When Starwoods Barry
Sternlicht went up to accept the 2004 Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Association of Travel Executives in Philadelphia
last week, he apologized to the dinner crowd for being late and
explained that his corporate jet had developed engine
problems.
So I pulled out my
American Express Platinum Card, called their special service line
and they sent a private jet from JFK to White Plains so I could
join you here tonight, he explained. The Amex rep in the audience
beamed. Seemingly less pleased was the representative from Discover
Cards Business Services, which was sponsoring the
dinner.
Was that Wynn Las Vegas VP
Chris Flatt we saw landing in Nice, France, recently? And was that
her checking into the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo? And were those
Monaco gaming officials we saw her meeting with? Mais
oui.
TC hears that the big three online companies
-- Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz -- are all hard
at work on packaging technology for unmanaged business travelers.
Theyll bundle air, hotel and car for one low (and opaque) price.
Also on the tech front, we hear that Sidestep is in the early
stages of developing a tool for agents.
NCL
America wont have the only U.S.-flagged ship in Hawaii
next winter. TC was told that Cruise West will
send its Spirit of Oceanus to Hawaii and then to the South Pacific
in January 2006. The vessel will make its way back to Alaska in the
spring via Japan and Siberia.