Conde Nast’s concierge.com is telling consumers that travel is on sale, i.e. there’s an “upside to the economic downturn”; and that “now is the best time to snag a phenomenal bargain.” At later date, they stressed the need for escape – to get away from the current shambles of our economy and go to a place that feels a million miles away -- The emphasis still being on “wallet-friendly” vacations. Keeping with the same themes of the last month or so, they are now touting “luxury for less”. For those whom the staycation doesn’t apply (or not yet at least), they offer tips on how to get travel deals by knowing where and when to travel.
Fodors.com newsletter has always featured various top travel deals, but it seems there are more listings in the section than every before. Is this my imagination? Another perennial favorite is the "Hot List" each week of new hotels and restaurants.
In the Zagat Buzz (www.zagat.com), we read recently about the results of the 2008 Airline Survey. The overall industry was not “flying high in the public’s eyes”. On the other hand, they said that average overall ratings rose slightly both domestically and internationally with the premium class showing the most improvement. In the U.S., Continental Airlines got the highest marks for premium class and Jet Blue the top for economy class; and Southwest was voted best for on time performance. Interestingly 60% of those surveyed now book via airline websites.
One of my online favorites is the TripAdvisor Newsletters. In the early Fall when gas prices were sky high, they creatively came up with an affordable local travel guide. Getaways that were a tank away (or however far you wanted to travel) that they planned for you. They’ve also recently added a couple new forums. Two of them: budget vacations and beach vacations might be of special interest to South Florida properties.
Once you’ve signed up as a member of Trip Advisor, you can set up a personalized trip watch. You choose the locations you want travel information about and every week as new reviews are posted by the traveling public you get sent the latest info. I highly recommend that everyone does this for their local area/city. It’s very interesting to see who’s saying what about which hotels and it helps you to be prepared if there are problems with your own property.
You might also wish to sign up for your hometown newspaper’s travel newsletter. Sun-Sentinel.com has their “Travel Unraveled” newsletter which contains a “local scene” section. Some recent items have featured Miami’s listing in Travel and Leisure’s 10 green landmarks; holiday airfare bargains, tennis resorts, South Beach hotels offering TiVo, and new properties or new services being offered.
So South Florida how are you staying up to date? What travel sites are you reading on line?
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