Expedia expands into Trip Advisor reviews ... Toronto Island Airport surges

Interesting that Expedia is trying to change the landscape when it comes to hotel reviews.

I use Trip Advisor as a general guide to properties and sometimes restaurants, but I've never completely trusted the source of the reviews. Now, Expedia has revamped its "Expedia Verified Reviews" program, which will allow travelers to do all kinds of cool searches to find hotels near a particular site, such as a hockey arena. Officials say all reviews - both good and bad - will be written by Expedia customers who actually booked AND STAYED at the hotel.

Certainly, more information in the hands of us consumers is a good thing, so I look forward to checking it out.

Trip Advisor recently was spun off from Expedia, so it's not like these are two enemies going at it.

As for Trip Advisor, they're departing 2011 with a wee mistake. I noticed they sent out an item this week listing 15 Destinations on the Rise for 2012.

Sadly, they're all American, although perhaps they have a more worldly offering elsewhere on their site or in the works. Not that it's a cardinal sin, as all those long coastlines do tend to look a bit alike, but I notice that their section on Santa Cruz, California shows a photo of Highway 1 down in Big Sur. It's a good 80 or 100 miles from Santa Cruz, guys. Your photo shows the famous bridge that spans one of the canyons on Highway 1 well south of Carmel, whereas Santa Cruz is way north, up at the far end of Monterey Bay.

Anyway, here are the Trip Advisor 15 Destinations on the Rise in the U.S.: Nashville; Austin, Texas; Fort Myers; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Pensacola; Louisville; Branson, Missouri; Scottsdale; St. Augustine, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Asheville, North Carolina; Wildwood, New Jersey; Park City, Utah and Santa Cruz. Once again, North Dakota gets shut out.

ISLAND AIRPORT ON THE RISE

This was a HUGE growth year for the Toronto Island Airport, which means it was a good year for the folks at Porter Airlines.

The number of passengers at the airport, formally known as Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, rose from 1.13 million in 2010 to 1.55 million this year. That's according to the Toronto Port Authority, which manages the airport.

Officials say they're climbing toward 2 million folks a year.

Air Canada now offers daily flights from the island airport to Montreal, but they don't have as many slots as they'd like.

Work is expected to begin in the spring on a new pedestrian tunnel from the mainland over to the island. I'm sure it's more convenient, but I'd miss the one-minute ferry ride.

 

 

The "Museum of Clean" in Pocatello, Idaho and a great Vancouver jaunt.ca deal

Definitely pretty weird.

A self-professed cleanliness freak has opened what he calls the Museum of Clean in Pocatello, Idaho.

Yep, an entire museum dedicated to folks who can't stand dirt and grime, complete with 6,000 historical cleaning devices, chairs made out of old garbage cans, and, wait for it, plush toys in the shape of germs.

"Hey, kids, you know that trip to Disney World y'all wanted to take? We're heading to Pocatello, instead. You won't BELIEVE the old-time toothbrushes they've got on display."

Having been through Pocatello, Idaho, I can tell you this might be the best thing to ever happen to the town.

It sounds pretty goofy, including the germ-shaped toy. But if SpongeBob Square Pants can sell, why not a germ-shaped plush toy? It sounds, actually, a lot like Izzy, the Atlanta 1996 Olympic mascot (see below).

On a more serious note, I do have to say I kinda like the guy who started the museum. Don Aslett is 76 but says he's always been a clean freak a la Jerry Seinfeld. A story filed by Associated Press says Aslett would cringe at the sight of spilled coffee grounds when he was a child and could never understand why boys his age didn't want to clean their rooms.

I can kinda relate. I can tolerate a pile of books or other clutter, but I have a very low tolerance for smudges on my countertop at home.

My favourite part of the museum is a, believe it or not, horse-drawn vacuum dating back to 1902. I don't know, a horse-drawn vacuum? Wouldn't you need the vacuum to clean up after the horse?

Aslett has written some three dozen books on the subject of cleaning (!!!!). He also has acquired many terrific nicknames over the years: The Sultan of Shine, The Dean of Clean, and my personal favourite, The Don Juan of the John.

WEST COAST WEATHER AND GOOD BEER  - A GREAT TRAVEL DEAL

Hey, folks. It was 13 degrees on Vancouver Island the other day. Not sure what the forecast is for Vancouver proper, but it's gotta be warmer and less icy than Toronto today.

Check out one of Canada's top cities with a deal from jaunt.ca. For $159 you get a night at the Granville Island hotel on, naturally, Granville Island - one of Vancouver's top spots for shopping and food and for great views. You also get breakfast for 2 at Dockside Restaurant, a 6-pack beer sampler of Dockside Beer at Dockside Restaurant, a $20 credit for the Calixica Holistic Spa Boutique and complimentary parking for one car. The deal, which has a value of $267, is valid  for a few more days only, and can be booked for travel between Jan. 1 and March 31. 2012, with blackout dates on Feb. 10 and 11. For more information, go to www.jaunt.ca.

 

 

Airlines rake in the fees (especially from booze) ... Emirates 25 per cent off

Wow. A story I found from UPI cites a study that says fees from "comfort items" sold on airplanes jumped 70 per cent in the first half of this year, compared to 2010.

Included in "comfort items" are such things as pillows and blankets.

The UPI story cites the Los Angeles Times as saying that fees for meals rose a stunning 300 per cent in that same period. Which either explains why none of us can squeeze into airline or TTC seats any longer, or simply illustrates how many airlines are now charging for those little bags of apples or for Subway sandwiches.

The food bit I can understand. But a study by the Canadian firm Guest Logix also suggests passengers are getting absolutely tanked on board airplanes. Their study says the average bar tab for passengers on flights of 500 miles or less was $22. If you paid $7 for a small bottle, which is about what Air Canada charges I believe, that would be THREE drinks on AVERAGE for a flight of maybe 90 minutes. Stunning.

Even more incredible? The study found that on flights of more than 1,500 miles, the average bar was, wait for it, $71.

Now, wait a minute. Even if you assumed it cost $10 for a small bottle, that would be SEVEN servings of booze ON AVERAGE. Can that really be the case? I've seen people drink a fair bit when booze is free, which it often is on long flights. But I've never seen anyone racking up that many paid transactions. I'd love to know more about this study, as I find it rather hard to believe.

EMIRATES 25 PER CENT OFF SALE

Emirates, one of the world’s fastest-growing international airlines, is celebrating the New Year by offering deep discounts on airfares to more than 100 cities around the world, when booking from now until January 9, 2012.

Customers will receive 25 per cent off all published First, Business and Economy Class fares departing between January 22 and June 30, 2012, when traveling round-trip to any destination in Emirates’ extensive global network.

Economy Class fares from Toronto to The Middle East, India and South Asia start from under $1,100 CAD, while destinations in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and beyond begin at less than $1,500 CAD, return.

 “Whether your New Year’s resolution is to spend more time with family and friends, visit a dream destination or follow your favourite sports team to a far-away tournament, our global sale will help our passengers enjoy the perfect start to 2012,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President – Passenger Sales Worldwide.

I've only been on Emirates twice, but both trips were outstanding, with great service.

JAUNT.CA/TRAVELALERTS.DA DEAL OF THE DAY - A MONTREAL GETAWAY

There are few cities in the world as beautiful and intriguing as Montreal. And it's only a short drive/flight/train ride away from Toronto.

Check www.jaunt.ca for a great deal: just $129 for a room at the Omni Mont-Royal. Includes breakfast for two and a $25 spa credit with a $100 purchase. Big savings for a terrific city.

 

 

New York Hotels $100 a night and up during their 2012 Hotel Week - woo hoo!

Just a short item today. Hey, I got Christmas stuff to do! And Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all.

Lots of cities - even entire states (hello, California) are doing "restaurant weeks." We have something similar here in Toronto in the winter with Winterlicious, with discounts on nice restaurants all over town.

Now, down in New York, they've come up with "Hotel Week," with major discounts at eight properties in the Big Apple. The deal runs from Jan. 6-15, a typically slow time for hotels as most people are still unable to get up off the couch after having gorged on turkey and mince tarts and martinis for four straight weeks.

Rates are as little as $100 at the small but snazzy Pod Hotel in Midtown East (see cool lobby photo at left) and also at The Hotel @ Times Square and the well-regarded Z NYC Hotel in Long Island City, Queens, where there are a group of new and very trendy spots in a part of New York that's not only increasingly popular but just minutes from Manhattan. Also available for as little as $100 is nyma, the new york manhattanhotel at Herald Square.

Rates climb to $200 for the Andaz Wall Street and the Hyatt 48 Lex. And it's $250 for either the super trendy Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC (near the wonderful High LIne Park, just fyi) and the new Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC.

In all eight cases you MUST mention the words "Hotel WEEK" when you book.

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo tour of Stockholm...A Dominican deal with jaunt,ca

STOCKHOLM - The tattoo parlour in the Stockholm neighbourhood where The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo lives is abuzz with the sounds of sharp instruments puncturing flesh, but no one is getting a winged creature imprinted on this day. A young woman is getting a simple flower tattooed on her ankle.

We duck back outside and continue on our way. It's raining, but Daniel Craig and I are both under the same drizzly Stockholm sky in the fall of 2010. He's a few blocks away filming the opening scenes of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which opens this week in theatres.

The courthouse steps where he was filming is part of the tour I'm on as we walk through the narrow ancient streets where the lead fictional character in Stieg Larsson’s bestselling trilogy Millennium series stomped around in her kick-ass boots.

I missed the English version of the tour by 20 minutes so hook up with the Finnish one and everyone pitches in to translate from Finnish to English for me. We are bound together by Salander. Others hold their tattered paperback copies of The Girl with them, a few, like me, use our iPad as reference.

We play a game as we walk through the streets. We are trying to guess who among the young girls we pass during our walking tour of this working class neighbourhood would have a dragon tattoo. Our conclusion is this Stockholm district is home to many Lisbeth Salanders, many Mikael Blomkvists. Almost anyone we spot could be a crusading journalist like Blomkvist or a computer hacker like Salander.

Until Lisbeth Salander pushed her out, the most famous resident in the working class neighbourhood of  Södermalm was Hollywood movie idol Greta Garbo. A statue of the reclusive actress is still here but few passerbys stop to pose next to the monument.

Stockholm’s largest and most populated district is these days better known as the neighbourhood where the Millennium trilogy is set. Visitors like me are taking pictures of the 7-Eleven where Salander purchased her cigarettes, pickles and microwave pizzas and having coffee at the Kaffebar on Hornsgatan where she spots Blomkvist kissing his girlfriend.

The tour takes us past the Greenpeace office in Södermalm where the magazine Millennium's editorial office is supposed to be located even though in reality, the space is used for  residential apartments.

One of the residents at Fiskargatan 9, one of Stockholm’s most exclusive addresses, looks annoyed when she sees us lingering outside the entrance of the apartment building trying to peer in as she tries to enter. It’s in this building where Salander purchased a luxurious 21-room apartment after stealing millions of dollars through computer transactions.

We hold up our copies of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as explanation of what we’re doing and why we’re in her personal space to invade a little of her privacy. She nods warily before giving us a shrug.

TRAVELALERTS/JAUNT DEAL OF THE DAY

Try an all-inclusive, seven-night stay in the sunny Dominican Republic. The package provides roundtrip airfare, departing from Toronto, and seven nights at Allegro Resort Puerto Plata. From $299, plus $387 in taxes. www.jaunt.ca.

 

Good travel/tourism news on both U.S. coasts as New York and California soar

The Big Apple and the Golden State are leading a rather large tourism resurgence in the land of the red, white and blue.

Two of Canadians' favourite destinations, New York City and California, are reaching some awfully big numbers as 2011 comes to a rousing end.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced this week that the city will surpass 50 million tourists sometime this week. It's quite a success story when you consider NYC had less than 43 million visits as recently as 2006.

It was thought at one time it might take until 2015 to crack the 50 million mark, but things have been pretty much gangbusters this year, with officials projecting tourist spending of $32 billion - enough to support some 320,000 jobs.

Equally good news is being announced across the continent, where visitor numbers are up 4 per cent compared to last year. Tourists in California this year will spend an estimated $104.4 billion - more than three times the amount of New York City. It will mark the first-time ever for tourist spending to reach the $100 billion mark, and the projections for 2011 are up from the $95.1 billion tourists spent in 2010.

Included in the 4 per cent overall hike for the Golden State is a 6.9 per cent growth in international visitors, including strong growth from Canada and Mexico, according to the Los Angeles Times. There's been a sizable 9 per cent hike in overseas visitors, particularly from countries such as China, France and Australia, The Times said.

California is expecting tourism spending to reach $110 billion next year and $115 in 2013, although officials say the forecast (no kidding) is still a tad cloudy.

China, of course, is a huge market for just about anyone. Folks from the Canadian Tourism Commission were in China this week to talk about the lure of Canada, but I get the feeling that the Beijing Hilton, or whatever hotel folks use, is probably wearing out its revolving front doors and lobby carpeting from all the folks coming over and pitching their product to the massive Chinese market.

And, hey, wouldn't you like to be the guy in charge of whatever tour company the Chinese Communist Party decides is the one that should package Chinese tourists for visits to the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge? Yikes - talk about sitting on a fortune.

U.S. AIRPORT RATINGS

PCWorld has issued a report on the top American (sadly, not any Canadian) airports for tech travel purposes. They sent researchers "all over the country to canvass the gates of the 40 busiest airports in the United States and to identify the tech winners and losers. In all our airport auditors visited 3300 gates from coast to coast; they counted more than 17,000 electrical outlets, 5000 USB ports, and 1350 charging stations; and they performed hundreds of tests of airport Wi-Fi and cellular broadband service."

Isn't that great?

King of the Hill or Top of the Heap, to use an NYC reference, was Dallas-Fort Worth (see photo). Delta got high marks for on-board WiFi, a nice smartphone app that helps track checked luggage and for a social media presence.

The magazine said Dallas-Fort Worth "doesn't have the most outlets, it doesn't have the fastest Wi-Fi, and it's not number one in work desks. But no other airport achieves such consistently high scores across so many categories. Dallas ranked near the top of all airports on six of the eight tech amenities that we measured."

Second was JFK in New York, followed by Atlanta, Detroit and Sacramento.

The rest of the top 20 went as follows: 6. Oakland, California; 7. LaGuardia in New York; 8. Salt Lake City; 9. Baltimore-Washington; 10. San Francisco; 11. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood; 12. Raleigh-Durham; 13. Nashville; 14. Minneapolis-St. Paul; 15. Chicago Midway; 16. Cleveland; 17. Los Angeles; 18. Seattle-Tacoma (you'd expect more given Microsoft's Washington state headquarters); 19. Kansas City; 20. Portland.

 

 

Biz types love San Francisco but not so much Houston ... Chicago aims higher

They're mad as hell. But they're still gonna take it. 

 ON24, Inc, a webcasting and virtual events firm out of San Francisco, this week announced the findings of its survey of 3,756 registrants for this year's VUE2011 the world's largest virtual events user conference. The survey revealed that an overwhelming 92% of executives think that business travel is failing to improve, with almost half saying it is getting worse or even much worse. Gee, and I thought newspaper reporters were grumpy.

When asked which cities they would choose to avoid for a convention or trade show if a substitute
virtual event were available, Houston topped the list, with almost half (49.3%) of the respondents preferring not to travel to the largest city in Texas and saying that they would instead prefer a virtual conference. For Los Angeles, the number who preferred the virtual conference to the real deal was 41.7 per cent, with Orlando coming in at 37.5, Miami at 33.3 and Chicago at 27.8.

The L.A. numbers surprise me a bit, although I suspect folks are simply leery of traffic and $5,000 Lakers tickets. The others make some sense, as a LOT of biz people would simply rather not travel anywhere if it means going through TSA pat-downs and sticking their butts into a flying tin can for five hours.

The ON24 folks weren't giving out all the results, but they told me in an email that San Francisco was the least disliked city for a conference.

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson was ranked as the nation's worst airport, followed by Washington D.C.'s Dulles and Los Angeles' LAX. Top airports were Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver and Chicago O'Hare.

I would've thought San Francisco would do better than O'Hare, but maybe I haven't been in the best O'Hare terminals of late.

The survey respondents cited a variety of reasons for the woeful state of business travel. The worst part about flying was the possibility of sitting in the middle seat (53%), followed by potential delays (50.6%), security lines (40.9%) and rude airline employees (25.6%). Executives also noted the possibility of sitting next to a "nightmare passenger" as a concern, with three quarters (74.2%) of respondents saying they do not want to sit next to a sick person, followed by a baby or annoying child (42.9%), an arm rest hog (42.9%), a snorer (35%) and a couple who can't keep their hands off each other (26.4%).

I didn't see numbers for the category "sitting next to Alec Baldwin," but maybe my eyesight isn't so great anymore.

Hotels fared no better, with a surprising 52.8% of executives concerned about the risk of bed bugs, along with dirty linens (44.8%) and noisy guests (42.3%). Responses about trade shows and conventions reflected the usual criticisms about boring presentations (60.7%) and getting behind at work (60.1%). However, an interesting 19.6% of respondents said that the so-called "booth babes" who often staff trade show exhibits are sexist relics.

TRAVEL GOING UP IN 2012?

Travel-Ticker released its 2012 Traveler Intentions Survey this week and they found that - good news here for the tourism biz - travel is on the rise. Forty four percent of folks said they plan to take more leisure trips in 2012 than the year before; a five per cent hike from the previous year's sample. A whopping 96 per cent of respondents said they'd fit more travel into the coming year if they can find good deals.

Sixty one per cent of folks said they wanted a beach getaway, while 34 per cent cited a big city vacation and 28 per cent wanted outdoor adventure. Hey, try Los Angeles or Miami or Honolulu or Vancouver and you can get all three at once.

CHICAGO: SEARCHING SO LONG

The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau is opening overseas offices and starting a regional campaign to boost tourism.

Apparently folks are happy that they're hosting the G-8 (good luck, guys) and a NATO summit (ditto) this coming year and apparently hotel bookings are up.

The Windy City had 46.3 million visitors in 2007, but that number dropped - sharply - to 39.2 million in 2010.

U.S. government figures show Chicago was the tenth most visited city in the U.S. in 2010, with 1.1 million visitors (4.3 per cent of the U.S. total). New York led the way with a stunning 8.5 million visitors, 32.1 per cent of all international visitors.

UK visitors have taken a pass on Chicago of late, and the numbers in 2010 were down 22 per cent from the previous year. The Chicago Tribune quoted a visitor, Juliette Smith of Nottingham, England, as saying all she knew about Chicago prior to her recent arrival is that "it's the WIndy City and it's freezing and Al Capone lived here."

Yeah, that's probably about it for most European types. But Smith said she was loving her visit.

"There are lots of bright lights ... And your lake is, like, insane. It's half the size of my country. It's mental."

 

 

Toronto-Vermont on Porter: New destination means more than just convenience

A belated thanks to the U.S. Consul General in Toronto, Kevin Johnson, for hosting a reception last week for Vermont tourism and Porter Airlines.

Porter flew its first-ever Toronto to Burlington (a delightful city, by the way) flight last week, filled with dignitaries and business people and such. Its part of Porter's ever-increasing dispersal of planes out of the Toronto Island Airport, with flights now headed to Halifax, Myrtle Beach, northern Ontario, New York, Montreal, Chicago, Ottawa, Boston and more.

It's quite the success story, as we all know. But it's also interesting to think about the business opportunities this presents for both sides.

I've attended a few tourism events as travel editor, and I'm often struck by just how critical flights are. I mean, you could have the greatest rum punch in the world being served on the planet's most beautiful beach in the Caribbean, but it don't matter unless you can get butts in seats on airplanes; preferably on direct flights.

"This new, direct connection strengthens the economic links" between Toronto and Ontario and Burlington and Vermont, Porter president Robert Deluce told those gathered at Johnson's Forest Hill residence.

"This isn't just about flying in to Vermont to ski on the weekend," Johnson said, citing Vermont's forests and high-tech industry and other shared interests.

For us in Toronto, it's a nice way to get to the heart of New England faster than driving through Montreal or upstate New York. Much less hazardous and nerve-wracking, too.

But the flight also, as Deluce and Johnson mentioned, means easier commercial connections between Burlington and Toronto and between Vermont and Ontario and all of Canada. As much as we focus on Asia these days, Johnson pointed out the U.S. is still Canada's key market.

Lawrence Miller, Vermont's secretary of commerce, noted that Canada is his state's largest trading partner; with exports to Canada equalling as much as the next eight countries combined. He also said 20,000 jobs in Vermont are due to trade with Canada.

Tourism is the biggest industry in Vermont, so the extra flights - and having Vermont more in the public spotlight - is a big deal. Skiers in Toronto might be salivating at the idea of quick access to Killington and Sugarbush and Stowe's ski hills. But Megan Smith, Vermont's tourism commissioner, said it goes both ways (as do the flights, come to think of it).

"We hope you'll do some marketing on our end," she said, "because those of us who live there love Toronto."

ARKANSAS ALSO ON THE HUNT FOR TOURISTS

You don't hear much about Arkansas. I know it's Bill Clinton's former stomping grounds, and I love the scenery in True Grit. But that's about all I can tell you about the state.

I must not be alone, as they recently opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville and are planning a big tourism push across the southern U.S. It's apparently a $300,000 one-time advertising buy will pitch Arkansas as a destination for arts and culture, while still promoting the state as a place for outdoor activities such as hiking and camping.

"We've been The Natural State for 25 years now," said Joe David Rice, Arkansas ' tourism director, referring to the state slogan. "We still think we're The Natural State, but we think we ought to be a natural for arts and entertainment, too."

The museum was built by Wal-Mar heir Alice Walton and the architect is the highly renowned Moshe Safdie, and it looks like a stunner.

 

KUDOS TO OTTAWA FOR NEW RULES ON AIR FARE ADVERTISING...

THIS JUST IN!

 

The Government of Canada says it will proceed with regulations requiring Canadian air carriers to include all fees and taxes in their advertised prices.

In a press release issued this morning by Transport Canada, it was stated that "The Honourable Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Transport), and Pierre Poilievre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced the coming into force of clause 27 of An Act to Amend the Canada Transportation Act and The Railway Safety Act and to Make Consequential Amendments to Other Acts (the Act). The Canadian Transportation Agency will now proceed with developing regulations regarding airfare advertising.

"Our government is committed to enhancing consumer protection while promoting fair competition by ensuring greater transparency of advertised airfares for Canadian travellers," said Minister Fletcher. "This will allow consumers to easily determine the full cost of airfares in order to make informed choices."

Clause 27 of the Act provides for the making of regulations requiring a carrier to include in the price advertised all costs to the carrier of providing the service and to indicate in the advertisement all fees, charges and taxes related to the service that are collected by the carrier on behalf of another person .

The Canadian Transportation Agency will begin the process of drafting regulations, including consultations with stakeholders. The regulatory process is expected to take approximately one year

This blogger has been railing against the government about this for years, as have many a consumer baffled and bamboozled by ads that talk about fares to Paris for $350, or whatever, but actually amount to closer to $1,200 or so by the time you add the return ticket, taxes and fuel surcharges.

It's totally unfair to make folks read the fine print, and this is a HUGE step towards righting a long-standing wrong in my opinion.

No doubt the airlines will howl, so hang on and enjoy the fireworks.

"Tweet-a-carol" and Mrs. Claus at Toronto Pearson ... Fairmont winter deals

Here's a pretty cool Yule concept: tweet-a-carol.

Starting today and continuing through Christmas Eve (through certain hours), the folks at Pearson International Airport have a program where you can use Twitter to get Christmas carollers out to sing to the guest of your choice.

Does your grandpa love "White Christmas?" Send a tweet to @torontopearson with his first name, flight number and the date he's travelling and Pearson will send the singers over to Gate 123 and serenade him a la Bing Crosby.

Pretty great idea, I think, from an airport I've often criticized for poor shopping (still the case) and terrible luggage service (ditto).

In addition to the Christmas Carol/Twitter program, Pearson also has Mrs. Santa Claus out reading holiday stories to kids as they wait for their flights. Also a very nice idea.

"We are focusing on delighting our guests as they travel through the airport," said Lloyd McCoomb, president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. "We want everyone coming through the doors of our airport to have the best experience possible."

Kudos for the concept, folks. Let's hope you can continue to innovate like this with new programs to improve the Pearson experience the rest of the year.

(I looked for a photo but couldn't find one. The above photo, in the interest of full disclosure, was taken in Sydney, Australia).

FAIRMONT HOTELS ON SALE

Fairmont has launched its "Everyone's an Original" winter offer. Between now and Dec. 19 at noon Eastern Time, Fairmont is offering up to 30 per cent off its rooms around the world, or free breakfast for two or a free night. There's also a chance to earn double airline miles with the program, which is valid for stats up to April 30, 2012.

Fairmont has hotels across Canada, of course, including Whistler and Montreal and here in Toronto. The offer also is valid in their luxurious properties in Hawaii and across the U.S., including San Francisco and New York. The Plaza in New York, one of the top properties in the city, shows rooms starting at $595 U.S. But rooms in lovely Newport Beach, California (see photo) were listed on Thursday morning for as little as $104 - an absolute steal. Chicago's Fairmont Millenium Park was listed as low as $135; also an incredible bargain for a great city.

Other sample rates, according o the website (www.fairmont.com/winter): Fairmont Vancouver, $189 Cdn., Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Montreal $159 Cdn., The Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda from $259 U.S., the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club from $359 U.S. and the Fairmont Monte Carlo from $302 Cdn.

CRYSTAL CRUISES TO THE RESCUE

Crazy story the other day out on the Atlantic Ocean. It seems there's a big rowing race taking place called the 2011 Atlantic Challenge Race, with some 17 boats racing across the Atlantic.

One pair, a gentleman from the UK and his partner, from the Netherlands, ran into trouble when a large wave sunk their boat some 800 kilometers west of the Canary Islands. They spent 10 hours in a tiny life raft but were able to get out a rescue call.

The Crystal Cruises' Crystal Serenity ship was about 120 nautical miles north of the rowers, but heard about their problem and steamed their way south for the resuce. They were picked up about 6 a.m. on Dec. 14.

Weather was bad, but the crew on the Crystal ship managed to spot a flare and the captain was able to manouevre his giant ship close to the raft so the two rowers could be brought aboard.

They were checked out in the medical centre, and the ship resumed its journey to St. Maarten, where its due to dock on Sunday.

A Crystal spokesperson said the two men are continuing their Atlantic journey, albeit in "the most luxurious environment."

Talk about your upgrades.

 

 

 

 

 

A CROSS-ATLANTIC UPGRADE OF A LIFETIME