There's a product out there for agents who have really
adventurous -- and really rich -- clients. It's an around-the-world
scavenger hunt in which participants compete for $100,000 in cash
and the title of World's Greatest Traveler.
Called GreatEscape 2001, the event is described by its
organizer, GreatEscape Adventures, as a "combination race/rally
where teams will circumnavigate the globe, traversing four
continents to dozens of off-the-beaten path and world-class
destinations. Contestants will solve riddles, unravel cryptic clues
and uncover a bastion of hints while visiting sacred sites, famous
museums and cultural events."
The adventure promises to take the adventurous to the Pyramids,
the Himalayas and a host of countries such as Italy, Greece, France
-- even Laos.
Contestants travel in teams of two, and the cost for each team
is $22,000.
Slated to run from May 5 to 27, the trip includes all air fares
and accommodations, plus, of course, the riddles, clues and
hints.
Agents earn about 7% pay if they book clients -- $1,500 per
team. Get the details on line at www.greatescape2001.com.
Chillin'
Here's a new guest room amenity that popped up on a press
release touting a Caribbean resort: adjustable air
conditioning.
What's the big deal? Ask anyone whose extremities have been
frostbitten in the middle of the night during a hotel stay in the
tropics.
Many air conditioners we've encountered in the islands operate
on two speeds only -- Off and Freeze.
These units' Arctic blasts are usually aimed directly at the
shivering victim cowering under light blankets at the far end of
the bed.
The fixed air vents do not permit any adjustment of either
direction or wind velocity.
The only thing to do is move out of harm's way, which usually
reduces the victim to sleeping either in the closet or cuddled up
on the bathroom floor.
Of course, there should be the option of shutting the unit off
and opening the window, but some newer hotels have rooms that are
hermetically sealed, and some older properties consider bug
repellent and window screens unnecessary amenities.
So the benefit of adjustable air conditioning is welcome news.
We hope it catches on.
A gold medal
They arrive by snail mail on colorful paper, by e-mail with an
Urgent! flag and by fax, phone and overnight delivery.
They clog mailboxes, in-boxes and voice mail message
centers.
They fill file cabinets and round files.
Sometimes they are newsworthy. Lots of times they are a waste of
time.
"They" are press releases.
However, when an unusual see-through plastic packet arrived
recently, Insider was curious.
Within was a smaller transparent envelope. Inside that,
something glinted and sparkled.
Insider was intrigued.
From the envelope tumbled the following items: a green fabric
leaf, red plastic lips, a (fake) gemstone, a mirrored numeral 4 and
a three-inch, octagon-shaped brochure.
Insider unfolded the brochure to learn that a W Hotel will open
in New York City's Union Square on Nov. 15.
The items were linked to the new hotel's special features.
The leaf represented a breath of fresh air (W's guest rooms);
the lips symbolized romance (apparently, guests should "prepare to
pucker"); the gemstone hinted of "optimal opulence," and the number
4 stood for the fourth property in the W hotel group to open in
Manhattan.
If Olympic medals were awarded for press releases, this one
scored a gold.
What goes 'round
Insider noted with interest the following tidbits gleaned from a
Newsweek interview with novelist, essayist and playwright Gore
Vidal:
It seems the very young Vidal (age 3) flew across the U.S. on
the nation's first transcontinental airline, TAT, making him, he
reckons, "probably the longest-living air traveler of the age." His
father was general manager of TAT.
But the best part is his closing zinger aimed at the airlines of
2000.
He recalled that a transcontinental flight in 1929 took two
days. Now, he said, "it takes the same thing; we've come full
circle."