that unique story, for that hook — a story that’s connected to the people and culture of that place.”
Typically the number one reason people visit a place in Georgia is due to the place’s history and heritage, she said.
“We are putting heritage tourism out there, any way we can,” she said.
The sesquicentennial anniversary of the Civil War will offer a unique opportunity to share local stories, such as the use of an earlier Coweta Courthouse as a hospital, or the fighting that took place near the train depot on East Broad Street, or the Battle of Brown’s Mill south of Newnan.
“We’re even developing a specialty niche website for these Civil War stories,” www.gacivilwar.org, she said.
Tourism development doesn’t necessarily have to involve “bricks and mortar,” she said. There’s also what’s known as “asset-based development,” where existing buildings and battlefields are “tied together to tell a story.”
The McIntosh Reserve in Carroll County across the river from Chattahoochee Bend State Park has done a good job of this with its recent placement of signs throughout the park, she said.
“There are new interpretive markers there so you can go through the park with or without a guide,” said Cochran. “They give you a sense of place. They tell you why places in that park are special or important.”
Communities should also look at opportunities to host “special events and festivals” to draw visitors to the area, she said.
Cemetery tours are also proven to be popular, she said.
“Just going headstone to headstone can be one of the most fascinating tours you’ve ever walked,” she said.
Heritage tourism is a big part of the tourism industry as a whole, said Cochran.
“And tourism brings about jobs and new business opportunities,” she said. Tourism brought in $21 billion to the state’s economy in 2010, she said.
Whereas a lot of economic indicators are on the wane, tourism’s numbers keep going up, she said.
“Tourism has been a sustaining factor in this down economy,” she said. “People with expendable income do still travel. The numbers are up in the state of Georgia.”
That $21 billion translates into about 235,000 jobs in Georgia, she said.
“So if we had no tourism in Georgia, we would have 235,000 fewer jobs in Georgia,” she said.
“People who travel spend money,” she said. “They fill up their cars with gas. They buy medicine. They run through the drive-through.”
In Georgia, every $89,500 spent sustains one job, she said. The average tourist spends $102 a day (which represents $47 for “daytrippers” and $116 for overnighters.)
“If you travel more than 50 miles in a day, we consider you a tourist,” she said.
To sustain the tourism industry, it’s more important than ever to “preserve and protect our heritage and our culture,” she said.
But it’s not all about dollars and cents, Cochran said.
“We also want to create a quality of life for ourselves. We all want to live in a place that makes us feel good about who we are.”
Hotel breakfast: Can you stomach $15 oatmeal?
NEW YORK – Oatmeal’s supposed to help reduce your risk of heart disease – but not if you’re eating it at a high-end hotel in the USA’s most expensive hotel city.
In some high-end New York hotels, the price of a hot bowl of oats just might give you a heart attack.
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At the famed Algonquin Hotel in Times Square, for instance, a “bowl” cost $15 – and it’s the cheapest thing on the menu.
The $15 price, by the way, isn’t at all out of line with other high-end hotels. In fact, it just might be on the low end. Via Twitter, reader and Meeting Planner @MeetingRef told me that at the Grand Hyatt New York hotel last week, “room service had a bowl of cereal that was over $20. Oatmeal was similar. Thank goodness for club lounge!”
And apparently oatmeal comes at a premium outside the Big Apple. In March 2010, @MeetingRef told me she paid $16.27, including tax, for oatmeal at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Milwaukee.
If you’ve seen similarly priced or higher-priced oatmeal on hotel menus, I hope you’ll tell us about it in a comment.
Algonquin’s oatmeal: Good but pricey
When I had breakfast at the Algonquin earlier this month, I found a $15 oatmeal option that was made with cream. I asked for the straight-ahead kind so I could add my own low-fat milk. At $15, by the way, it happened to be cheapest hot meal choice on the menu (see photo).
The bowl I had (see photo) tasted good and arrived nicely presented.
The oatmeal was topped with a few apple slices (yes, those are apples slices), plus sides of raisins and brown sugar. My one complaint was that the $15 bowl wasn’t deep so the portion was more like a cup.
Personally, I normally can’t stomach paying a high price for oatmeal – something I make for myself pretty much every morning. I’d rather leave a hotel and find a local Starbucks, where I’ll pay about $4 though admittedly for lesser quality.
Some people even bring their own packets and prepare it when they can or in their guest room using the hot water from the in-room coffee maker.
Die-hard oatmeal fans: How much are you willing to pay for oats? Do you ever BYOO and make it in your room?
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