My wife and I recently went away for a weekend and we stayed at the luxurious American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin – for which we got a room at a good rate.  Having my smart phone, I wanted to check out directions to Whistling Straits, their award-winning golf course.  Not to play the course, but just look at the scenery.  At my level of golf I can’t justify the $350 green fees for the privilege of playing one of America’s great golf courses.  Perhaps if I played better… Regardless, when I was about to use my phone for directions to the golf course, I thought to check to see if Wi-Fi was available in the hotel.  I was pleasantly surprised, not only was Wi-Fi available, it was available free of charge to all guests on the property!  This got me thinking what other hotels offer free Wi-Fi and which do not.

When I searched Comperemedia, I observed a few examples of hotels that advertised free Wi-Fi to consumers.  A print advertisement for the Best Western in Bloomington, Minnesota offered “complimentary Wi-Fi, iPhone, and iPod charger.”  An online ad for the Residence Inn answered “Free Wi-Fi” to the question of “What’s included with my stay?”  Holiday Inn, in a direct mail piece, showcased “100% free Wi-Fi in every room.”

When looking online for hotels that offer Wi-Fi access, I found two guides, which were located on TravelPost (http://www.travelpost.com/hotel-internet-access.aspx) and HotelChatter (http://www.hotelchatter.com/Hotel-Wifi-Report/2011).  The results of who charges for Wi-Fi – and who offers free Wi-Fi were surprising.  Less expensive hotels, such as Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Holiday Inn, Howard Johnson, and Super 8, all offered free high-speed internet access.  However, expensive hotels, such as Four Seasons, InterContinental, Ritz-Carlton, and W Hotels charged various fees for internet access for their guests.  Personally, as a consumer, I do not like or want to be charged to connect to the internet.  Why should I get nickeled and dimed for Wi-Fi that is offered for free by McDonalds and Starbucks?  What is next for these higher-end hotels?  Paying for the number of towels that you use?  The higher-end hotels can charge up to $600 a night, but then you have to pay an extra ten or twenty dollars just to connect to the web.  That just seems wrong to me.  I feel that Wi-Fi should be included free of charge in all hotels.

I find it interesting you can get free Wi-Fi at Holiday Inn, but the InterContinental will charge you costly fees for connecting to WiFi.  This is even stranger considering that the InterContinental Hotels Group owns both Holiday Inn and InterContinental.  My only guess to why hotels charge for Wi-Fi access is that the more expensive hotels tend to cater to business travelers and the hotel likely assumes that the business traveler can expense the Wi-Fi access back to their employers.  Regardless of the reasoning, I hope the remaining hotels that do not offer free Wi-Fi eventually get on the bandwagon of offering free and reliable internet access for all guests.  (And hopefully soon!)  But for now, at least some high end hotels, like the American Club, are doing the right thing by offering free Wi-Fi for its guests.

What makes a cruise ship stand out from the rest?

Is it size that matters most? If so, Royal Caribbean gets that title twice over for having the two largest ships on the water today, Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.

Is it the destination? There aren’t too many destinations that are off limits for today’s cruise ships. Every heard of Svalbard? Cruise Norway will take you to this frozen city above the Arctic Circle to meet the polar bears and reindeer.

But for some travelers, it’s all about the alcohol.

Typically, cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Carnival offer packaged deals that include all the food you can eat, but they usually leave out soft drinks and alcohol. This has caused some frustration with passengers who want to drink on their vacation but are turned off by the high costs on board the ship. Passengers are even prohibited from bringing any of their own alcohol on board. In a move to meet market demand, Royal Caribbean recently announced the arrival of new, one-price, all-you-can-drink packages.

Scheduled to rollout this month, Royal Caribbean International is offering tiered drink packages with varying costs and inclusions. The base package with the smallest price tag costs $29 per passenger per day, and will get you all beers and house wines by the glass plus a 25% discount on all other wines and liquors. The high end of the spectrum will run you $49 per day and includes all beers, wines (house and specialty up to $10 a glass), liquor, cocktails and a 25% discount on bottles of wine, glasses of wine over $10 and specialty liquors.

According to a recent article in USA Today, these new packages are only being offered on three Internationally-based Royal Caribbean vessels as a way to serve the many non-American passengers that have a higher demand for these types of all-inclusive deals. I think the idea is one that would appeal to many Americans as well, especially those who select cruise vacations precisely for the reason that it’s a way to get an entire vacation for one set price and not worry about making many transactions along the way.

I do, however, think these drink packages are a little on the pricey side. If you plan to have at least 4-5 drinks a day then maybe it’s worth it, but I also think it will only encourage excessive drinking in order for passengers to feel like they are getting their money’s worth. And what about the $49 plan? I guess if you are partial to the good stuff and want to splurge at every meal it could be a bargain.

Royal Caribbean isn’t the only cruise line acknowledging the demand for alcohol. Crystal Cruises, which caters to more high-end, upscale passengers, recently announced that it will also be all-inclusive by early next year. Unlike Royal Caribbean, Crystal Cruises isn’t charging for specific packages though. Instead, it will be offering complimentary fine wines and premium spirits at no extra charge on its two ships. Crystal Cruises is also promising the option for pre-paid gratuities, saving passengers from nearly all financial transactions during their vacation.

These new cruising amenities sound like great improvements to any cruise experience, but I would definitely need to ask myself if it’s worth the additional cost. Will this give new meaning to the term booze cruise?

I recently read an interesting article on CNN.com—“Hotels connecting dots to online reviewers” by Christopher Elliott.

It talked about how more and more hotels are trying to connect anonymous online reviews to past guests, with some hotels even rewarding past guests for positive reviews and contacting guests who wrote negative reviews. The article mentioned how some hotels were rewarding those who wrote positive reviews with things such as gift baskets or discounts, while negative reviews could “generate an e-mail inviting the guest back for a free stay or offering frequent-stayer points as on apology.”

However, some hotels are going over the edge by sending emails to encourage past customers to “reconsider” a negative review, or put a note in their files to alert staff to difficult or disgruntled customers.

Although the story didn’t shock me, I still shake my head at what some managers will do to give the “perception” that the services and accommodations provided are superior to the rest. Why not start with focusing on providing a better experience in your hotel? I say instead of bullying people after a bad experience, focus on making sure they are happy during their stay.

Has anyone ever been contacted by a hotel because of a review (positive or negative)? Tell us about your experience.

I received an email recently from Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor loyalty program informing me that Royal Caribbean has teamed up with DreamWorks to create a “once-upon-a-time” cruising experience for families.

Image how the kids (and kids at heart) will feel about a sail away party with Shrek, or a photo op with Kung Fu Panda while on vacation. Being termed The DreamWorks experience, travelers will get to enjoy features such as meals, parades and photo opportunities with their favorite DreamWorks characters

Other highlights include passengers being able to enjoy movies on the ship’s 3-D movie theater, the pleasure of watching first-run DreamWorks films on board and the opportunity to watch an ice show featuring characters from How to Train your Dragon.

The program will first start on the Allure of the Seas, set to sail in December 2010. The DreamWorks experience will then be expanded to the Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas in 2011. Who’s ready to join Royal Caribbean and its new DreamWorks experience?

As the oil spill continues to wreak havoc on the Gulf Coast and BP’s reputation, business owners along the gulf coast are already seeing business drop dramatically as travelers determine different vacation plans to avoid a leisurely beach stroll over globs of oil and tar.

With the Memorial Day past us, and children about to be out of school for summer, businesses are struggling with how to deal with an issue they can’t control: the oil spill.

A recent article on CNN discussed how hotels, rental, resorts and motels have seen a decline in inquiries and bookings over the last few weeks, as individuals anticipate the worst case scenario from the spill. Businesses fear that travelers assume the oil spill has hit land and created an unpleasant environment for vacationing. Because of this, many hotel owners are encouraging families to post pictures of their trip to show family and friends that the oil has not hit land yet, and some are hoping to put live video feeds of the beach so individuals can see for themselves how the area looks.

What approaches have you seen businesses take to try and encourage travel to the area? What would you recommend be done to salvage travel to the gulf coast?

I’ll keep you posted if we see any direct mail or email in the Comperemedia database pertaining to travel, the oil spill and the Gulf Coast.

Nothing annoys consumers more than paying for things that used to be free or feeling that they are being nickel and dimed. As the banking industry struggles with how to recoup money lost to overdraft fee income, they are wise to take some lessons from the airline industry.

The airline industry attempted to stem huge financial losses by charging a wide variety of fees. Flyers now pay to book the ticket, redeem frequent flyer miles, make a particular seat choice, change a ticket, check bags, obtain a pillow or blanket, and for food and drinks.

Unfortunately, added fees haven’t propelled the travel industry into profitability. AMR, parent of American Airlines, posted a $1.5 billion loss. US Air, Continental, United and Delta also posted losses. Combined, the industry lost $3.4 billion in 2009.

Southwest, however, was one airline to post a sizeable profit. The company heavily advertised “Bags Fly Free,” and that strategy may have paid off. The company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Kelly attributes the success, in part, to the fees that its competitors are assessing. In a January conference call with Wall Street analysts, he was quoted as saying, “I hope they charge $100 a bag. That would be terrific. We’ll have 100 percent load factors.”

Going beyond the fee

With customer satisfaction, loyalty, and brand image on the decline over the past few years, banks can hardly afford to alienate customers. Rather than focusing on what fees to charge, the industry should focus instead on innovating services and products that give people confidence. It’s not that fees are never justified – it just might not be wise to assess fees on previously free services. In fact, a recent JD Power study indicates that high customer satisfaction rates are possible to maintain as long as consumers perceive that they are receiving sufficient value in exchange.

At the end of the day, customers know that it’s their deposits that fund the banks other, more profitable, activities. So while consumers need a place to bank, the banks need consumers just as much. Shouldn’t there be recognition of the mutual need from both parties?

Travel and leisure companies have been hit hard since the economy plummeted into recession. As travelers were considering how best to spend limited resources, travel companies were figuring out how to draw customers onto their cruise ships. One way observed periodically over the last year has been the creation of themed cruises, positioned as “once in a lifetime” trips to attract customers who would rather pass on “just any cruise” while finances are tight.

Themed cruising started with Disney and the Disney Cruise Line in 1998, which gave travelers the opportunity to enjoy “the Disney experience” on the open seas, extending the “happiest place on earth” to destinations all around the world. In a recent direct mail offer, Disney encouraged families to “Discover an Ocean of Tropical Wonders and Exotic Escapes.” The campaign featured 3-, 4- and 5-night cruises to the Bahamas, along with a visit the company’s “private island paradise, Castaway Cay.”

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian both took advantage of the family draw that has defined Disney’s success by offering Nickelodeon-themed cruises. Royal Caribbean positioned a summer 2009 Nickelodeon Family Cruise as “the family vacation of a lifetime.” In direct marketing tracked by Mintel Comperemedia, prospects were encouraged to book early to take advantage of low prices and “the ultimate summer vacation your whole family will never forget!”

Starting in April 2010, Norwegian will exclusively feature Nickelodeon at Sea on the Norwegian Jewel. The experience has been positioned as a “whole new level of imaginative activities and family entertainment.” It will be interesting to see if Norwegian can be as successful as Disney in creating a long-running themed vacation option for families.

Cruising isn’t just for families, and companies like Carnival and SilverSea have used themed voyages to attract adult travelers. Carnival Cruise Lines informed email recipients that it was “cruising down memory lane” with its Malt Shop Memories Cruises. Travelers were invited to “join us on a journey back to the birth or Rock ‘n’ Roll as we head down memory lane with sock hops, dance contests and live performances.”

SilverSea Cruises offered a Beatles Tribute Voyage in August 2009. Readers were asked to “celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Beatles coming to America” with this 10-day UK cruise that featured a “Beatle Brunch and a disco party.”

Themed destinations have been a huge draw for travelers (think Disney, Las Vegas or Universal Studios) and now cruise ships are trying to create a complete themed experience to provide customers a “once in a lifetime” vacation. Themed cruises have the opportunity to attract curious travelers looking for a new experience and can help create a stronger draw as travelers decide how best to spend their money in a weak economy.

Spirit airlines begins charging for carry-on luggage
Spirit announced recently that it will become the first airline to charge for carry-on luggage. You read that right…a charge for carry-on luggage. The airline is set to charge up to $45 for individuals who bring carry-on luggage that needs to be stored in overhead bins. A reduced fee of $30 could be paid in advance by those who already know they will be bringing luggage that is too large to be stored under the seat.

But with the announcement comes spin. The company has said that it reduced fares across the board, meaning that most passengers who pay a carry-on fee will not see an increase in their total flight price. The company also stated that this move will help the airline empty the plane faster, which would make passengers happier, right?

I don’t know if I buy that. It seems like the itemization of costs will only create a sense of being “nickel and dimed.” The company already charges for checked bags, and those fees are cheaper than the newly announced carry-on fee. I wonder if the company is really trying to increase revenue by encouraging individuals to save money by checking a bag over passengers bringing bags on the plane. What do you think? Will this influence your decision to fly Spirit?

Ryan Air contemplates charge for in-flight restrooms
Be sure to have some change handy next time you fly. Ryan Air, a popular budget airline in Europe, is considering charging passengers to use the restroom.

The company is pondering a small charge (currently equivalent to US $1-$2) for using the bathroom on flights that last less than one hour. Passengers would insert money into a coin-operated bathroom door to gain access. Although the company has announced the consideration, no decision has yet been made.

I could see how this concept might be more accepted in Europe than the US, since many public restrooms are not free. But, do you think this would “fly” in the United States?

Considering Cuba as a top travel destination…is it jumping the gun or capitalizing on perfect timing?

I read an article written by the Associated Press discussing how travel agents from the United States and Cuba were meeting in order to prepare “for what they hope will be the day that Americans can freely vacation on Cuba’s sunny beaches.” It is estimated that the number of Americans could create a 50% increase in visitors to Cuba if and when restrictions are removed. (It would change from 2.4 million tourists now to 3.7 tourists post-travel ban.)

President Obama has shown interest in loosening travel restrictions to Cuba, but considering everything on his plate currently, are these travel agents a little too quick in planning for a new travel destination option?

Also, Cuba is currently a hot destination spot for Europeans and travelers from other parts of the world. To me, the marketing material is easy…potential visas, paperwork and rules are going to be the key sticking points. What kind of preparations are taking place now within the travel industry?

In mid-February, the US Department of State extended a travel alert to certain parts of Mexico. This was due to increased violence within specific states of the country. Originally, a travel warning was issued on August 20, 2009; this is an extension of that first warning.

The alert asks US citizens “to delay travel to parts of Michoacan, Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua” and it advises citizens traveling in those areas “to exercise extreme caution.”

The US Department of State made this decision in response to escalated violence connected with drug cartels and an increased number of deaths in those areas.

On my most recent trip to Mexico, I witnessed road blocks close to the Belize border. They seemed designed to stop the transportation of drugs within the country. Although the cars were thoroughly searched, are road blocks enough to stop fighting within the country? Is a more proactive approach needed to stop Mexico from being used as a transportation route for drugs coming to the US? Will the travel alert be enough to protect or dissuade American citizens traveling in Mexico?

These are the questions I ask, as it seems like a warning isn’t enough to stop the drug trafficking situation, nor stop individuals from visiting our southern neighbor.