i guess they didn't get on AR soon enough!
Sent to you by David via Google Reader:
Downgraded: Consumer smarts
You will no doubt recall Spirit Airlines' decision to charge up to $45 for a carry-on bag. What may surprise (and disappoint) you: The airline has seen a surge in bookings, 50% higher than the same period last year. The airline admits to capitalizing on the media attention, much of it negative. Perhaps all press is good press, after all. Or perhaps passengers are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.
Downgraded: Hotel Fees Running Wild
Bjorn Hanson of NYU predicts an increase in the size, variety, and breadth of hotel fees in the coming year. $1.7 billion worth. And if you were curious as to how you'll be charged, here's a list:
Examples of fees and surcharges include: resort or amenity fees, early departure fees, reservation cancellation fees, internet fees, telephone call surcharges, the costs of local calls, business center fees (i.e. cost of sending/receiving faxes and sending/receiving overnight packages), room service delivery surcharges, mini-bar restocking fees, charges for in-room safes, and automatic gratuities and surcharges. For groups, there have been increased charges for bartenders, service, and other staff at events; charges for set up and breakdown of meeting rooms; charges for meeting rooms in which meals are served (the common practice has been that there is a charge for meeting rooms but not an additional room charge for rooms in which meals are served); fees for master folio billing and baggage holding fees for guests leaving luggage with bell staff after checking out of a hotel but before departure.
Downgraded: Scanner privacy
Oh good: The full-body scanners that supposedly blur out the private parts, don't. Thanks to The Smoking Gun, we learn of a TSA employee who walked through the scanner and was, ahem, judged by his colleagues for the size of his manhood. Eventually, the guy snapped at the mockery, which led to his arrest. And led to our awareness of just how personal the scanners can get…
Downgraded: The Tonga Room
There just aren't enough kitsch-tastic tiki lounges left in America. And so it saddens me when I read that the San Francisco Fairmont is planning to demolish the Tonga Room, a Polynesian-themed bar that was launched in 1945. The city (and some preservationists) are protesting the planned demolition.
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