A poll of business travelers from four major economies commissioned by Marriott Hotels & Resorts indicates that 2010 may be shaping up as a year of transition from economic pessimism to greater confidence. More than 60% of 1,207 respondents in four countries agree that business travel is essential; 75% of Chinese plan to travel more. Key survey findings include:
• Approximately one-third of business travelers polled in the U.S. (35%), UK (33%), and Germany (33%) think their economies will improve. Another third – U.S. (36%), U.K. (37%), and Germany (35%) – believe things have leveled off economically and will stay the same. About three in 10 – U.S. (29%), U.K. (30%), and Germany (33%) – forecast their national economy will get worse. China is the exception, with 81% of responders saying their economy will improve.
• In China, only 13% fear job loss in the coming year, versus 39% in the U.K., 34% in Germany, and 29% in the U.S. Once their economies improve, 66% of business travelers in China, 51% in the U.K., 40% in the U.S., and 39% in Germany plan to seek new jobs.
• Although affected by a lack of jobs, millennials (referred to in the survey as Generation Y), ages 21-29, in the U.S. and U.K. express greater optimism about the economy than their older colleagues. Millennials in the U.S., U.K., and Germany also foresee more business trips in the coming year than their Baby Boomer counterparts.
• Most responders in all four countries say business travel gives their companies and their careers a competitive edge. More than nine in 10 agree business travel is important to achieve business goals, reaching a high of 96% among the Chinese. U.S. responders are most likely to say (82%), travel provides critical face-to-face time with clients and customers, followed by 77% in Germany, 74% in China, and 72% in the U.K.
• Business travelers predicting more travel next year: U.S. (22%), U.K. (20%), Germany (20%) and China (63%).
These are findings from “Global Business Trends in the Third Millennium”, a Marist Institute for Public Opinion poll of 1,207 business travelers in the U.S., China, Germany and the U.K. The study examines trends in the economy, business travel, career and personal goals, and generational and cultural differences.
“The findings mirror indications of the economic recovery in our hotels across the globe, where we are seeing improvement in corporate travel reflecting pent-up demand after two years of cutbacks,” said Don Semmler, executive vice president, global full-service brands for Marriott International. ““With nearly 500 hotels in 60 countries, Marriott Hotels & Resorts has tremendous insight and 50 years’ experience serving business travelers. This survey spots cultural and generational trends that endorse our continued efforts to address work-life balance on the road; spaces that facilitate work, social interaction and relaxation; and to lead in the area of environmental stewardship.”
shared by Beth Hanlin, Corporate Travel Specialist
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Agency AM Resorts Riviera Maya FAM Trip a Success
During the FAM Trip, our base resort was Secrets Maroma Beach, which was the perfect place to start! Every room has a Jacuzzi, balcony, king bed, plasma TV and full 24 hour room service. The biggest benefit of Secrets Maroma Beach is the BEACH. It has the best beach of any of the resorts we visited, hands down. Wide and long beach with white sand and clear blue water.
Food at all AM Resorts is top notch! Below is a quick run down of each of the other resorts and some quick ratings from me.
ALL of these hotels have a world class spa so I'll keep that out of each description. There is nothing like the spas in Mexico!!!
Secrets Silversands is the coolest art deco Mexican themed hotel I've ever seen. Great pools, lively crowd and multiple choices for dining. If there is a downside it is the beach. It's the smallest and narrowest beach of all of the resorts we visited. The resort makes up for the lack of beach by having a pool for each building. If you can enjoy a little beach and a lot of pools, this is the best resort for the money! Awesome rooms with the full Jacuzzi, balcony, king bed, plasma, room service etc...
Secrets Capri is the most quaint and classic style of the Secrets chain. Quaint and intimate and every room includes preferred club amenities. Great beach, great pool, EXCELLENT service but less activity going on at the resort. This is much better for the travelers seeking peace and quiet.
Dreams Riviera Cancun has the best lobby of all of the resorts. Stretching from the front of the resort all the way to the beach! Lively crowd, great for kids, great food options and a kids club. Rooms here are also nothing to scoff at!
Dreams Tulum is my favorite of the family resorts that we visited. MASSIVE property with both old and new architecture. It's very lush and tropical with an AMAZING beach that views the Mayan ruins of Tulum! WOW! They even have a classic Spanish Colonial Church here with the wooden pews, that was my favorite part of this property! Unreal!
Dreams Puerto Aventuras is right in town. Lots to do including a dolphin park and shops. This resort has an adults only section and the kids side. Great beach, MASSIVE round shaped rooms and all the food you care to eat. For the price a real winner!
Now Jade resort is also a great little budget family property. More of a larger hotel set up. Good Beach, Good Food, Good Service. I would say this is a very good 3 star resort.
Now Sapphire resort is a bungalow style, laid back "Hawaiiain-ish" resort. They are renovating 100 of their rooms by the end of the year so those will be great. As of right now their only main problem is how hard the beds are! Once they update all of the rooms it won't be a problem.
All in all it was the best Fam I've ever been privy too. Great spas, great everything. I definitely give the trip two thumbs up!
Shane Lawrence
Leisure and Honeymoon Specialist
Secrets Silversands is the coolest art deco Mexican themed hotel I've ever seen. Great pools, lively crowd and multiple choices for dining. If there is a downside it is the beach. It's the smallest and narrowest beach of all of the resorts we visited. The resort makes up for the lack of beach by having a pool for each building. If you can enjoy a little beach and a lot of pools, this is the best resort for the money! Awesome rooms with the full Jacuzzi, balcony, king bed, plasma, room service etc...
Secrets Capri is the most quaint and classic style of the Secrets chain. Quaint and intimate and every room includes preferred club amenities. Great beach, great pool, EXCELLENT service but less activity going on at the resort. This is much better for the travelers seeking peace and quiet.
Dreams Riviera Cancun has the best lobby of all of the resorts. Stretching from the front of the resort all the way to the beach! Lively crowd, great for kids, great food options and a kids club. Rooms here are also nothing to scoff at!
Dreams Tulum is my favorite of the family resorts that we visited. MASSIVE property with both old and new architecture. It's very lush and tropical with an AMAZING beach that views the Mayan ruins of Tulum! WOW! They even have a classic Spanish Colonial Church here with the wooden pews, that was my favorite part of this property! Unreal!
Dreams Puerto Aventuras is right in town. Lots to do including a dolphin park and shops. This resort has an adults only section and the kids side. Great beach, MASSIVE round shaped rooms and all the food you care to eat. For the price a real winner!
Now Jade resort is also a great little budget family property. More of a larger hotel set up. Good Beach, Good Food, Good Service. I would say this is a very good 3 star resort.
Now Sapphire resort is a bungalow style, laid back "Hawaiiain-ish" resort. They are renovating 100 of their rooms by the end of the year so those will be great. As of right now their only main problem is how hard the beds are! Once they update all of the rooms it won't be a problem.All in all it was the best Fam I've ever been privy too. Great spas, great everything. I definitely give the trip two thumbs up!
Shane Lawrence
Leisure and Honeymoon Specialist
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
FOOTBALL FANS UNITE!
For those true “football” fans this is an awesome time…FIFA World Cup! Held every 4 years, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is the 19th FIFA World Cup. It is the premier international association football tournament uniting the most recognized players in the world. The opening game was June 11 in the host country of South Africa and will conclude on July 11, 2010. Qualifying for the World Cup is not easy…it began in August of 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams.
This is the 1st time the World Cup has been hosted by an African Nation. There are 10 venues in South Africa and they are as follows: Johannesburg (Soccer City), Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg (Ellis Park Stadium), Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Nelspruit. Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and five of the existing venues were upgraded. In addition to the stadiums built and upgraded, South Africa also improved its current public transport within the host cities, including Johannesburg's Gautrain and other metro systems, and improved major road networks. The country implemented special measures to ensure the safety and security of local and international tourists attending the matches in accordance with standard FIFA requirements, including a temporary restriction of flight operation in the airspace surrounding the stadiums.
This is the 1st time the World Cup has been hosted by an African Nation. There are 10 venues in South Africa and they are as follows: Johannesburg (Soccer City), Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg (Ellis Park Stadium), Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Nelspruit. Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and five of the existing venues were upgraded. In addition to the stadiums built and upgraded, South Africa also improved its current public transport within the host cities, including Johannesburg's Gautrain and other metro systems, and improved major road networks. The country implemented special measures to ensure the safety and security of local and international tourists attending the matches in accordance with standard FIFA requirements, including a temporary restriction of flight operation in the airspace surrounding the stadiums.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Orlando Sentinel offers insight into the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction
Harry Potter fans everywhere (including Shane at A Way To Go Travel) are anticipating the June 18th opening of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Shane has tracked the progress of the construction and tried to discover any previews or insight into what the attraction will be. He found an article published by the Orlando Sentinel. The article tauts the attraction as a cross between Island of Adventure's Spiderman, Soaring at Epcot and a ultra modern version of Disney's Haunted Mansion. After much investigation, Shane was able to get a sneak-peak review of the attraction.
"It's not a ride on a magical broomstick, but the Wizarding World of Harry Potter may be home to the next-best thing! The park opens June 18th!!!Theme-park guests aboard the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure will be tossed, turned and dangled over scenery — and scary moments — similar to what the boy wizard encountered in the Potter films.Passengers ride in a row of four people on a so-called enchanted bench (really, a broomstick wouldn't be very comfortable or secure, would it?) An over-shoulder harness lowers to secure them for a twisting journey on a robotic arm that throws riders from side to side, through surging, forward-moving maneuvers and eventually completely on their backs — although never completely upside down.After winding through Forbidden Journey's extensively themed queue and making a left turn at the sorting hat, guests are lead to a moving sidewalk and settle back into the seats. Team members lower the harnesses into place while music from the films' opening credits play. Overhead are levitating candles like those seen in the Great Hall in the films.
The ride experience resembles a cross between IOA's classic Spider-Man ride, Soarin' at Epcot and even an ultramodern version of Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion.Yes, there are scary moments. The frightful Dementors pop out of nowhere next to the ride vehicle — these are three-dimensional forms, not projections. And the arachnophobes among us will find the very dark spider scenes seem very long. (The whole ride is about four minutes long.) I was caught off guard a few times and let out audible gasps.The attraction combines use of a robotic arm, immersive filmed scenes with original Potter actors (including star Daniel Radcliffe) and animatronic props such as a large steam-breathing dragon and those big, icky spiders. The vehicle swoops smoothly through these components and follows Harry through scenarios, including one especially disorienting romp where riders are airborne and suddenly in the midst of a Quidditch match.Fear not, there's a happy ending and a celebration before returning to the loading station and — like magic — into an extensive gift shop full of Potterabilia."
"It's not a ride on a magical broomstick, but the Wizarding World of Harry Potter may be home to the next-best thing! The park opens June 18th!!!Theme-park guests aboard the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure will be tossed, turned and dangled over scenery — and scary moments — similar to what the boy wizard encountered in the Potter films.Passengers ride in a row of four people on a so-called enchanted bench (really, a broomstick wouldn't be very comfortable or secure, would it?) An over-shoulder harness lowers to secure them for a twisting journey on a robotic arm that throws riders from side to side, through surging, forward-moving maneuvers and eventually completely on their backs — although never completely upside down.After winding through Forbidden Journey's extensively themed queue and making a left turn at the sorting hat, guests are lead to a moving sidewalk and settle back into the seats. Team members lower the harnesses into place while music from the films' opening credits play. Overhead are levitating candles like those seen in the Great Hall in the films.
The ride experience resembles a cross between IOA's classic Spider-Man ride, Soarin' at Epcot and even an ultramodern version of Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion.Yes, there are scary moments. The frightful Dementors pop out of nowhere next to the ride vehicle — these are three-dimensional forms, not projections. And the arachnophobes among us will find the very dark spider scenes seem very long. (The whole ride is about four minutes long.) I was caught off guard a few times and let out audible gasps.The attraction combines use of a robotic arm, immersive filmed scenes with original Potter actors (including star Daniel Radcliffe) and animatronic props such as a large steam-breathing dragon and those big, icky spiders. The vehicle swoops smoothly through these components and follows Harry through scenarios, including one especially disorienting romp where riders are airborne and suddenly in the midst of a Quidditch match.Fear not, there's a happy ending and a celebration before returning to the loading station and — like magic — into an extensive gift shop full of Potterabilia."
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Chuck Joyce Accepted to Virtuoso Spa Advisory Board
Chuck Joyce, President of A Way To Go Travel, has achieved membership in the by-invitation-only Virtuoso Spa Advisory Board, comprised of top spa travel professionals in North and South America, the Caribbean and Australia. According to Chuck, serving on the spa advisory board will bring a host of rare travel opportunities and exclusive values to the agency's clients.
"Less than one percent of travel agencies in America are admitted for membership in Virtuoso and only a hand full of agents are considered experts in spa travel," said Joyce. "This renowned network of luxury travel specialists leverages its combined annual sales of more than $3 billion to negotiated special upgrades, amenities, values and truly rare travel experiences exclusively for clients of its member agencies. "
Joyce says he is particularly excited about the new exclusive travel offers the agency will now present to its clients via new publications and special invitations. "Many of these rare trips, by their nature, can only be offered to a small number of discerning travelers, and we're confident that our clients will be intrigued by many of these unusual opportunities."
A Way To Go Travel is in good company within the Virtuoso network. Virtuoso's travel specialists dominate the annual top-agent lists in Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and National Geographic Traveler. In addition, Virtuoso works in tandem with Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman to orchestrate the travel rewards for the retailers' top clients. And, for Town & Country magazine, Virtuoso operates the Town & Country Travel Club by Virtuoso, an annual membership travel club offering rare travel experiences similar to those profiled in the magazine.
In business for over 15 years, A Way To Go Travel opened their second office in Winston-Salem in January 2010.
For more information about A Way To Go Travel and its new Virtuoso travel offerings, call 336-855-0060 or 336-293-8690.
"Less than one percent of travel agencies in America are admitted for membership in Virtuoso and only a hand full of agents are considered experts in spa travel," said Joyce. "This renowned network of luxury travel specialists leverages its combined annual sales of more than $3 billion to negotiated special upgrades, amenities, values and truly rare travel experiences exclusively for clients of its member agencies. "
Joyce says he is particularly excited about the new exclusive travel offers the agency will now present to its clients via new publications and special invitations. "Many of these rare trips, by their nature, can only be offered to a small number of discerning travelers, and we're confident that our clients will be intrigued by many of these unusual opportunities."
A Way To Go Travel is in good company within the Virtuoso network. Virtuoso's travel specialists dominate the annual top-agent lists in Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and National Geographic Traveler. In addition, Virtuoso works in tandem with Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman to orchestrate the travel rewards for the retailers' top clients. And, for Town & Country magazine, Virtuoso operates the Town & Country Travel Club by Virtuoso, an annual membership travel club offering rare travel experiences similar to those profiled in the magazine.
In business for over 15 years, A Way To Go Travel opened their second office in Winston-Salem in January 2010.
For more information about A Way To Go Travel and its new Virtuoso travel offerings, call 336-855-0060 or 336-293-8690.
Fast Company Blogger Touts the Benefit of Using Travel Agent
Travel buyers want the best options based on price, schedule and preferred vendor – and only live travel agents are able to deliver on that, says a blogger for Fast Company.
To read the post
http://www.fastcompany.com/1653587/worklife-offline-is-the-new-onlineTuesday, June 8, 2010
We have a new Marketing Manager
We are excited to announce the addition of Lesley Thompson to our staff as Marketing Manager. Lesley brings over nineteen years of marketing and advertising experience to A Way To Go Travel. For the past seventeen years, Lesley has worked with advertising agencies as a Media Planner/Buyer. She has fluent knowledge of traditional, non traditional and online advertising. She has worked with local and regional clients such as Jiffy Lube, Neeses Country Sausage, Moses Cone Health System, State Farm, and Asbury Auto.
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