“Trip Kick Blog; topping the Travel and Leisure sites - Examiner.com” plus 2 more

Trip Kick Blog; topping the Travel and Leisure sites - Examiner.com
Allegiant Airlines: exploiting a niche to the full - Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (subscription)
Tips that can help keep a Caribbean holiday within your budget - Dallas Morning News

Trip Kick Blog; topping the Travel and Leisure sites - Examiner.com

Posted: 08 Nov 2009 02:01 PM PST

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The Trip Kick Blog was proud to be named the #1 site by Travel and Leisure Magizine for 2009.

To look at the site that calls itself a blog, is an understatement. Either that or it is the most expansive blog this writer has ever seen.

It is packed with information that is both well known, as well as little known secrets of the major and not so major hotels around the world.

Trip Kick states;

Tripkick.com is designed to make your hotel experience an effortless one. We prepare you with the little known facts about each hotel room so you can make an educated decision when choosing your perfect room.

And it is effortless.The site is easy to get around and shows deals that you would never have believed could be possible.

It is #1 for a reason, and that reason is its wealth of information as well as general ease of use and accuracy of what is posted.

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Allegiant Airlines: exploiting a niche to the full - Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (subscription)

Posted: 08 Nov 2009 02:07 PM PST

LCCs are oriented towards the discretionary dollar and therefore leisure markets for VFR and holiday travel. Many services have focused on linking holiday destinations with centres of population. In this, they have parallels with the longstanding holiday charter airlines, not just in the markets and destinations they might target, but also in their low cost base and in favouring operations out of secondary airports. Full holiday packages, not just individual components, are increasingly finding their way onto LCC sites.

US LCC Allegiant's web site is a leader in this respect. Following the lead of main retail sites, rather than simply fulfilling a ticket order once a destination and time of travel are registered in the course of selecting a flight, it automatically makes offers for ancillary services covering local accommodation, activities and concerts, and rental vehicle options at the destination prior to "checkout". In effect, a simple booking for a ticket can quickly and easily convert into the purchase of a full holiday package without the need to individually select elements from a series of independent menus.

This extract, 'Evolution to travel and leisure operator?' is from CAPA's Global LCC Outlook report, available for free download at: www.centreforaviation.com/lcc/report

The Leisure Line

Allegiant Airlines offers a unique and tailored LCC operation. Many specialist airlines cater primarily to the leisure market, but Allegiant has honed the niche to the full.

It is in effect more a travel operation than an airline, bearing many similarities to the classic European charter model with its vertical integration. But in this case it is bottom-up (from the air component up to the marketing and sales), rather than top-down (from the packaging and marketing company down to the airline).

The availability of new technology and IT-savvy consumers, allowing dynamic packaging, takes the place of the corporate marketing structure. Basically, the travellers do all that for themselves, replacing the corporate structure.

The website aggressively promotes a host of non-air products, so that it is sometimes hard to find the seat booking area.

Again mimicking the charter-type demand model, the carrier operates on leisure routes almost exclusively, catering to travel by couples, who are assumed to have accommodation, entertainment and similar leisure needs; It sees no need to fly high frequency or even year round.

This pure leisure profile means that Allegiant has been able to expand beneath the radar of most of its competitors, serving smaller ports (and, of course, Las Vegas). With its aggressive approach to online sales, this profile enhances the carrier's ability to sell hotels and car rentals; its default setting for the number of ticket bookings is thus for '2' pax rather than the usual '1'. Every step of the booking process confronts the buyer with vacation offers: the airfare portion is very much a secondary transaction. This small route focus means the scope for expansion remains powerful.

Allegiant differs most from the conventional modern LCC in that, although high density configuration is a feature, it operates older, fuel thirsty aircraft, planning to continue to add MD-80 aircraft to its fleet at "attractive prices" without the need for external financing, as it opportunistically acquires aircraft, engines and parts. Allegiant has previously stated that it can purchase and refurbish its MD-80 aircraft for as little as USD4 million. The carrier recently bought six aircraft from Finnair, apparently to use for parts, and could be a potential customer for American Airlines' large MD-80 fleet that will be progressively be retired.

While the aircraft are less fuel-efficient than newer types, Allegiant is able to purchase them outright for one-tenth the cost of a new B737 aircraft, and because of the low cost of ownership, operate a much lower utilisation (seven hours per day versus 13 hours per day at JetBlue), which helps keep costs lower.

Download the full Global LCC Outlook report at: www.centreforaviation.com/lcc/report

Comment at our blog: http://www.centreforaviation.com/lcc/blog

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Tips that can help keep a Caribbean holiday within your budget - Dallas Morning News

Posted: 08 Nov 2009 11:25 AM PST

We've all heard the message of America's new economic reality: Change your thriftless ways.

But making do with less doesn't have to mean cutting out a well-deserved Caribbean holiday. Economizing doesn't require staying at backpacker crash pads and dining on hot dogs. And since an empty hotel room or vacant airplane seat generates no revenue, the travel industry has an incentive to roll out the deals.

Combine these inducements with my top ways for controlling costs, and you won't have to purge the word "island" from your rest-and-relaxation agenda.

1. Travel in high season. Wait. I'm supposed to say travel in low season, right? This year, not necessarily.

Mid-April through mid- December is the Caribbean's low season, when prime berths across the region drop room rates 30 percent or more. But this winter, like last, isn't the norm. Resorts have already started rolling out deals, a sure sign that advance bookings for peak season are lagging.

Third-night-free promotions are unusual in summer, and they're unheard-of in high season. This winter, Radisson's resorts in Aruba and St. Martin are offering three nights for the price of two ($479 nightly) Jan. 3 through April 10, when booked by Nov. 30 ( www.radisson.com).

Elite Island Resorts, which operates hotels in Antigua, Tortola, St. Lucia and the Grenadines, is offering discounts of 20 percent off stays in January, 10 percent off in February and 30 percent off in March. Seven-night minimums are required, and rooms must be booked by Feb. 1 ( www.eliteislandresorts.com/2010).

2. Deals in the sky. Amanda Hoffman of Expedia recommends searching for airfares on Tuesday evenings. "Most airlines post their deals on Tuesday morning, and by that evening the other airlines have had a chance to match them," she says.

Be the first in line for sales by signing up for airfare alerts. American Airlines has NetSAAver fares ( www.aa.com); Air Jamaica has Lovebird eSavers ( airjamaica.com), both of which offered Miami-Montego Bay flights at $54 each way (plus tax) earlier this year.

3. Be open-minded. If you must vacation on one particular island or at one special resort, you've played into the hands of marketers. Airline seat and room availabilities fluctuate, so the carriers and resorts continually fine-tune their rates to maximize occupancy. And with travel everywhere depressed, deals are popping up more than ever. Be flexible about your choice of island and lodging so you can take advantage of great buys as they crop up.

At the same time, stay in touch with places you've enjoyed in the past. Although hotels are pressed to fill rooms today, most are avoiding slashing rates too obviously. They don't want to set precedents that will be hard to overcome when the economy improves. But past clients are receiving e-mail offers not available to the general public.

Jade Mountain on St. Lucia ( www.jademountain.com) was chosen as the Caribbean's No. 1 resort this year by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, but that doesn't make the hotel immune to the global downturn. In July, the owners sent an e-mail to "friends and family," offering an unprecedented discount. The hotel (and sister property Anse Chastanet) has an e-mail newsletter where other deals are available and a Facebook page for last-minute offers.

4. Choose a tourist village. Time is money, so spending hours in taxis, rental cars or ferries not only eats into your wallet, it also devours vacation time. Opt for a locale that has ample beachfront, water sports and dining nearby so you spend less time commuting.

Consider St. Lawrence Gap, in Barbados. Water sports on some of the island's best beaches lace this pedestrian- friendly neighborhood, but it also boasts some of Barbados' best hotel buys. Stay at South Gap Hotel ( www.southgapbarbados.com ) and enjoy summer rates from $95 ($125 in winter), or Dover Beach Hotel ( www.doverbeach.com ) with rooms from $120 ($145 in winter). Within a few blocks, you'll find more than a dozen restaurants, most of them moderately priced.

Other beach-lined village hubs with inexpensive-to- moderate lodging and dining include St. Lucia's Rodney Bay; Negril, Jamaica; Mexico's Playa del Carmen; and Orient Beach in St. Martin.

5. Get off the beach. Everyone wants an ocean view or roll-out-of-bed beach access, but you pay a premium for it. The difference in price between ocean view and, for example, courtyard view, can be substantial, especially at luxury properties.

At St. John's Caneel Bay resort ( www.caneelbay.com), a standard room starts at $395 in summer; the same room with an ocean view runs $550. With tax and service charges, the difference in price for a weeklong stay is $1,280.

The differences can still be notable lower on the price scale: Positioned just a 15-second walk from the sand, standard garden view rooms at Mary's Boon ( www.marysboon.com ) in St. Maarten start at $115 in low season, while beachfront rooms are $195.

6. Get on the bus. Some destinations are so well developed that government-subsidized public transportation is an efficient and cheap option.

There's no need to rent a car on Aruba, where bus service connects all the main hotel areas to Oranjestad, the capital, and even the airport. Primary routes run as frequently as every 20 minutes, and the fare is just $1.30. Cancún has an efficient tourist bus system along its 14-mile isthmus with runs every 10 or 15 minutes; you'll pay less than a dollar for a trip. In the Bahamas, New Providence Island has public buses that link Nassau and most island points (and beaches) till 6:30 p.m. daily; it's $1 a ride.

Barbados has extensive bus transportation radiating out from Bridgetown. Almost every beach on the island is within a five-minute walk of a bus stop. Fare is just 75 cents. Bermuda's taxi fares are pricey, and scooter rentals cost $50 a day, but the excellent bus and ferry system is cheap, with fares $2.50 to $4.50 anywhere; a seven-day pass is $45.

7. Cheap(er) grub and grog. Dining can be a wallet-buster in the Caribbean. This shouldn't be a surprise. Many islands import much of the food consumed at resorts, and prices jumped after last year's fuel increases.

But some islands are less expensive, primarily because they produce a good deal of their own fruits and vegetables, meat and fish. You'll find terrific, moderately priced restaurants in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, especially if you order local specialties.

Take it a step further by forsaking wine and other imported liquors, all of which are hit with hefty duty fees. Instead, drink local rum and beer, or tequila when in Mexico, and your bar tab will be lower.

8. Watch for hidden charges. Don't forget to figure local taxes, resort fees, fuel surcharges and departure taxes into your vacation price. They vary by island, and they can add up.

For instance, there's no departure tax when you check in for your flight in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. In St. Lucia the $26 tax is included in the cost of your airfare, as is the $29 tax in Bermuda and $30 in St. Maarten. You pay it, but at least the cost is up front. But you'll need to reserve $30 to pay arrival and departure tax in the Dominican Republic, $32 at check-in for Bonaire, and $39 in Belize.

Your driver's license from home is sufficient for driving a rental car in Mexico, and the French, Dutch and U.S. islands. Budget $20 for a local license to rent a car in Antigua, or $25 for a St. Kitts or St. Vincent license.

9. It takes a villa. Renting a villa offers several avenues to savings. Villas typically come with kitchen facilities, and another couple can share the accommodations. Generally, the cost of a two-bedroom villa with pool will be on par with two rooms at a comparable hotel, and as the size of your group increases, per-person costs come down.

Villas are found throughout the region but most especially in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, St. Barts and Barbados.

Don't want to think about cooking? In Jamaica, most villas come with a housekeeper, gardener and cook. Five-bedroom Cliffside Cottage, handled through Jamaica Villas by Linda Smith ( www.jamaicavillas.com ) has a large pool and use of facilities at the nearby Round Hill resort. In summer, the home rents for $4,500 per week – or $129 per night, per bedroom ($6,000 in winter). Budget about $50 per person for daily groceries, and 10-15 percent of the rental fee for staff gratuity, but you'll still come out ahead of a comparable resort.

Even Mustique, which has a reputation for coddling rock stars and fashion designers, may not be as expensive as you think. Rates for a fully-staffed, two- or three-bedroom home start at $5,000 per week in low season ($7,000 high). You won't get Tommy Hilfiger's estate for that price, but you will get the Mustique experience ( www.mustique-island.com ).

10. Their bad timing is your gain. With the economy spinning its wheels, new hotels lacking name recognition are under even more pressure to fill rooms than established resorts are. Watch for attractive discounts to run into high season.

In Mexico's Riviera Maya, the all-inclusive Grand Velas resort ( www.rivieramaya.grandvelas.com) recently opened and has been aggressively discounting. The Four Seasons Great Exuma in the Bahamas, closed after a stint in receivership, will reopen Jan. 22, rebranded as Sandals Emerald Bay ( www.sandals.com ).

Early next year, the Caribbean's first W Resort ( www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels) will debut on Vieques, an island off Puerto Rico. And the entire island of Jamaica, after a two-year hotel-building spree adding 5,000 rooms, is another place to watch for specials.

California-based freelance writer David Swanson is a contributing editor to National Geographic Traveler and writes the Affordable Caribbean column for Caribbean Travel & Life magazine.

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Travel and Leisure

Sunday, November 8, 2009