New York Tops December Hotel Searches

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Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

USA Today: Where are travelers most searching for hotels this December? New York tops the list, according to Kayak.com's analysis of two years of hotel-search data.

The Big Apple, after all, does a fantastic job of decking itself out for the holidays. And each year, tourists from the Tri-State area - and around the world - flock to the city to soak up the atmosphere.Last week, workers were busy hanging gigantic snowflakes from wires high above Fifth Avenue. Visitors also love to photograph the spectacular Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, which will be lit this year on Nov. 30, and take in other festive sights - including hotels adorned with decorations.

So what about the four other cities that made Kayak.com's Top 5 list? They're all warm-weather destinations.It makes you wonder if Northeast residents rushed to book December trips after the freak, Oct. 29 snowstorm pounded the region and left millions without power for days.

The full Top 5 from Kayak:·         New York
·         Las Vegas
·         Orlando
·         Cancun
·         Miami

The Top 5 cities that experienced the biggest increases in hotel search volume for December travel on a year-over-year basis:·         Miami
·         San Francisco
·         New Orleans
·         Fort Lauderdale
·         New York

On the flip side, Kayak.com also looked at cities that fell out of favor this year compared to 2010.Deal seekers may want to scan this list of Top 8 cities where hotel search volume decreased the most on a year-over-year basis because they could have better luck in these destinations finding hotel bargains in December:

·         Barcelona
·         Los Angeles
·         San Diego
·         Boston
·         Nassau, Bahamas
·         Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
·         San Juan, Puerto Rico
·         Chicago

AAA: Thanksgiving Travel Up 4% Over 2010

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Click on Detroit: More Americans are hitting the road this Thanksgiving holiday, despite higher gas prices, according to the motorist group AAA.
The American Automobile Association projects 42.5 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles during the Thanksgiving weekend, an increase of 4 percent from the 40.9 million people who traveled last year.
But gas prices are also up, making the drive more expensive this year. The nationwide average price of unleaded gasoline was $3.39 per gallon on Thursday, compared with an average of $2.88 a year ago.
The high cost of gas might be why travel was flat for Memorial Day and actually decreased, compared to last year, during Independence Day and Labor Day. But the Americans who have been staying home to save money are shrugging off their financial concerns for Turkey Day, according to AAA.
"Driving AAA's projected increase in the number of Thanksgiving travelers is pent-up demand from Americans who may have foregone holiday travel the last three years," said Bill Sutherland, vice president of AAA Travel Services, in a prepared statement.
"As consumers weigh the fear of economic uncertainty and the desire to create lasting family memories this holiday, more Americans are expected to choose family and friends over frugality.
Driving will be the dominant mode of transportation during Thanksgiving, while forecasts for air travel are mixed. AAA is expecting air travel to increase by nearly 2 percent, but the Air Transport Association of America is projecting a 2 percent decrease.
AAA defines the Thanksgiving weekend as the period from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27.

Airline Passengers Told to Pay Extra for Fuel

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Hundreds of passengers on a Comtel flight from India to Britain were stranded for six hours in Vienna when they were told they had to pay extra to buy more fuel. 
 
The charter service asked them to kick in more than 20,000 pounds ($31,000) to fund the rest of the flight to Birmingham, England. In the video below a Comtel cabin crew member tells passengers, "We need some money to pay the fuel, to pay the airport, to pay everything we need. If you want to go to Birmingham, you have to pay."
Some passengers said they were sent off the plane to go to cash machines to get the money.

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New Website Offers Deals on Last Minute Getaways

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MSNBC: First came LivingSocial Escapes, which offers customers discount vacation packages.
Now comes LivingSocial Instant Escapes, launched Thursday, which offers customers last-minute travel deals up to 55 percent off.
Doug Miller, senior vice president for LivingSocial’s new business initiatives, told msnbc.com that he’s seen a lot of interest from customers in last-minute travel. While most LivingSocial Escapes packages can be booked several months out, Instant Escapes deals are aimed at travelers who don’t have plans for the upcoming weekend. “Our focus is on creating demand,” he said.
Customers can find these last-minute deals on the current LivingSocial Escapes website or mobile app or sign up to receive weekly e-mails. New deals will be posted on Wednesdays, focusing on destinations within driving distance and are good for either that Thursday, Friday or Saturday night. Most deals are one-night stays, Miller said.
The first Instant Escapes deals include:
- $139 per night at the Larkspur Hotel in San Francisco, which also includes a $15 credit to the on-site Bar 1915 and a $75 credit to rent a luxury car;
- $265 per night for a room at The Hudson Hotel in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City, as well as free WiFi, late check-out and continental breakfast for two; and
- $84 per night at Washington, D.C.’s Hotel Madison with a complimentary room upgrade and late check-out.
Since launching a year ago this month, LivingSocial Escapes has sold nearly 600,000 room nights at more than 800 different properties around the world. It was quickly followed by Groupon Getaways, which launched over the summer.
Carroll Rheem, director of research for PhoCusWright, said the challenge for deal sites is to drive incremental bookings, not undercut the price for a customer who was already planning a trip. She sees last-minute escapes as a niche market.
“If you’re kind of bored for the weekend, that’s a very different experience than ‘I know I was going to take a trip,’” she said.

TLC & Southwest Team Up for Reality TV Show

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MSNBC: Americans seem to have an insatiable appetite for reality shows. They also seem to be endlessly fascinated with the good, the bad and the ugly about their flight experiences.
Now, it seems, the two will be mixed for the television public – again.
TLC, the television network that is part of Discovery Communications, announced Wednesday that it is starting production on a new series that will take viewers behind the scenes of the modern air travel experience.
The network has ordered 13 half-hour episodes, which will be produced by ITV Studios America and based on unprecedented access to Southwest Airlines.
“We were interested in working with Southwest,” said Dustin P. Smith, vice president of communications for TLC, “as it is one of the largest airlines in the country and is known for its exuberant corporate culture and for having refreshing and personal customer service that is regarded as unique in the industry.” Those qualities, combined with an in-depth look at the hurdles of traveling, would create a dynamic show, he said.
Ashley Dillon, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, said the airline was chosen also because of its tradition of transparency, which relies heavily on the use of social media, blogs and other media.
“We’re always telling people what we’re doing behind the scenes. Why not put that on TV?” she said “That makes us an attractive airline for a TV show.”
Southwest’s daily operations were previously the subject of a television series in 2004-2005 when “Airline” ran for three seasons on A&E.
“Customers loved that show,” Dillon said. “Airline”aired on Monday nights, and on Tuesday mornings there would be a surge of people applying for jobs, as the show reflected the important role that employees played at the airline, Dillon said. And even six and seven years later, employees featured on the show are stopped at airports by travelers seeking autographs.
“We found people loved behind-the-scenes views.” Most travelers, she said, do not know about all the challenges of flight – from getting all the bags boarded to landing safely.
The new series “will be fresh and new and different,” Dillon said. The earlier show focused on customer service at the airport, but the current production will be broader and will include many more employees: maintenance workers, providers of drink and food, pilots as well as attendants.
“Employees will be the storytellers,” she said.
The series will also feature stories of real travelers – beginning with the purchase of tickets at their homes and continuing for the duration of their journeys.
What’s the appeal of a show based on such a mundane occurrence?
“Airlines are a fascinating business,” said Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and co-founder of the Atmosphere Research Group, a market research company. “It's an industry known for attracting 'characters' in certain roles, especially like pilots and flight attendants. Non-airline employees see the industry as somewhat 'glamorous' thanks to the ability to see so much of the U.S. (and abroad) either for free or on deep discounts. Some mistakenly believe that there is a lot of hanky-panky on crew layovers, though that couldn't be further from the truth.”
Harteveldt said other recent shows to profile the industry include "Fly Girls", a series that “capitalized on the popularity of reality shows, presented against the background of a fun, young, hip airline like Virgin,” and “Pan Am,” “a scripted show that is trying to capitalize on the popularity of the 'go-go' time frame of the 1960s when the economy was stronger and so much was new and possible. It's a clear rip-off of 'Mad Men,' and a bad one at that.”
Harteveldt said he was not surprised that Southwest was chosen as the focus of the TLC series.
“Southwest is a well-known national airline with a reputation for friendly, and a bit off-beat, customer service,” he said. In addition, Southwest is careful about the people it hires, and has a distinct corporate culture which adds to the appeal. “Its employees are generally happy to work there, so you're less likely to hear negative comments from employees.”
A title for the series and a firm date for the premiere have not yet been set, but it is expected to debut sometime in the spring of 2012, Dillon said.
Production is scheduled to begin this coming weekend at Baltimore Washington International Airport and Denver International Airport, with additional airports to be added in coming weeks.