This is an American Airlines gate in the Seattle-Tacoma airport that was hand-decorated by American Airlines employees on their own time. The gate is where one child’s dream vacation started earlier this month as they boarded their WishFlight. Read More »
Hey, kids, it’s time for everyone’s favorite chunk of used space! And travel links!
Low-cost airlines are following you (and friending).
Nomadic Matt is giving away an iPod Touch and more!
And the WAEA goes to…
Orbitz Worldwide hosted their first annual Blogger’s Day early this week at their headquarters in the beautiful city of Chicago.
Orbitz was an incredibly gracious host and really went out of their way to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of all their guests, which included some of the biggest travel blogs on the web today (yes, even us!).
There are a lot of big things on the horizon for Orbitz and they were kind enough to share them with us, unfortunately they made us pinky swear not to cover all of it. Something about swimming and cement shoes.
What we can discuss is the excitement and passion that is Orbitz and how it runs throughout the entire company. They are generally giddy over the news regarding their change in Orbitz fee policy. They are obsessed with hotels and customer service. Technology drives them. Also, coffee. Read More »
It’s time for another rousing edition of Travel Around the Internet! Brace yourself.
Here are just a few of the items that have shuffled across our inbox lately:
Disney Cruise specials and kids sail free!
Marriott wants to Twitter, email and Facebook you to Hawai’i! By all means, let them!
I don’t know why I’m telling you this.
Perhaps because I am a really, really good person who is able to put my own selfish desires aside for your best interest.
Or maybe I’m hoping that you’ll reward me in the future by, maybe, offering to take me to Hawaii with you, for example.
I’m going with the idea that I am a really good person who you would gladly reward with a trip to Hawaii even if you don’t know me. Because in my head, that makes total sense.
Anyway – let’s talk about getting you (and a friend) a free trip to Hawaii.
Of all the travel related internet happenings going on right now, the one I am most excited about is Marriott’s “Tweet Yourself To Hawaii” Sweepstakes. (Now, before you click that link, let me warn you that this website has autoplay sound. Which I loathe. But keep your eye on the prize!)
And that prize is…
A vacation for two to Hawaii from Marriott!
Each week, Marriot Hawaii is giving away three island vacations. The vacation packages include:
(In order to take advantage of this prize, you’re going to have to get yourself – and a friend - to and from one of the ten U.S. West coast gateway cities.)
All you have to do to enter is go to the contest web site and login to send a tweet about the contest. A tweet is something you do on Twitter. Twitter is some place where you should be following me. You can get additional entries by submitting an email entry and connecting to your Facebook account.
The contest runs from the week of August 24th through October 23rd, and you can enter again each week. If you win, you must take your vacation by December 20, 2009. Oh, the burden!
Go to the Marriott Hawaii Tweet Sweepstakes website to enter.
And remember who loved you enough to tell you about it.
Photo credits: lazlo-photo on Flickr.
It’s time for another rousing edition of Travel Around the Internet! It’s like exciting.
Here are just a few of the items that have shuffled across our inbox lately:
LAST CHANCE! If you have a kid, a camera and access to water you could win a $500 Best Western gift card at Babble Playground. The contest ends tomorrow so get that kid wet, stat!
UpTake is a great place for researching your next trip. After all, our slogan is “Your first step to a great trip.” But I wanted to share my two cents of what I found useful in other online resources so that you could have a more pleasant trip, especially during this Holiday Season.
All of us are experiencing slower (and consequently longer) wait lines at airports as the result of heighten security measures. And to avoid any surprises at the airport of what you can bring on board in your carry-on bag, it’s always a good idea to check with TSA to get the latest scoop. This way you will know how many ounces of your favorite perfume you can bring or whether or not your snappy nail clipper will be better off with the check-ins.
To get a more comprehensive list of travel recommendations for you and your family – covering everything from best travel tips for getting the lowest airfares to determining the world’s best cruises – it would be a good idea to visit the Perrin Post. If you feel the itch to travel to Europe, check out Rick Steve’s tips on European vacations; they are both great resources in providing a comprehensive view of what you ought to know before you go (travel tip wise).
Finally, if you are looking for a great deal to get you on your way, I can think of no better sites than Travelzoo and ShermansTravel. They are both fantastic resources for saving your budget!
Safe Travels,
Steve
In Part I, we learnt a bit about LEED certification, along with facts and statistics about LEED certified hotels, and the resultant benefits for the hoteliers. In this part, we’ll consider the hassles and problems associated with constructing and running a green hotel.I also asked Mr. Yuan-Sing Chang, who runs the green development wing of the Gaia Napa Valley, that if LEED certification is all that its made out to be, with potential benefits of millions of dollars in additional income, cost savings, and tax rebates, then why are so few hotels interested in it?
He says that a lot of developers build the hotels and then flip them off when they are complete, and that it does not make sense for them to pursue LEED certification because of the extra costs and time factor. This would make sense from a business angle even if the company that built the hotel is planning on running it.
According to a presentation by the Green Building Finance Consortium (GBFC), the actual costs of LEED certification (not including the certification fees) go up as per the certification level sought. The base level of LEED certification pushes up the initial cost by 0.8%, while initial costs for Silver ratings is 3.5% higher, LEED Gold buildings have a 4.5% premium and Platinum buildings can push up costs by as much as 11.5 percent.
So what it comes down to is the initial extra investment of time and resources necessary to get the certification, as opposed to the many benefits once you get the certification. Hopefully, this balance will tilt in favor of certification as more and more hotels need it, and the costs go down.
One way to streamline the certification process and speed it up is to hire some LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED AP). As of date, there are more than 43,000 accredited professionals. You can search for LEED APs in your area in the Green Building Certification Institute’s directory.
There are also companies like the San Francisco based Simon & Associates, who act as ‘green building consultants’. Their roster of clients who have achieved LEED certification include Berkeley City College, University of California – Merced Campus, and the Gaia Napa Valley, among others.
As of today, LEED is the definitive proof that consumers are looking at to decide whether a hotel is green enough. I’d like to add that a very influential group – The Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism Criteria - comprising of 27 major travel industry companies and non-profit environment groups, have come together and developed a new expansive standard for sustainable tourism, which was unveiled at the recently concluded 10 day IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, attended by delegations from 177 countries.
The standard (GSTC for short), takes into account all existing major standards already in use, and was developed after extensive consultation with experts, academics and private industry.
Its still a work in progress, but if you look at some of the players involved – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH &LA), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTI), United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Choice Hotels, Conde Nast Traveler, Expedia, Inc., Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Travelocity/Sabre, and many more, I can tell you for sure that this is going to be the future of the travel industry.
Photo of the LEED Platinum Certified Proximity hotel courtesy Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels.
© UpTake Networks, Inc. 2009
