It took a couple of airline bankruptcies, a summer of staycations, a serious recession and the near-collapse of the world economy, but by golly, travelers are feeling loved right now.
Turn back the clock just a year and youโll find a dramatically different picture. Travelers were unappreciated โ even exploited โ by unscrupulous travel companies that were flush with profits.
No longer. With just one notable exception, itโs difficult to find any part of the travel industry that isnโt being extra-nice to its customers. Which industry? Like you have to ask. (Hint: stay away from the airport.)
But even there, amid the fraudulent โร la carteโ pricing schemes and gross neglect of non-elite passengers there are signs that customer service is back in vogue.
Mary Hooper, a retiree from Bakersville, N.C., who remembers flying the friendly, pre-deregulation skies in style, has seen small signs of a return to the good old days. On a recent Virgin Atlantic flight, she found herself in a surprisingly comfortable premium economy seat, surrounded by pleasant, accommodating crewmembers.
โNow I have a big reason to fly again,โ she told me.
If thereโs a silver lining on this cloud of economic uncertainty, itโs that travel hasnโt been this affordable in years, as I predicted a few months ago. As a bonus, the travel industry is rolling out the red carpet. Excluding most airlines, itโs almost as if weโve turned the clock back 50 years in the customer service department.
Unbeatable bargains
Will Crockett, who works for a university in Waco, Texas, had a tall order for his recent New York weekend getaway. He wanted a hotel in midtown near a subway stop for less than $150 a night at the last minute. So he clicked on Priceline.com with just two weeks to go before his trip. โI knew I was taking my chances,โ he says. He scored a room at the Wellington Hotel โ โclean place, outstanding service,โ he says. Thanks to the recent Wall Street meltdown, a lot of hotels with high service standards are having fire sales. You can find these deals on sites like Priceline and Hotwire. Travelers are routinely finding discounts of 40 to 50 percent off the published room rate. Plan your visit to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco now.
Upgrades without asking
Tom and Jennifer Leckstrom visited the Four Seasons Resort Nevis in the West Indies earlier this fall for their five-year anniversary. โThe hotel package was reasonable since it was the off-season, plus I booked a mountain view room instead of an ocean-view room,โ she says. But when they arrived, the couple discovered they had been upgraded to an ocean-view room at no additional charge, and without having to ask. โCouldnโt have been happier about it,โ she says. These upgrades are becoming far more common. During my research, I found many travelers who said hotels, resorts or car rental companies were going out of their way to make guests feel welcome.
Customer service with a real smile
When Anya Clowers rented a car in Las Vegas recently, she was impressed by the way her shuttle driver behaved. She wasnโt apathetic and she didnโt flash one of those fakey Paula Deen smiles. โShe truly enjoyed her job,โ she says. โFrom welcoming travelers to Las Vegas, to lifting luggage, to providing small tips about the city, she was a rare gem.โ What a switch from just a few months ago, when customers were widely regarded as walking dollar bills by rental companies. Now they are just grateful to have them at the counter. Isnโt that the way itโs supposed to be?
Europe is cheap again
Well, almost. The euro isnโt at parity with the dollar โ yet. But as podcaster Elyse Weiner observes, itโs well on its way. โThe weaker euro is a bright spot in this painful economic time,โ she told me. โItโs astonishing after youโve trained yourself to convert Euros to $1.65 to find yourself in a $1.30 world.โ No one knows if a one-to-one parity world will come soon, but I wouldnโt be surprised if it happened this year. Nor would I be shocked if the euro went below a dollar, like it did in the 90s. Which would send a tsunami of tourists to Europe next summer, of course.
Going the extra mile
Before Sue and Bill Painter checked into the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Lima, Sue e-mailed the property and asked for a bottle of champagne and cake for their room. It was her husbandโs 60th birthday. โWhen we arrived at the hotel, we were shown to a large room on the executive floor,โ she says. โIn the room was an exquisite cake covered with very high-quality Peruvian chocolate, with the chocolate made into a large bow on top of the cake.โ The charge for this elaborate surprise? Nothing. The cake, champagne and upgrade didnโt cost a penny extra.
Serenity
When times are tough, and everyone stays home, you get to experience air travel the way it was meant to be experienced. Away from the crowds, with all the attention to detail and pampering you remember from before the days the government recklessly deregulated an entire industry. Barry Maher, a professional speaker, recently boarded a Lufthansa flight and found that the clock had been turned back, in a manner of speaking. โAt one point, I had the entire first-class section of a 747 and three flight attendants all to myself,โ he says. โEven in business class, the food was wonderful, the service excellent, the seats that recline into beds were comfortable and the entertainment selection excellent.โ This isnโt a fluke. As air travelers scale their trips back faster than airlines can cut their flights, a lot of folks are flying on less crowded planes. Enjoy it.
I know what youโre thinking: Shouldnโt travel always be like this? Yes. But thatโs not how it works. The travel industry is cyclical. During good times, weโre taken for granted. During bad times, they worship the ground on which we walk.
They might try splitting the difference for a change.