October 26, 2011
Ever hang up your hotel towels to be used for the next day and the maid replaces them with clean towels anyway? More often than not, my attempt at helping to reduce water usage is thwarted by a maid who ignores the hanging towels, ignores the sign posted in the bathroom suggesting “Help Save the Environment” and insists on replacing the towels. I’m really not sure why. You would think they’d be happy to leave the towels hanging – it’s less work for them.
I’ve talked with other travelers and hear this same frustration often. One traveler told me that he’s tried all sorts of things to keep his towels for another day of use. He has written a note to leave the towels, pinned the “Help Save the Environment” card to them … even hung up the towels in the closet. Finally this last solution worked for him!
I can understand the replacing of the towels if the hotel does not have a stated program for reducing water usage, but my experiences are with hotels with such a program. That’s what is all the more frustrating.
Today, however, I am happy to report that my used and hanging towels were left right where I hung them – and no new towel replacements were brought in!
If a hotel is going to have a program for helping the environment and saving water and promote it to their guests, they ought to ensure that their employees are following it too! So thank you to the maid who left my towels for me to use another day.
What’s your experience – have you had the towel-nabbing maids, too?
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living |
October 22, 2011
I’m in Kristiansand, Norway today. Tomorrow I fly to Aberdeen, Scotland. On Tuesday, I fly to Houston, arriving in the evening. At 8:00am on Wednesday I have a business presentation to make, a presentation that I am putting together in-between all of these flights.
How will I get my presentation all copied, bound and ready for this 8am meeting? Easy!
Before boarding my international flight to Houston, I’ll be online with my trusty printing assistant. My assistant has helped me many times before and has been 100% reliable, even across thousands of miles and numerous time zones.
Who’s my printing assistant? It’s one you know, though you may not be aware of all they do. FedEx Office is my secret tool for showing up prepared, organized and professional – even with so little time on the ground.
I can contact my assistant online, via phone or with my FedEx mobile phone app. Since my documents are all on my laptop and not on my phone, I can also use my mobile app called “Jump” to access any document on my laptop. I’ve even sent documents to FedEx from 35,000 feet while using in-flight internet.
Long gone are the days when I used to arrive late into a city and have to find a printing location that could help me in a hurry before an early morning meeting or seminar.
Now that I’ve shared my secret, it’s back to work on my presentation. Farvel from Norway!
Kristiansand Norway
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel, Web/Tech |
October 7, 2011
TSA’s new “trusted traveler” program, known as PreCheck, went into effect a few days ago. From the press release, “Eligible passengers may be referred to a lane where they will experience expedited screening.” This pilot program is the long overdue beginning of risk-based traveler assessment. Not surprising, there are many limitations to gain entry into this trial program:
- It is only available to American Airlines and Delta Airlines passengers.
- It is only limited to a few airport hubs (Dallas and Miami for American, Atlanta and Detroit for Delta).
- And only some frequent fliers qualify.
TSA also built in some safeguards. They may at any time change their policy and make this separate line just like all the others. In addition, they do not guarantee that merely because of enrollment in this program that passengers will receive expedited service every time. At some point, I expect them to test this by denying access on a periodic basis. How frequently this occurs will likely determine the program’s success or failure.
I had the opportunity to try out PreCheck last week. Embedded information in the boarding pass barcode directs travelers to an expedited line. Anything metal like change or cellphones are either placed in a carry-on bag or one of the small buckets. Everything else – liquids, shoes, belts, coats, and laptops – remain in the carry-on bag or on your person. It was simply a matter of dropping my carry-on bag on the conveyor belt and walking through the metal detector. Total time to get through the expedited line: less than 60 seconds.
Needless to say, this is a dream for frequent travelers. It was such a pleasant experience that I thought about exiting the security area and going through the line again!
Some frequent travelers I spoke to expressed apprehension, reminding me that one bad apple could ruin this for the lot of us. We would all still walk through security with our shoes on if it weren’t for Richard Reid.
While other passengers may resent this “special” treatment granted to a select few, there is a benefit for them, as well. Moving frequent travelers to expedited lines means shorter lines for everyone else. When this program is successful (crossing my fingers), it will expand to more airports and shorten security lines for even more travelers.
Here’s hoping that the TSA’s new PreCheck program really takes off!
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Safety, Travel |
