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What
a Horrible Way
to Start a Century
A
rant from the Winter 2002 edition of the Zeitgeist Client Newsletter
Already staggering from a sudden corporate pull-back of travel, the
events of September 11th certainly caused a lot of us to do stoopid
things. Here are just a few that really burn our behind:
FIRE SALES.
We were consistently appalled to see the rates being offered by hotels
in the fourth quarter of last year. Major League coastal resort destinations
offering quality accommodations for $29.95 and up!
Now, it's one thing when the airlines hold a fire sale...cause people
are afraid to fly. A $79 flight might be enough to get them back on
board. But, last time we checked, nobody was scared to stay in hotel
rooms. And hotel rooms are not why people travel (it's where they stay
while they do). So, do these hotels really think they're luring travelers
back out of the cocoon?
Or, are they setting themselves up for increased (and unnecessary) pressure
when the economy comes back by customers that remember those $29.95
rates?
BAIL OUT THE AIRLINES. 
And, speaking of the airlines, Today
Show and MSNBC
Travel Editor Peter
Greenberg recently waxed eloquently on the U.S. government's
grande "bend over" for the airline industry.
Here's the math: Even if one agrees that the airline industry stood
to lose $150 million a day in the aftermath of September 11th, and even
if one concedes it would take them 14 days to get back to "normal,"
that's $2.1 billion. And Congress gave them $5 billion.
For what, bad management? And, is it just us, or did the major carriers
lay tens of thousands of people off just a little too quickly (like,
uh, the next day).
And, is it just us, or do others believe that, had the airlines laid
off these obviously non-essential personnel in a calmer, more measured
fashion over the month that followed the Attack on America , that the
economy wouldn't have tanked so precipitously? Culpable doesn't begin
to define what happened here.
But, there is a silver lining. Greenberg, on MSNBC a few nights later,
commented that the airlines should now have better luck at their on-time
promise, now that they've reduced the number of flights per day that
they are responsible for showing up on-time with. Touche.
GIVE GOOFY INTERVIEWS.
Mercifully, he only said it once...and the idea never really caught
the attention of the media. It was one of those comments that aired
once on the cable news channels and just faded from view.
But those who saw the clip felt their heart drop into their socks as
they heard Bill
Marriott say that American communities could help the economy
get back on track by waiving room taxes for the rest of the year.
Say whaaat? One could only hope that this quote came at an uncharacteristically
unthinking moment for the hospitality icon that has done so much for
our industry.
But, how could this even come out of his mouth? How could somebody so
intelligent think that waiving a few dollars from a room rate would
cause a skittish traveler to decide to plan a getaway. How could somebody
that benefits so much from the work of CVBs worldwide think that removing
their funding could ultimately help him fill rooms?
It's anybody's guess...but, if nothing more, it serves as a painful
reminder that even our partners sometimes don't get the critical need
for a well funded CVB.
SLASH TOURISM BUDGETS. 
Even though most State governments are increasingly aware and appreciative
of the ROI of the dollars they invest in tourism promotion, there were
a few in the days after the Attack that suffered a strange form of amnesia.
Facing deep losses in projected sales tax revenues in the fourth quarter,
some legislators began scrambling for quick fixes to balance their 2002
budgets. As quickly as they learned that tourism promotion generates
more tax dollars than are invested, they forgot and, like off-the-wagon
junkies, went right for the quick and easy fix that would cause the
least screaming from their constituents.
Ain't it a pity that brains and economic sense so often lose to expedience
and vote mongering.
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