Would You Like a $20 Credit or Extra Reward Points for Your Hotel Stays? How about a Full-Body Scan in Airports?

Today’s Travel Watch in the Wall Street Journal reported two trends (by Sarah Nassauer). One is about hotel housekeeping service, the other is about full-body scans in airports.

According to this report, many Westin and Sheraton hotels now offer guests $5 credit for dining in their restaurants or 500 points per night for up to three consecutive nights if they opt out the housekeeping service. The Marmara Manhattan gives guests $20 credit per night if they do not use housekeeping service for three days. I think this is a great idea because it not only offers an alternative to guests but also helps properties cut operation costs. In luxury hotel segment, cleaning a room may cost an average of $22, which includes labor, laundry, worn-out of linens, and other amenities. Starwood calls this “Make A Green Choice” program. I can see guests who concern about the environments or want to have additional discounts will take advantage of this offer because it helps save soup, water, energy, and money.

Another update is more airports use full-body scanners. Some airports require all travelers to go though scanners, while others only ask selected passengers to do so. I guess this is a trade-off between safety and hassle-free travels. This could seem good news to Obama’s high-speed rail project because we can easily predict more people will choose to travel by train rather than air if trains run in “high-speed.” The question is how fast can a train run? (You may read more in my yesterday’s discussion on Obama’s high-speed rail project via http://linchikwok.blogspot.com/2010/02/obamas-plan-of-high-speed-rail-not.html).

References:
The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704259304575043160856596220.html

Picture was copied from http://www.gnationalgroup.com/hospitality.htm

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