Author: Laura Schad

A merger of PreCheck and Global Entry on the horizon

In a recent interview with POLITICO, Transportation Security Administration head, David Pekoske, said he expects a merger between the trusted traveler programs PreCheck and Global Entry “within the relatively near term.”  A merger of these two programs would be beneficial for both travelers and the government agencies running the two currently separate programs.

Average domestic airfares sink to near record lows

Recent statistics released by the Department of Transportation indicate that domestic airfares hit an average of $346 round trip in the first quarter of 2018 representing a nearly four percent drop compared to the same period in 2017. When adjusted for inflation, the average rate would be the lowest since at least 1995.  However, it should be noted that these numbers do not include ancillary fees for items such as baggage and advanced or premium seating.

While airlines continue to hint at higher fares in the coming months, there are still many great rates being offered for customers to take advantage of, especially through the end of summer.

Uber to enhance customer experience with new features

Ride-sharing company, Uber announced several new enhancements that will improve the customer experience.  Drivers will be able to locate passengers more easily, even in the dark, with new app updates. One is a real-time location sharing function to help the driver pinpoint exactly where the passenger is located. A new feature called Spotlight will illuminate the passenger’s smartphone at night with a designated color, which will be communicated to the driver to make it easier for the driver to find the passenger.  A new “Pickup Messages” feature will facilitate communication between the passenger and driver.

Uber is also adding a service guarantee for trips scheduled greater than 30 minutes in advance. If the driver does not arrive in the specified 10-minute window the passenger will receive a credit.

American Airlines

American launched a new option that will enable customers to “buy out” of a basic economy fare ticket. While purchases of rock bottom basic economy tickets continue to increase despite the restrictions, some travelers are experiencing buyer’s remorse as their flight nears because of the limitations that accompany these low-priced tickets. However, under a new stipulation, clients who purchase a basic economy fare on American Airlines through a travel agency, and then have buyer’s remorse, now have an out. The customer can choose to apply what was spent on the basic economy ticket to a new, higher priced economy ticket on the same flight that includes the desired amenities such as baggage allowances, priority boarding, upgrades and flight change options. Travelers can elect to use the buyout option up until 24 hours prior to travel. Other restrictions apply.

American also said it will be eliminating the in-cabin bag restriction on short haul basic economy fares. Starting September 5, 2018 passengers holding basic economy tickets, regardless of purchase date, will be allowed both a carry-on bag and a personal item like other regular economy class passengers. Until the change goes into effect, customers with basic economy tickets will still be subject to all the current fare rules including only on personal item in the aircraft cabin. 

Delta Air Lines

Delta and WestJet have finalized plans for a comprehensive trans-border joint venture that significantly expands upon their existing code-sharing agreement. Once the new deal receives government approval, the two carriers will move forward on enhancing cooperation on various aspects including additional code-sharing, co-location at key hubs and reciprocal frequent flyer and elite traveler benefits for customers.

In other joint-venture news, Delta, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic did not include SkyTeam JV member Alitalia in their recent filing with the U.S. Department of Transportation for an amended agreement. The new filing asks for a consolidated joint venture instead of parallel partnerships, which are currently in place. Airline officials note that Alitalia was left out due to the restructuring that is going on at Alitalia as the carrier navigates the Italian bankruptcy process. It addition, Lufthansa, which is in a competing joint venture, remains a leading potential investor for Alitalia.

Lufthansa

Passengers traveling to/from Munich are being advised by Lufthansa to allow extra time at the airport due to upcoming closures of the railway system that connects the main terminal and the satellite building that serves gate areas K and L. Starting July 30 through September 6, the underground railway will be closed from noon on Mondays through noon on Thursdays. Buses will be used to transport travelers instead. However, airport officials say the bus will take longer so passengers should allow an extra 20 minutes. Bus stops will be identified by special signage.

The 6^th most visited country offers something special for everyone

With 39.3 million international visitors in 2017, Mexico is the sixth most visited country in the world. Many of Adelman’s vacations advisors and their families are among the visitors who have recently experienced the pleasures of Mexico, and they agree that Mexico is indeed a great destination for travelers of all ages.

According to Adelman’s Shelly Williams, “I go to the Riviera Maya just south of Cancun about five times a year and I love it! It is an easy flight, is affordable and beautiful, plus the people are very friendly.”  Shelly took both of her children there when they graduated high school and also sent her daughter and son-in-law to Mexico for their honeymoon.

Vacations specialist, Tracy King’s most recent trip to Mexico was over Mother’s Day this year.  “We had such a fantastic time and always felt safe,” Tracey said. “The staff at the resort was very friendly and worked hard to make everyone feel welcome.” She traveled with another couple that had never been out of the country and was apprehensive about going to Mexico. “I assured them that it was a very safe environment and that was proven within the first day,” Tracy said. “Our friends were able to just relax and enjoy their vacation. Their views of Mexico have forever been altered.”

According to Adelman’s CJ Crow, Mexico has so much to offer, including many fabulous resorts. She recently stayed at Dreams Playa Mujeres, which offers a plethora of activities for guests of all ages including popular land and water sports, cultural and educational experiences, fitness opportunities and a world class spa. Many properties also offer intriguing tours and excursions, live musical performances and stage shows—so many options conveniently all laid out for guests to easily enjoy.

Adelman Vacations Specialist, Kinsey Bailey, experienced a different type of getaway at the luxurious and private adults-only El Dorado Casitas Royale, a Spa Resort by Karisma. Kinsey found beautiful accommodations in picturesque casitas located directly on the resort’s mile long pristine beach. In addition to fabulous gourmet dining in several uniquely themed restaurants, Kinsey said couples would especially enjoy the resorts’ private pools and swim-up bars. Guests can choose to join in on the exciting nightlight or can pamper themselves with rejuvenating world-class spa services.

For those wanting something on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Adelman’s Marsha Craig recently traveled to Huatulco, which features stunning landscapes, beautiful beaches and a peaceful vibe. Guests can still take advantage of a full range of activities and cultural experiences or can just sit back and relax. According to Marsha, “With nearby mountains, jungle, 36 unspoiled beaches, nine pristine bays, unique cultural opportunities and a variety of world-class resorts, Huatulco offers a well-rounded vacation experience for travelers of all ages any time of the year and without the crowds.”

For more information on Mexico and a vacation that is tailored to fit your individual expectations, contact one of our many experienced vacation travel advisors at 800-749-7116, or visit our website at www.adelmanvacations.com.

Located in Manhattan’s bustling NoMad district, The Redbury New York is a short walk from the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, and Macy’s Herald Square, and just steps away from subway access to Grand Central Station. The newly-renovated hotel features 259 spacious guest rooms, four culinary experiences and 7000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Ideally located inside the hotel lobby is Marta, a Roman-inspired pizzeria from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, which provides room service, catering and custom-menu packages for all hotel events, as well as Bar Marta, Caffe Marchio and wine bar Vini e Friti. As a member of Preferred Hotel & Resorts, travelers who visit the property will be eligible to enroll in the iPrefer guest loyalty program, which is available at more than 550 participating properties worldwide.

Puerto Rico’s Rio Mar is better than ever

“Rio Mar has been renewed and is better than ever” was the clear message from the representatives of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar and their Puerto Rican tourism industry partners at the recent Rediscover Rio Mar weekend, which was hosted at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar. Meeting and incentive planners, along with clients, were invited to experience the resort and see the renovations and improvements that have been made since Hurricane Maria swept through the island last fall.

Nestled on 500 lush acres between the Caribbean Sea and El Yunque National Forest, the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar is still just a thirty-minute drive from San Juan International Airport. The 400-room resort boasts over a mile of beachfront, three pools, two golf courses and a full-service spa. With 24 separate meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 3,300 attendees, the resort is an excellent location for meetings. The Rio Mar Ballroom offers nearly 21,000 square feet of unobstructed, flexible meeting space, plus groups looking to take advantage of the beautiful weather will enjoy 58,000 square feet of outdoor space that is perfect for receptions, dinners, awards ceremonies and more.

After Hurricane Maria, the Wyndham decided to make this property better than it had ever been.  Among the many improvements the conference center was taken down to the studs and completely remodeled. The lobby bar was enhanced and rebranded as Caicu Rum Bar, which serves delicious Caribbean cocktails focusing on flavors of the region. Roots Coastal Kitchen will be opening in October as a permanent piece of the resort after starting as an extremely successful six-week pop-up restaurant this spring. Both the Ocean and River golf courses are fully re-opened, but the resort continues to work on improvements with new bunkers and other upgrades in the hopes that the Puerto Rico Open may return to “its home course” in 2020.

Beyond the Grand Rio Mar and the area’s other stunning beachfront resorts, Puerto Rico has so much to offer groups.  El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System and is also one of the most biologically diverse with many endemic species that are found nowhere else. El Yunque was hit hard by Hurricane Maria but is recovering quickly. While not all roads in the park are accessible yet, the park continues to reopen incrementally and can accommodate groups of all sizes with a variety of rainforest tours of different lengths and intensities during the day and at night.   

Another unique activity for groups is night kayaking in one of the three bioluminescent bays. Microorganisms in the bays briefly glow a blue/green color when they are disturbed, so every kayak stroke and splash will cause the water to light up. There are only five bioluminescent bays in the world, and three are in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico also offers a mix of old and new with historic forts and citadels built by the Spanish, along with great shopping and a lively nightlife in Olde San Juan. The island destination is a great fit for groups with a wide variety of interests including those with a taste for adventure. The culture of hospitality is unmatched, and the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar and the Puerto Rican tourism industry are eager to welcome you. 

Learn more about Puerto Rico and the Wyndam Grand Rio Mar or other exciting meeting and incentive destinations by contacting dwheeler@adelmantravel.com or visiting https://brojure.com/summit-performance-group/adelmansummit/.

The Implications of a Strict Travel Policy

Travel managers and financial stakeholders in budding companies often feel the need to track their employee’s business trip movements mercilessly. The result? Exhausted travelers who are forced to conform to guidelines that may not even be necessary.

When it comes to business expenses, there should be a certain degree of trust put into employees. After all, no one wants to feel like they’re being watched by Big Brother around the clock. While innovations such as travel management apps help companies to track their traveling employees, what happens when companies take it too far?

The Implementation of Strict Travel Policies

75% of American business travelers claim that their employer enforces a strict travel policy, while the majority of their counterparts in other countries claim that their employer’s policy is less strict or clear. The United States, France, and the UK lead the world with the strictest policies, but this doesn’t stop travelers from breaking the rules sometimes.

While travel management apps are helping corporate travel to be more seamless, overall satisfaction still varies greatly depending on which country you assess. India, for example, has employees who feel very positive about their business travel, citing a great work/life balance and enhanced morale. Some, however, put this down to the recent economic development in the country. Nonetheless, the research indicated that Indian business travelers were more likely to follow their corporate travel policy rules despite their lax nature, perhaps feeling less of a need to “rebel” and “go rogue” due to a frustratingly strict travel policy.

Using Incentives for Corporate Travelers

More companies are incentivizing their employees to make cheaper decisions while abroad, as opposed to milking their company credit card for everything they can. An increasing amount of companies are offering point systems to their traveling employees, which measure how wisely they spend their corporate funds. Many of these systems can be conveniently tracked via travel management apps.

However, although workers from India and Singapore largely enjoy these systems, only 36% of US workers claim that this structure would influence them, making them the least enthusiastic candidates for the system out of everyone who was polled.

It appears that strict corporate policies can be a turn-off for many US-based workers, although it could be said that this is due to cultural differences when compared to Eastern countries. To take your policy compliance and adoption to the next level, consider implementing a travel management app, like Ava. This is Adelman’s proprietary mobile app that lets travelers seamlessly manage and update their travel profile anywhere, anytime.  Contact your Adelman Travel Client Success Manager to learn more about what Ava can do for your business.

US Government moves forward on passport denials for those significantly delinquent on taxes

The U.S. State Department has begun acting on a law that requires the denial of passport applications (new or renewals) from individuals who the IRS identifies as being significantly delinquent on their taxes. This mandate was passed into law three years ago. The government has been issuing warnings regarding the new law for more than two years.

“If you have seriously delinquent tax debt, IRC § 7345 authorizes the IRS to certify that debt to the State Department for action. The State Department generally will not issue a passport to you after receiving certification from the IRS,” the IRS website reads.

Potentially impacted citizens should note that the law also allows the State Department to revoke a current passport.

Notices have reportedly already been sent out to a number of tax debtors owing more than $51,000 in delinquent taxes. It is expected that the entire list of 362,000 will be notified in writing by the State Department by the end of 2018.

There are exemptions for American citizens living overseas. The State Department noted that it will not prevent citizens from traveling back to the U.S. because of back taxes. However, a serious delinquency may impact travel once the debtor arrives back in the country.

Exemptions will also be made for citizens who owe taxes because of a tax-related identity theft, those who reside in a federal disaster area, those who are in bankruptcy, and those who are already in negotiation with the IRS.

Debtors will have 90 days to make full payments, or resolve any problems, before the State Department will deny a passport application.

New openings and construction projects at airports in the U.S. and abroad

Several airports announced the opening of new facilities for travelers

At Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Southwest Airlines became the first carrier to operate flights out of the newly opened Concourse A expansion. The new concourse is 30 feet wider and offers passengers many new amenities in a beautiful area with a soaring, all-glass façade. United, Spirit, Frontier and Via will also move from their current locations in the original part of Concourse A to the new expansion. American and Delta will then occupy some of the empty gates while others will be left open as the airport begins staged renovation work in the original part of Concourse A. The airport is also starting work on another new concourse that will connect to Concourse A and also has plans to widen the narrow B and C concourses.   

Air France and Japan Airlines have opened new lounge locations. The new Air France facility, which is available for select elite and business class travelers flying on Air France or Sky Team member flights, is in Hall L of Terminal 2E at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. The well-designed new space has a decidedly chic feel and offers gourmet dining, a Clarins Spa, dedicated areas for quiet, work or play and more. The most unique feature is a bar area that uses mirrors and LED lighting to create the sensation of the sky and ground moving past the seating banks.  Meanwhile, JAL’s newly renovate Sakura Lounge is opening at Matsuyama Airport on July 18. The new lounge offers sophisticated, high quality amenities similar to those offered at the new Sapparo Chitose Airport facility.

Denver International Airport will revamp terminal and gate areas to boost capacity while providing better security screening. Construction will begin in the “Great Hall”, the iconic white tented area that conjures up images of Colorado’s snow-capped peaks. 

AIRLINE BRIEFS

All Nippon Airways

Due to mandatory inspections called for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 type engines used in many of ANA’s Boeing 787 aircraft, the carrier is being forced to cancel a number of flights within Japan. No international flights will be canceled; however, the carrier may have to substitute aircraft with domestic seat configurations on a limited number of international routes such as Tokyo (Haneda) – Seoul (Gimpo). ANA has posted a list of domestic flight cancellations through August 31. The carrier is reviewing its operations for the month of September and promises to post applicable cancellations for September by August 9. For additional details please visit https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/topics/notice180705/.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Flyers traveling through Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport may be able to take advantage of a new self-driving passenger assist trolley being tested by KLM. The bright blue self-driving trolley named Care-E was designed to help travelers tote their luggage, up to 85 pounds, through the airport. After the test start in Amsterdam, KLM said it plans to bring Care-E to New York’s JFK and San Francisco International Airport for additional field work later in 2018.

Find relaxation, rejuvenation, happiness and health on your next vacation

People take vacations for many reasons.  However, there has been a shift away from travel where people return feeling like they need a vacation from the vacation, to getaways that focus on rejuvenation, health and wellness.  To achieve this, some travelers dream of relaxing at a restorative retreat, while others yearn for active experiences such as hiking, cycling or paddling.  Other travelers may simply desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle while they are away.

Adelman’s Cheri Keller, who has been a travel professional for over 30 years and has experienced many different types of trips and destinations around the world, has embraced the wellness travel trend. “A healthy lifestyle has always been important to me, so it was a natural progression to become certified by the Travel Institute as a Wellness Specialist concentrating on travel experiences that cater to the mind, body and soul,” Cheri explains.

Besides attaining this specialized training, Cheri has personally experienced a variety of wellness-focused resorts. “Every fall, I take a group on a spa retreat and each time I experience something that changes my life!” Cheri exclaims. She particularly enjoyed visits to the Canyon Ranch properties in Tucson and Lennox, Massachusetts. Each resort offers beautiful grounds along with an extensive menu of activities and classes including outdoor adventures, cultural experiences, creative arts, nutritional counseling and mind-body training. Guests can also take advantage of medical services, spiritual wellness opportunities and spa treatments.

Cheri participated in many activities while at Canyon Ranch including aerial yoga, on-land surfing and canoeing. After a busy day, she chose to unwind with spa treatments including Ashiatsu, which is a deep barefoot massage.

Cheri also immersed herself in the Life in Balance experience at Miraval Resort & Spa located in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. “As soon as you arrive, you unplug from your cell phone and become more present, aware and connected to your mind, body and spirit.” Cheri had a wealth of interesting activities to choose from including Body Renewal Rituals, Eastern Modalities and Massage Therapies along with equine experiences, outdoor adventure challenges and a variety of classes including several types of yoga.

Besides specialized resorts that focus on a complete wellness experience, hotels and cruise lines are introducing their own special wellness programs to complement more traditional offerings. Cheri notes for example, “Seabourn Cruises has teamed with Dr. Andrew Weil, a well-known pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, to provide the first-ever wellness program at sea.  Mindful Living Coaches will educate and inspire cruisers with special seminars and classes.” Cheri will be sailing with Seabourn this fall on a cruise to the Pacific Gold Coast.

Vacations should bring happiness, rejuvenation and peace of mind. A wellness vacation may be just the ticket. For more information on how to find your perfect get-a-way, contact Cheri Keller at ckeller@adelmantravel.com, by phone (800-749-7116), or visit our website at www.adelmanvacations.com.

Noelle Nashville

Meet Noelle, Nashville’s experiential hotel celebrating the artists and curators who make Nashville such a special place.  Originally opened in 1930 as the city’s first luxury hotel, the property reopened in 2017, allowing guests to experience elements of rich history but with refined modern interpretations.  All guestrooms are adorned with luxury robes, slippers, a mini bar, a safe and turndown service.  Hydration Stations are on each floor offering complimentary still, sparkling and ambient water, as well as fresh fruit.

After a long day’s work, guests can look forward to dining at Noelle’s restaurant, Makeready Libations & Liberation, where Adelman travelers receive 15% off all food purchases. Focused on fresh ingredients, Makeready provides guests with a unique and comforting dining experience. The menu features an elevated tavern concept inspired by the original shift workers who spent their days toiling in Printer’s Alley, located just outside the restaurant.  Enjoy a classic cocktail in the Trade Room or check out the view from 15 floors up while sipping vibrant libations.  And if you walk into the ‘storage closet’ another surprise awaits you…

Special Adelman rates apply. For more information contact your Adelman travel consultant.