Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008 - (Page 4)

PUBLISHER'S LETTER LUXURY T R AV E L A D V I S O R jmcmahon@questex.com rterrero@questex.com llambert@questex.com Inspiring and Educating Sellers of Affluent Travel Learning New Tricks Group Publisher: John McMahon (212) 895-8243 Editorial Director: Ruthanne Terrero, CTC (212) 895-8423 Managing Editor: Lindsay Lambert (212) 895-8434 O n a recent trip to Washington, D.C., I decided to try out the newly opened Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, VA. After settling in, I stopped for a drink at the hotel’s restaurant, Jackson 20—much to my surprise, it was Doggie Happy Hour at this pet-friendly hotel. What a great way to end a day, with so many four-legged friends! The following week, I headed out to Los Angeles and stopped by the opening of another Kimpton hotel, The Palomar. On the first day of operation, the team put its best foot (or should I say “paw?”) forward and managed to stop traffic on Wilshire Boulevard with an outdoor setup showcasing some of the hotel’s best assets: a bed with white Frette triple sheeting and black faux-fur throw blankets, atop which lay one lucky golden retriever, Rocky, who just happened to live across the street. (Pictured here with me are Kimpton’s Barbara Piagari, director of sales and marketing; Lynae Poole, sales coordinator, with Rocky; and John Douponce, The Palomar’s general manager.) I applaud Kimpton Hotels, as well as hotel companies such as Loews, for putting a different spin on the luxury experience. The novelty of these stories serves as a lead-in for me to say that I am concerned about the travel advisor community and its lack of initiative in trying new tricks. Some of you will defy this statement, but it is a valid thought that needs to be addressed across our industry—otherwise, this old dog won’t be in business. Have you ever attended a travel industry function and looked at the “maturity” of the travel advisors? In the next 10 to 15 years, it won’t matter if consumers see the value of using a travel professional—there won’t be any around to provide the service. You can talk about training all you want, but you need a physical body to train. I look at the U.S. airline industry, which lays off people repeatedly and rehires them six months or a year later. Why do these employees come back? The simple answer is that they have a passion for travel. We need to seek out recruits with a passion for travel to become our next generation of travel advisors. I am going to make it my agenda to change this within the travel professional community. So, go take a hard look around your office. Do you have the next generation of agents? If not, I suggest you contact your local travel association, which should be helping you recruit the next generation, or else they’ll soon be out of business, too. Staff Editors: Mackenzie Allison, Kirk Cassels, Dave Eisen, Jena Tesse Fox, Joe Pike, Roberta Roberti, Mark Rogers, Erin F. Sternthal, Susan J. Young ADVERTISING & SALES STAFF Eastern U.S./Europe Associate Publisher Kimberly Ziegler (212) 895-8268 Caribbean/Latin America/Mexico Stephanie Gordon (305) 854-1622 West Coast Associate Publisher Pattie Lincoln (818) 788-4488 Hawaii Simone Perez (808) 394-2090 Europe Ritchie Markus (41) 1 918 1717 Catherine Tondelli (39) 06 522 46 050 Asia: Hazel Li, InterAct Media & Marketing kziegler@questex.com stephanie@gordonmediagroup.com plincoln@questex.com simone@abbottcommunications.com ritchiemarkus@ggaweb.ch ctondellli@alice.it hazelli@starhub.net.sg TRAVEL AGENT CUSTOM SOLUTIONS: Associate Publisher, Southern Hemisphere: Peter Gatt (212) 895-8292 Senior Managing Editor: David K. Moseder (212) 895-8447 pgatt@questex.com dmoseder@questex.com ART, CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION, MARKETING Associate Art Director: Debbie Sheehan dsheehan@questex.com (212) 895-8429 Assistant Art Director: Alba N. Negrón-Diaz anegron@questex.com (212) 895-8427 Designers: Katy Lin, (212) 895-8432 klin@questex.com Bogdan Migulski, (212) 895-8428 bmigulski@questex.com Photo Coordinator: Melissa Buesing mbuesing@questex.com (212) 895-8256 Production Director: Marilyn Hiris mhiris@questex.com (212) 895-8439 Production Manager: Sarah Ross sross@questex.com (212) 895-8440 Director, Audience Development: Heidi Spangler hspangler@questex.com (216) 706-3705 Reprints: LuxuryTravelAdvisor@reprintbuyer.com (800) 290-5460, ext. 139 Marketing Manager: Christina Harrison charrison@questex.com (216) 706-3770 CORPORATE President & C.E.O.: Kerry C. Gumas Executive V.P. & Chief Financial Officer: Tom Caridi Executive V.P.: Robert S. Ingraham Executive V.P.: Tony D’Avino Executive V.P.: Jon Leibowitz Executive V.P.-Corporate Development: Claudia Flowers V.P. & General Manager: Don Rosenberg V.P.-Digital Media: Seth Nichols V.P.-Human Resources: Diane M. Evans For a $100 subscription to Luxury Travel Advisor, call 216-706-3705 between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:00 pm EST; fax: 216-706-3714; e-mail: hspangler@questex.com or send a written request to Heidi Spangler, Luxury Travel Advisor, 600 Superior Ave Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114. JOHN MCMAHON Group Publisher jmcmahon@questex.com Copyright © 2008 Questex Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923; phone: (978) 750-8400; fax (978) 750-4470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com or phone 800-494-9051 ext. 100. Luxury Travel Advisor does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the advertisements contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsibility for any losses or other damages incurred by readers in reliance on such content. Luxury Travel Advisor welcomes unsolicited articles, manuscripts, photographs, illustrations and other materials but cannot be held responsible for their safekeeping or return. Questex Media Group, Inc. provides certain customer contact data (such as customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses) to third parties who wish to promote relevant products, services and other opportunities which may be of interest to you. If you do not want Questex Media Group to make your contact information available to third parties for marketing purposes, simply call toll-free (216) 706-3705 between the hours of 8:30 am and 5 pm CST and a customer service representative will assist you in removing your name from Questex's lists. Outside the U.S., please phone (216) 706-3705. 4 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | June 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008

Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Paris Shanghai New York Takeover Hotels Townhouse Galleria Florida Spas BVI Bliss Athens, Greece Rainforest Excursions Nigel Page The Pulse Jetset Report Just Back On Location Sightings Agent Access Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - June 2008

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