Oh, the Places We Will Go: Best Places to Stay - 2005

Takeoff

Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents log 51,000 to 100,000 air miles each year; about 38 percent of respondents annually log 101,000 to 500,000 miles.

Consultants say that there are pros and cons associated with their frequent-flier tendencies. Atlanta-based Dwayne Jorgensen, global practice leader, Sarbanes-Oxley services and IT governance, with CTG, will attain platinum medallion status through Delta Airlines' frequent-flier program this year thanks to his monthly trips to the U.K. and Europe. "When you reach silver status, all you want is gold," he notes. "When you hit gold, you develop a deep sense of sympathy for platinum-status members."
Priority boarding, frequent upgrades, and access to club lounges are nice, but, at the end of the day, consultants still have to squeeze into cramped seats on overbooked and understaffed flights. Seat pitches — the distance from one point on an airlines seat to the same point on the seat in front of it — range from a paltry 30 inches to a slightly less paltry 36 inches, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.
"Those good flights, where you sit in first class, are served well, and enjoy good food … ?" muses Kim Noles, who travels 40 to 48 weeks each year as an advisory finance consultant for Lawson Software in Minneapolis. "I've had exactly two of those in the past two years. The vibe from the flight attendants tends to be, 'Here's your little bag of nuts, now be quiet and leave us alone.' And I can't remember the last time I took a flight with empty seats."

The frequent-flier-based upgrades to first class Noles often receives provide little relief. Even getting to the gate has become a hassle thanks to frequent security line delays. There are workarounds, although even those have their limits.
Noles, who prefers Northwest/KLM (a "generally on-time, fairly good airline"), stopped flying United and American after spending too many nights in O'Hare, which now serves as a key hub for both airlines.
Theresa Regli, principal consultant with Molecular in Boston, carefully selects her connecting airports. She opts for Dallas–Ft. Worth ("easy, well-designed") over Chicago on coast-to-coast trips and uses San Jose International rather than SFO when traveling to San Francisco.
Although she emphasizes that "there are no good airports on the East Coast of the U.S.," Regli enjoys visiting certain ones elsewhere, such as Las Vegas's McCarran Airport ("spacious baggage claim, jolting introduction to the city"), London's Heathrow ("easy connections to the rest of Europe"), and LAX ("you can get everything from a massage to a gourmet meal in no time").

Noel Kreicker, president of IOR Global Services, a Northbrook, IL, firm that provides consulting around corporate expatriate programs, often uses General Mitchell in Milwaukee as an alternative to the Chicago airports. When she does, she buys a used book for the flight from the Renaissance Book Store in the terminal.

Rental Car as Respite

Compared to survey comments about airlines and hotel experiences, the consultants' stories about rental car experiences read like rave reviews.
"Hertz is uniformly good," says Noles, whose company has a usage agreement with Hertz. "I know that they will take care of me: My name will be on the board, my keys will be in the car, everything will be fine. I can't remember a time when they messed up."
Kenneth Perlman, a Deloitte Consulting senior manager based in Santa Ana, CA, appreciates when service representatives scour the car for leave-behinds and, especially, when they find something and then sprint after customers to return it. Consultants say that they appreciate rental car upgrades.

Consultants also identified a handful of rental-car turnoffs, such as one-way drop-off fees, smoke-tainted "nonsmoking" cars, "extra-driver" fees when spouses or partners are also on the trip, and long return lines.
For the most part, however, the rental car experience represents a respite from the frustrations that frequently attend other legs of the journey from home office to client site.
When the front end of one of Noles's rental cars crumpled during a minor accident, a Hertz representative met her on the scene within an hour. "They towed a new rental car, unhooked it for me, and then towed the wrecked car away," she recalls. "I want that service at home. It's really the easiest part of the trip. Once you manage to stagger off the plane, grab your luggage, go outside, and get on the bus, you know it's fine, at least for a little while."

Hospitable Climates?

Consultants reserve their most descriptive comments for hotels, which is not surprising given the amount of time they spend as their guests.
High-end hotels once again received the highest service marks from this year's "Best Places" respondents. Four Seasons, The Ritz-Carlton, Westin, Park Hyatt, W Hotels, JW Marriott, St. Regis, Loews Hotels, and Hyatt Regency, respectively, were rated highest, based on an average derived from a five-point service scale.

Motel 6, Econo Lodge, Howard Johnson, Ramada Plaza, Ramada Inn, Ramada Limited, Quality, Doubletree, Best Western, and Comfort Inn, respectively, received the lowest service ratings from survey respondents.
Some midrange hotels, such as Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn, received service ratings only a bit below the top-tier providers. The challenge for consultants, 84 percent of whom book their own travel reservations, is that service varies from property to property.
"If you get into a good Embassy Suites, you've died and gone to heaven," says Noles. "On the other hand, if you get one of the older ones, you're fighting with everything. It can be seedy and run down."
To outsiders, consultants may sound like a demanding lot when it comes to hotel service and amenities. According to the survey results, however, consultants generally are not difficult to please.
"I appreciate walking into a hotel room and not immediately knowing that I am the thousandth person to stay there," says Noles.
Perlman wants a clean room, a desk clerk who acts happy to see him, and a break from the nickel-and-diming (the $9 "courtesy" bottle of water, $3 local calls, and the $14.99-per-day charge for high-speed Internet connectivity) that consultants say prevails at most properties.
When it comes to amenities, consultants place the greatest value on offerings that help them more efficiently manage time and access information. The most important amenities, respectively, are in-room high-speed Internet access, no-wait check-in and check-out, wireless access, fitness center access (with free weights and treadmills), morning newspaper delivery, wake-up calls, and continental breakfasts.
Hoteliers take note: High-speed and wireless connectivity needs to be defined as an amenity or a fee-based service — and delivered accordingly.
"I mean, really, if I'm paying $250 for a room, and you provide me with free shampoo, soap, and body lotion, why are you charging me $10 a day for WiFi?" Regli points out. "I'd rather have the free WiFi."

Two years ago, Jorgensen received a $360 telephone bill upon checking out from the Sheraton World in Orlando. The charge stemmed from his attempt to download an important proposal via a glacial dial-up connection (26 kbs) — which stalled out several times — that he accessed through an 800 number.
The manager on duty initially refused to remove or lower the charge, pointing out that the fee was listed in a book in Jorgensen's room. He backtracked and removed the charge only when the organizer of the conference Jorgensen was attending at the hotel delivered a tongue lashing while pointing out that he purchased a 400-room block each year during a traditionally slow period.
Although a Sheraton World Orlando reservations clerk indicates that the hotel "is currently" providing free, in-room, WiFi access, an important lesson — when charging for a service, provide a service worth charging for — was overlooked by the staff two years ago and continues to receive short shrift at other hotels.

How to Help Hotels

The three chief complaints consultants express with their hospitality vendor boil down to insufficient Internet access (free WiFi is preferred, even if it means boosting the room rate), nickel-and-diming practices, and weak problem-resolution processes.
This year's survey is rife with unpleasant anecdotes — unwelcome cockroaches and crickets, daily 3 a.m. fire drills, leaking windows, collapsed bathroom ceilings, stalled elevators, and more — exacerbated by responses from hotel staffs that range from unhelpful to absurd.
One survey respondent relayed this experience: "The already cramped room awoke me with a surprise in the morning — the window had sprung a leak. The staff was very ineffective in making good on the situation. I had to ask them for some sort of rebate/compensation. The initial reply was, 'We don't do that sort of thing.' Well, as a somewhat seasoned consultant, I knew that wasn't true. Upon finally speaking to the manager on duty, I received only a 25 percent discount on one night (of the three that I was staying) and one free breakfast. While I appreciate the gesture, the thing that really upset me was the manner in which they 'repaired' the situation. The hotel staff simply increased the heat in my room. Not only was the floor still wet when I returned from my day, but the room was almost 85 degrees. When all is said and done, I most likely will never stay at any Courtyard hotel again."
Many survey respondents were equally steamed by similarly weak examples of front-desk troubleshooting at other hotels. The process for resolving hotel-room problems, says former hospitality executive Jorgensen, should resemble the way a cardholder handles a credit-card dispute.
"It involves the standard escalation protocol," Jorgensen notes. "These days, many clerks have probably been empowered to fix the problem, but they just don't want to."

When that happens, hotel guests should immediately ask for the manager on duty (MOD), who keeps an MOD log that the general manager of the property regularly scans for problems. "As you discuss problems with higher levels of management, the attitude quickly shifts from 'Hey, this is just my job,' to 'What can I do to make it better?'" Jorgensen adds. If that shift doesn't take hold, ask the MOD when the general manager will be on the property so that you can relay how the MOD addressed the problem.
When asked how hotels could improve guest relations, consultants unanimously pointed to the check-in process, which they believe can be streamlined or even eliminated.

Perlman would like to be able to slide his credit card through a kiosk to retrieve his room card. He ought to book at Marriott hotels, which this summer will begin providing check-in kiosks at certain properties. Perlman and several other consultants also suggest that an unlimited-use business services package (high-speed Internet and wireless, telephone, printing, faxes, etc.) be included in the room rate as part of loyalty programs. Other suggestions include television headphones (as a defense against thin walls) and more generous helpings of towels.

Coping Mechanisms

Until those recommendations are adopted on a widespread scale, consultants are left to their own devices — both high-tech and otherwise — for coping with the discomforts of the road.

Many consultants prepare for their trips before scooting to the airport. The day before a trip, Perlman mentally walks through his logistical plan, checks the weather, and packs accordingly. Then he deposits his laptop bag, suitcase, and travel mindset next to the front door so that he can spend as much time as possible enjoying his wife and daughter before his departure. Kreicker and Regli use their frequent travels to feed their curiosity by researching interesting restaurants and natural areas in and around the large cities they visit.

Once airborne, Jorgensen automatically drops into a slumber as soon as the landing gear retracts into the plane's belly. Others throw back vitamins, crack novels or the Financial Times, and slip on headphones to broadcast a do-not-disturb message to chatty seatmates.
"Listening to books on CD or tape provides a perfect antidote to the angst created by travel delays," says Kreicker. She and many other road warriors tend to avoid work on planes. Jorgensen always picks up a local paper before boarding, which he reads cover to cover once he awakes an hour or so into his flight. Noles limits her in-flight work to expense tracking, which she conducts with the aid of her favorite travel gadgets: a miniature stapler and tape dispenser.

"On one flight, the person in front of me reclined quickly and broke my laptop screen." Noles recalls. "Since then, I've tried to avoid using my laptop on flights."

McBride, on the other hand, responded to this article on her Blackberry during a return flight from India. Her primary technique to lessen the strain of the road warrior lifestyle runs closer to the Mel Gibson ethos, with one exception: "I don't prepare for trips," she reports. "I just do it. I have a cosmetics bag packed at all times."