In part 1 last week, I described our family's experiences on a trip to Mountain States - 3 airports, 5 flights, 9 hotels, 2 rental cars, plenty of restaurants. While I was balanced and reported what worked well, we saw a bunch of what I call "COVID copout" excuses for poor, even scary, service and often predatory pricing. And they are doing so while expecting sympathy for a poor 2020, neglecting that many of them qualified for bailouts and PPP loans.
To check if our experiences were outliers, I polled a few executives I know who have taken several (at least 3) business trips in the last few months and a few analysts who have ventured to vendor events. Here are some of their comments. Interestingly, many have adjusted their travel patterns to compensate for the poor service. We are also starting to see them evaluate new competitors emerging in different travel categories.
Many executives I talk to complain of the fatigue from all-day Teams and Zoom calls. They cannot wait to get on the road again. Hopefully the experiences in these two notes will help you prepare for your own trips after 18 months of "lack of practice"
Airports
- If you don’t have it already, get Global Entry, TSA Precheck or Clear. Much of airport traffic for now is tourists without any of those pre clearances and regular TSA lines are long and chaotic.
- Have your coffee and snack before you get to airport. Airport facilities are understaffed and have long lines.
- If you are checking bags, not every airport has reopened curb side check in.
- If you use an airport and airline regularly, pay for a one time visit to their lounge. If they are less crowded and less noisy, if they offer WiFi and food and drink that would definitely justify an annual membership. But many still are not at full service, so check before you sign up.
- With most traffic for now being tourists and families, at some airports, long term parking may be in short supply.
- Allow 30-60 minutes more than that you did before the pandemic.
Airlines
- Expect significantly shrunk choice in flights. Read those airline emails and text messages more carefully - schedule and gate changes are way more common these days. Don’t be surprised with nonstops revised to those that require plane changes, frequent delays and cancellations .
- My one stop, no plane change was changed to a 2 stop, 2 plane itinerary. One layover was 4 hours, the other so tight I may not have made it
- International flying is chaotic as hell. You get contrary advice on quarantine requirements, COVID tests and vaccine requirements. Flight cancellations are very common. Major hubs like London Heathrow have become especially unpredictable
- On the positive side, international business class fares are much more competitive but be prepared to wear a mask for that long flight.
- I used to see a lot more consultants on flights on Monday mornings and returning Thursday nights. I think clients are telling them it is fine to work virtually.
- There are many changes in the airline landscape. The ex founder of JetBlue has started a new airline, Breeze servicing secondary cities. Southwest has opened service to several new secondary cities including Sarasota, FL and Bozeman, MT and to even major airports like Miami and Chicago O’Hare.
- Delta, United, American are flying their larger planes meant for international routes on US trunk routes.
- Ask for a full can of a beverage to last the flight - the choices in flavors are likely much smaller. Many airlines are not serving alcohol. Or serving food, even for sale.
- I brought a sandwich to eat on the plane but felt awkward eating it 6 inches from my neighbor so waited till we landed
- I ate a sandwich I had brought on the plane and got many looks - some jealous, some hostile because I had my mask off
- The airline hygiene has improved somewhat during the pandemic - most are deep cleaning planes overnight, have newer air filters. But still take your own wipes, sanitizer as back up.
- They have social distancing and mask warnings everywhere in the airports, then they pack the planes so full, you are just inches away from strangers?
- Honestly, I am not ready for business travel, or any air travel for that matter, at this point.
Hotels
- Hotels miss their business travelers. They are more polite, less crazy and more savvy than tourists, especially families
- Many have moved to no cleaning of rooms or clean towels or sheets between stays. I guess if you yelled enough they would comply.
- They used to offer you reward points or discounts if you did not ask for clean towels each day. Or position it as "green" - less wasteful for the environment. Now the standard excuse is "labor shortages"
- Most of the large hotel chains used to tier their brands into logical price groupings based on breadth of services. Now even their low-end brands are shockingly priced. They are just being opportunistic
- I think I am going to ask my travel group to renegotiate our hotel contracts. I will make sure rates guarantee hot breakfast and daily cleanings. I will also ask them to negotiate a boutique or independent hotel in the cities we frequent, so our employees have options beyond the big chains.
- They brag about improved COVID hygiene then don’t clean rooms for days? I shudder to think how unhygienic the exercise room and pool have become.
- Hot breakfast has taken a huge hit. You may get a brown bag with a muffin and a bottle of water.
- There appear to be very few staff - tough if you need help with luggage, arrive late, need cleaning etc.
- I tried to get room service. Called several times. Went into an IVR - never spoke to a human. Gave up and raided the minibar. Fortunately my room had one.
- Hotels are struggling to reopen their dining. Hot food of any kind is a luxury.
- I was in a suite hotel, and the kitchen cabinets were completely bare. No plates, cutlery or towels. Defeats the value proposition of a suite hotel if you cannot make your own meals.
- I avoid the giant hotel complexes these days. They don’t have decent amenities and you add a dependency on Uber since nothing is within walking distance. I try to find a boutique or smaller chain hotel with restaurants within walking distance
- Use electronic checkin and checkout. Most lobbies are understaffed
- The hotel check in kiosks were shut down and it took me 30 minutes to check in with a human. Not a great experience at 1 am.
Rental Cars
- They significantly reduced their fleets in the last year and it is showing at most airports. If you don’t have negotiated corporate rates the cost can be crazy.
- If you don’t have status with a car company, they may take your reservation but you may still not get a car. You should consider pre paying.
- The car hygiene is often unacceptable. You may have to stop at a store and buy some wipes and air freshener
- I know people who take Uber to a neighborhood Enterprise Car location. Or try lesser known car companies like SIXT. They may have newer cars and more reasonable rates
- We ended up having to rent a U Haul truck. Reminded me of rental car chaos after 9/11.
- Airport shuttle buses for rental cars are unhealthy, how crowded they are
Uber/Lyft
- My Uber driver stayed off the freeway and didn't talk to me, so I would rate him an A+
- Long waits are common, surge pricing is increasingly common.
- Lots of Uber drivers appear to have switched to food or grocery delivery
- Seems like more ex-taxi drivers have moved over and brought their bad habits - loud music, complaining how lousy things are
- In my town, I have noticed they congregate at a certain mall near the airport, and you can see on your app, they don't move for 10 minutes. I think they have learned to game the system - they are waiting for a better fare.
Taxis
- In Paris, a taxi service took advantage of the pandemic to launch a mobile app, cleaned up their cars, and their driver attitudes. They regained market share from Uber.
- In most other cities, taxis have become even less reliable.
- I think airport authorities and mayors of cities should start monitoring taxis and Uber/Lyft more closely. I am afraid we have many gypsy/unprofessional drivers and crime will start to increase.
Dining
- Book ahead. Many places have much fewer spaces due to distancing. Many also close couple of days a week due to staffing shortages
- You are competing for reservations against locals and those who are driving, not flying, in to town. We tried to book at a restaurant a month out and all they could offer was 10 pm slots for several days. They open their schedule 3 months out and local patrons tend to grab the best slots.
- It’s annoying how Starbucks happily takes your money but have not opened up their restrooms or sitting space with WiFi.
- Even takeout places expect tips these days .What’s that about?
Events
- We went to an event which need a positive COVID test even if you were vaccinated. They had so many show up without test results they had to get a clinic to set up a test facility at the hotel
- We went to an event in Vegas with NO vaccine or test requirements. Only about 15% of attendees were wearing masks.
- I see that a lot of conferences are starting to push in-person options ("don't you miss getting together?") but hopefully don't drop the online/hybrid things that they learned during the past year and a half.
Bottom Line
The travel and hospitality sector is seeing an uptick but a large portion of that is leisure travel especially summer family trips. For business travel to return, service will have to dramatically improve and pricing become far more predictable and reasonable. If not, most travelers will after a couple of trips come to the conclusion "this is not really a better alternative to the digital fatigue of the last 18 months".
