Hotels

Travelers get deals & freebies on Tax Day

Free Stuff, , ,

Monaco Chicago_Tax Day_1

Ready with that tax return?

Whether you’re writing a check to Uncle Sam this year or he’s writing one to you, the stress of preparing your taxes may leave you yearning for a vacation, but fretting over your travel budget.

Help is on the way.

Some hotels and restaurants around the country are coming to the rescue with special Tax Day promotions that include carefully calculated deals and rewarding rate reductions.

You have until midnight April 16th to take advantage of the “Tax Break” special for weekend stays at participating Starwood hotels in the New York City area.

The deal provides weary taxpayers 15 percent rate discounts on stays that include Thursday to Sunday arrival dates through May 31, 2015 at W New York, W New York – Downtown, W New York – Times Square, W New York – Union Square, W Hoboken, Sheraton New York Times Square, Sheraton Tribeca, The Westin Grand Central and The Westin Jersey City.

Those checking into those hotels on Tax Day – April 15 – may also request the Tax Break discount rate and cash in on special perks being offered by some of the hotels.

For example, W Hotels guests will receive a piggy bank; guests at the Sheraton New York Times Square will receive a $25 Macy’s gift card, two complimentary drinks during Sheraton Social Hour and a Pay Day candy bar; and guests at the Sheraton Tribeca will be able to nibble on complimentary Pay Day, 100 Grand and Sugar Daddy candy bars.

On April 15, Portland, Oregon’s Hotel Monaco will offer complimentary chair massages during the nightly wine hour along with free champagne (for toasting refunds) and chocolates (to console those who owe money.) The adjacent Red Star Tavern will be serving specialty cocktails for $4.15 and buying one of those drinks for any guest who shows proof that they had to pay taxes this year.

The Tax Break Package at the Hotel Monaco Chicago waives the city’s hefty 16.4 percent occupancy and lodging taxes on room rates throughout the month of April. And on April 15, the food tax on bills at the hotel’s South Water Kitchen will also be waived. On Tax Day the front desk will also be handing out Pay Day and 100 Grand candy bars.

Travelers will also find Tax Day deals at some restaurants around the county.

Boston Market is offering diners a buy one/get one free meal deal on April 15 and, for those who want to explore the barter economy, on April 15 participating Hard Rock Café locations will host a Sing For Your Supper event and give a free Local Legendary Burger to diners willing to get up and sing a song on stage.

(My story about Tax Day Deals for travelers first appeared on CNBC)

Travel deals for Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Air Fare Deals, Holidays, Hotels, , , ,

Home shopping but dreaming of travel? Here are some of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals that might get you going.

suitcase

AIRLINES

Air Canada has a long list of Black Friday fare specials available now through November 30.

Cathay Pacific kicks off its Black Friday fare sale on Friday at midnight EST, promising deals from all its US gateways (SFO, LAX, ORD, EWR, JFK, BOS) to Asia – plus a sweepstakes.

Alaska Airlines‘ most popular fare sale is Cyber Monday, and they’ll probably offer a preview a day before.

From now through December 2, 2014 Airberlin is offering $499 roundtrip flights (including taxes) starting from Chicago, New York and Miami to many cities in Europe for travel January 12 to March 22, 2015.

LAN and TAM have something planned for Cyber Monday and it’s likely other airlines will jump in with offers as well, so check around.

HOTELS

HotelTonight, which recently expanded its offering from day-of bookings to 7-day-in-advance deals, is offering $7 hotel rooms on Black Friday starting at 7 a.m. local time, till the available inventory sells out, which should be pretty quickly.

On Black Friday Expedia.com is offering 90% off a limited quantity of select hotels in New York, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Cancun and San Francisco. The offer will be avaiable from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. PST. Expedia will also be offering a $50 coupon off Expedia rate hotels throughout Friday, as well as some Cyber Monday deals.

Many individual hotels, as well as chains large and small, will be offering Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals as well, so if you’ve got a destination in mind, be sure to poke around for lodging deals in that city or region.

Provenance Hotels, with a portfolio of 7 highly individual properties in Portland, Seattle and Nashville, for example, is giving each hotel’s Facebook and newsletter fans 25 percent off the best available rates through March 31, 2015 as part of a Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion. (Sign up before Friday to make sure you get the mailing.

You kill it, these hotels will cook it

Food, Hotels, , , , , , , , ,

If you sometimes wonder where the food served at a hotel restaurant comes from, you might want to check out one of the programs I profiled for CNBC Road Warrior where the on-site chef will cook up what guests catch, shoot or forage.

Me? I think I’m going to try the forage option.

MarlinWatkinswithTurkey_courtesyTurkeyTrotAcresLodge

Courtesy Turkey Trot Acres

Farm-to-table meals have become so popular that hotels are now getting in the game with an even closer-to-the-source experience by offering chef-prepared meals using food hooked, foraged or shot by their guests.

You might visit Turkey Trot Acres in Candor, New York, for a wedding reception, reunion, barbecue or zombie-fest, but wild turkey hunting in the spring and fall is what this upstate lodge is best known for.

Turkey Trot specializes in three-day guided hunting packages that start at $1,200 and include single-bed rooms, meals and guides. And while not everyone bags a turkey, those who do usually pose proudly with their bird before it goes into the cooler.

“Turkey Trot will clean the turkey for you, package it and tell you how to cook it. And if you want it prepared for dinner, they’ll do that too,” said Marlin Watkins, a well-known turkey call maker from southeast Ohio who’s been a regular at the lodge for the past 25 years.

“But when you harvest a wild turkey it’s such an event that most people would rather take it home to show off to their friends and family. I’ve seen a lot of turkeys go home in the back of a Cadillac,” Watkins said.

Next winter, Viceroy Snowmass, near Aspen, Colorado, will be adding a “you kill/we cook” option to its menu of hotel activities. From Nov. 8 to Jan. 18, guests will be able to hunt for pheasant, duck and goose—but not turkey—with guides from the Aspen Outfitting Company. The hotel’s executive chef, Will Nolan, will show guests how he breaks down the game and then prepares it for a meal. The cost: $2,200, not including accommodations.

“Guests are constantly looking for ways to get closer to their food, and I can’t think of a more intimate experience,” said Nolan. “The most memorable meals are those that you actually have a part in creating, so this fits the bill in a number of exciting ways.”

Michigan’s Catch & Cook program, a joint project of a half dozen public agencies and commercial associations, connects charter fishing clients and charter boat operators in the state’s Great Lakes region with about 50 restaurants, many of them linked to hotels and inns, which will cook and serve the day’s catch.

The program began in 2012 and has reeled in a net full of economic benefits.

“Distinctive experiences like Catch & Cook are likely to be told and retold,” said Jordan Burroughs, a wildlife outreach specialist at Michigan State University. Charter boat businesses benefit through positive word-of-mouth, restaurants get added business during the early afternoon—a traditionally slower and less profitable part of the day—”and communities benefit when visitors extend their stay, supporting local restaurants and presumably, other local businesses,” Burroughs said.

In Florida, the Hyatt Regency Sarasota has a “You Catch ‘Em, We’ll Cook ‘Em” offer for visiting anglers, including those who dock at the hotel’s 32-slip marina. For $40 per person, the chef at the Hyatt’s Currents Restaurant will grill, blacken, sear or pan fry a fisherman’s cleaned and filleted catch and serve it up with soup or salad, sides of fresh vegetables, other accompaniments and dessert.

A similar program, called “Hook N’ Cook,” is offered at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village in Cape Coral, Florida. There, chefs at two onsite dining venues will prepare a guest’s freshly-caught and cleaned fillet for a typical plate fee of $15, with other menu items included with the meal at an additional cost, said Stefanie Eakin, the Westin resort’s marketing manager.

Nita Lake Lodge_foraging

Courtesy Nita Lake Lodge

Each Wednesday morning during September and October, guests may go foraging for wild and edible plants, shoots, lichens and mushrooms with the executive chef of Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler, British Columbia.

Wednesday evenings, those same guests can dine with their fellow foragers on a five-course meal using the ingredients plucked that morning in the Whistler Valley. Tickets are $70 per person, plus tax, for the foraging foray and the dinner.

The class spends a great deal of time talking about and studying false or deadly look-a-likes. “All amateur foragers learn a key rule,” said Paul Moran, the executive chef at the lodge’s Aura Restaurant, “When trying to identify wild plants and mushrooms, even if you are 99 percent sure something is edible, if you still have 1 percent of doubt, it’s not worth eating.”

Miss Spot? Check into a hotel with a loaner pet

Pets, , ,

Love your pet but can’t take it along with you when you travel? Then consider staying at a hotel that will loan you a dog, a cat or a fish. Here’s a story I put together for CNBC Road Warrior:

Beau and Mavis Fairmont

 

Fluffy pillows might make hotel guests feel welcome, but sometimes face time with a floppy-eared mutt is what a road warrior might be craving.

That’s why the Red Mountain Resort in St. George, Utah, offers the Pound Puppy Hike, a complimentary amenity that matches guests with a puppy or dog from a local shelter for hikes on scenic trails in the area. “We know that busy executives are visiting the property to recharge and disconnect yet stay active and not sit around,” said resort general manager Tracey Welsh.

The Humane Society of the United States estimated in 2012 that there were pets in 62 percent of American households, so in Aspen, Colorado, guests missing their own pets are pointed to the Aspen Animal Shelter, which welcomes short-term volunteers and charges no fee to loan dogs for in-town walks or day-long hikes.

“The outings provide exercise and socialization for the dogs and often lead to successful adoptions,” said Aspen Animal Shelter director Seth Sachson.

Some pet-friendly Aspen hotels, such as The Little Nell and the Mountain House Lodge, waive pet fees that can reach $125 per stay for guests that invite lucky shelter dogs to spend the night. And both The Little Nell and the Hotel Jerome provide shuttle service to and from the shelter, said Sachson.

Friendly “canine ambassadors” greet guests at eight North American Fairmont hotels and many of those dogs can be booked for walks or runs around town. At the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, it is Mavis and Beau, while at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, the concierge has a special appointment book for walks or runs with the very popular Catie and Carly.

In addition to being a bonus for younger guests (and their parents), “the program results in higher guest satisfaction and more personalized guest experiences, while positioning the hotels as unique and distinctive in their respective destinations,” said Hadley Schroll, a spokeswoman for FRHI Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Fairmont brand.

While offering loaner dogs, like loaner sports equipment, may give a hotel a leg up on its competition, “even programs with the best intentions are still objectifying animals” and putting some at risk, said Lisa Marcotte, business development manager for pet insurance provider Trupanion. “Those who have no commitment to an animal are less inclined to care for them properly or keep them from injuring people and damaging property,” she said.

There’s no need to worry about personal injury with Maya, Louie or George, the kitties that will sleep in a guest room for no charge at the Vintage Inn in Yountville, Calif., or with the free loaner goldfish offered through the “Guppy Love” program at Kimpton Hotels.

KIMPTON FISH

The program started in 1997 when the Hotel Monaco Seattle (part of the Kimpton collection) added a goldfish companion to the in-room dining menu. “It was an option at the bottom of the menu where guests could order it for $5 and we would often surprise VIP guests with a goldfish upon arrival as a fun amenity,” said hotel spokeswoman Melanie Blair.

Instead of cashing in on what became a very popular demand, the hotel decided to make the loaner fish amenity complimentary for all guests and, eventually, so did all 61 Kimpton hotels.

And while no fish rental fees are collected, the goldfish seem to be earning their keep.

“While we initially chose the Monaco for its location, and for the wine hour, we now choose it because of the goldfish,” said Liz Phillips, a middle school teacher from Portland, Ore. whose family stays at the Hotel Monaco Seattle each Thanksgiving.

“The first year, we walked into the hotel room to find two fish bowls housing two huge goldfish with a note saying that the fish were named “Bella” and “Gabbie,” the names of our own children. Our kids were thrilled and after that that experience there was no way we could ever stay anywhere else.

Hotels court Chinese tourists with tea & special amenities

Hotels, , ,

steaming-cup

For U.S. hotels hoping to attract big-spending Chinese travelers, it may start with learning to say “Nin Hao” but it’s also about knowing the lucky numbers, unlucky colors, and which carafes to order for the coffeemakers.

The staff at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel recently got a crash course in how to welcome some of Amway China’s 1,500 guests who won incentive sales trips to New York City in April.

“We replaced the carafes so these guests could make tea each morning,” said Kathleen Duffy, Marriott International’s Market Director of Public Relations/NYC. “And we brought in Terri Morrison, author of ‘Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands,’ to give a course for managers to learn all the cultural things we need to be aware of.”

From the days when its only Chinese visitors were high government officials, the Marquis had already assigned names (Royal, Pinnacle, etc.) to presidential suites on the 44th and 45th floors, because the number 4 is considered unlucky in Chinese culture.

But now that many more Chinese citizens are heading to the United States on business and leisure trips, Marriott International hotels, as well as Starwood, Hilton and many other lodging brands, are working harder to boost brand recognition and make the hotel visit a more important part of the Chinese tourist’s visit.

The target market is big – and getting bigger.

In 2013, an estimated 1.8 million Chinese tourists visited the United States. For 2014, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries expects that number to rise by 21 percent, to more than 2.1 million, with increases of about 20 percent per year through 2018.

Los Angeles and New York City received the most Chinese tourists in 2012, according to the Department of Commerce. And in the New York region alone, Marriott has seen a 17 percent growth in 2013 over 2012 for the Chinese market, according to Robert Ambrozy, Marriott International Sales Director for the New York City region.

On an internal website for its associates, Marriott International provides tips and guidelines for properties to use to “customize, personalize and cater to the Chinese traveler.”

The suggestions are separated into categories that include pre-arrival, food and beverage, guest amenities, concierge, and things to avoid, such as writing a guest’s name in red ink – which signifies death in Chinese culture.

The number eight is considered lucky in Chinese culture, so standing out to a Chinese guest “can be as simple as what the Chicago Marriott Oak Brook did, which was to put eight chocolate coins and candy in a small mesh bag with an attached welcome note,” said Seema Jain, director of Multicultural Markets and Alliances for Marriott International.

In Chicago, tourism growth from Asian markets was up more than 30 percent in 2012; twice the national average, according to Choose Chicago.

That led the Hyatt Regency Chicago to create a “Nin Hao” welcome program which makes sure Chinese guests checking into their room find bathrobes and slippers, tea kettles with special teas and tea cups, a welcome letter, maps and information brochures in Chinese and a Chinese TV channel.

hyatt nin hao menu

 

The hotel also tries to insure a Mandarin-speaking employee is available and, in addition to having translation technology such as iPad and iPhone translation apps handy, maintains a 24-hour hotline to a Mandarin-speaking translator.

Overall, in 2012, Chinese visitors to the U.S. spent $8.8 billion, nearly $6,000 per visit, according to the U.S. Travel Association, an industry trade group.

Nightly room rates in New York City and Los Angeles can be quite pricey, but not all that money was spent at hotels.

Shopping, dining, sightseeing, visiting museums and spending time at amusement and theme parks are among the top activities participated in by Chinese visitors to the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

And while right now only about 4 percent of all outbound Chinese travelers head for the United States, “it’s a burgeoning market and, beyond hotels, there are companies and destination adapting their products and services to these new clients,” said Greg Staley, Vice Presidents of Communications at the U.S. Travel Association.

It’s a new market for many destinations around the country and a vast opportunity to grow the U.S. economy,” he said.

(My story about U.S. Hotels Courting Chinese Tourist first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)

Women-only floor at Danish airport hotel ruled illegal

Hotels, , , , , , ,

Bella Sky Hotel - copenhagen

A ruling by a Danish court has put an end to the women-only floor at the Bella Sky Hotel, located near the Copenhagen Airport.

The rooms will stay, but now men will be allowed to reserve a spot on the hotel’s secure-access Bella Donna floor, where rooms cost about $28 extra and include amenities such as large towels, international women’s magazines, upgraded beauty products and a minibar that the hotel website boasts is stocked “with smoothies and champagne instead of potato chips and beer.”

“We had no idea this product could be remotely illegal,” said Allan Agerholm, CEO of the company that owns Bella Sky Hotel. “It is a business product we created to differentiate our hotel from others. This is a petty case that should have never been brought. It detracts from real discrimination issues happening in our society.”

Last Friday, a court ruled that even though the hotel had two ladies-style rooms elsewhere in the hotel bookable by men, the women’s-only floor was indeed discriminatory.

The hotel has opted to keep the Bella Dona floor intact, but open it to men and women.

“If for some reason a male guest should find it interesting to stay there in the pink environment, they are welcome to do so,” said Agerholm.

When the 812-room, two-tower hotel opened in spring 2011, the 20 upgraded rooms on the secure-access “Bella Donna” floor were set aside for women only, with feminine touches and amenities ranging from large dressing mirrors to a minibar stocked with smoothies, wine and high quality chocolate.

Bella Sky Hotel - Bella Donna Room

But shortly after the hotel opened, two men complained about the women-only floor to the Danish Board of Equal Treatment, which ruled the floor was gender discriminatory and illegal. Because the board had no authority to sanction, Bella Sky kept the Bella Donna floor women-only and appealed to the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen.

While not very common, some hotels in the United States and elsewhere continue to offer women-only floors, including the Hamilton Crowne Plaza in Washington, D.C., and the Crowne Plaza in Bloomington, Minn.

“Our ladies floor, where we charge a $20 premium, is usually 85 percent occupied or sold out Monday through Thursday and is very popular with female corporate travelers,” said Charlie LaMont, general manager of the Crowne Plaza Bloomington. “Some like the amenities, but for most, it’s the security of the secure-access floor,” he said.

The 10 rooms on the 10th floor of the 127-room Ellis Hotel in downtown Atlanta are set aside for women. In addition to private-access entry, the rooms include upgraded amenities, slippers and use of curling iron and a flat iron.

The hotel charges an added fee of $20 for the rooms, “which are most popular with the female corporate traveler,” said Tom LaVaccare, director of sales and marketing. “It’s a privacy issue, not necessarily a security issue,” he said, “but we’re working on adding more amenities.”

LaVacarre said no male customer has ever complained about being excluded but “if they wanted to be on a floor just for men, we could accommodate that.”

For several years, the Georgian Court Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, has offered 18 Orchid Rooms on a “women-preferred” floor with amenities such as curling irons, flat irons, high-powered hair driers, upgraded Aveda products, satin-padded hangers, nylons and other items at no extra charge.

The rooms were so popular that the hotel recently added a second floor of rooms with the same amenities, and men aren’t excluded from those floors, they rarely book there, General Manager Lisa Jackson said.

( My story about hotels with women-only floors first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior in a slightly different version.)

Escape the cold on vacation? It will cost you.

Hotels, Weather, , , , ,
Radisson Blue

The beach bar at the Radisson Blu Resort, Marina & Spa on the Caribbean island of St. Martin.Courtesy of the hotel.

 

 

The “get me out of here!” calls are rolling in to travel counselors around the country as spring break kicks off and yet more winter storms bring bitter cold weather to many parts of the United States.

“People are literally crying to help us get them somewhere with guaranteed good weather,” said Jack Ezon, president of Ovation Vacations, a member of the Virtuoso luxury travel network.

“Our winter business has spiked 38.5 percent in the past three weeks. And last minute business, meaning requests 10 days out or less, accounts for a whopping 78 percent of our business this year for winter travel,” he said.

Several online agencies, including STA Travel, a discount student agency, report the same.

“We have definitely seen an increase in requests recently, mainly to Cancun,” STA spokeswoman Teresa Cordova said. Some of the more popular places are sold out, and prices at other properties are about 30 percent more expensive than they were six weeks ago, she said.

CheapOair.com’s data show travel to warmer destinations has increased 27 percent over the past few weeks to destinations including Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean.

“If you haven’t booked your spring break yet, do so immediately and have a backup list of where you want to go,” said Mark Drusch, chief supplier relations officer for CheapOair.com. “Consider counter-seasonal destinations or international destinations, such as Central America, perhaps more so this year due to the weather and its impact on bookings.”

At the Radisson Blu Resort, Marina & Spa on the Caribbean island of St. Martin “rooms are flying off the shelves,” General Manager Jean-Marc Jalbert said via email. “We are right in the middle of the perfect storm—a good one. We have not raised our prices because of the weather, but we have been pretty much sold out since the second week of January.”

Jalbert said unlike previous years, there is no negotiating on rate room rates right now and that if superior or deluxe rooms are no longer available, “the guests buy suites, just to get out of the cold weather. We have also seen people extending their stay at the last minute, reluctant to go back to the cold.”

Ovation Travel’s Ezon hasn’t noticed many hotels raising their rates as a result of the bad weather in the United States, but says many properties are blocking out promotions or are instituting minimum stays.

“The other big challenge right now is getting people to their destinations,” said Ezon.

The unrelenting winter storms are motivating people to plan and book trips to warm weather destinations, but bus, train and airline cancellations often get in the way.

“My advice for all winter refugees is to buy insurance that covers either ‘cancel for any reason’ or delay/cancellation based on weather,” said Ezon. “And make sure to buy it from someone who understands the nuances in the policies, because not all will pay for your vacation if your flight is merely canceled due to snow.”

(My store about winter storms spiking demand for vacations in warm weather destinations first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)

 

Smoker in need of a hotel?

Hotels, Smoking, ,

Lucky Stirke smoking

A new online booking tool has rolled out to help smokers find hotel rooms where it’s OK to light up.

Lake Forest, Calif.-based Smoketels.com has a database of more than 250,000 smoking-allowed hotel rooms, said founder and smoker Shawn Bradley. “On existing online travel reservation sites such as Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, you have to click on the hotel and then look to see if there might be any smoking rooms,” he said. “That gets very confusing and frustrating. Our inventory only includes hotels where smoking rooms are available.”

An increasing number of hotels, such as Marriott and Starwood, have made all their U.S. properties 100 percent smoke-free. “But many Days Inn and Quality Inn properties — and many hotels in the South, where there are still many heavy smokers — will generally have smoking rooms available,” said Bradley.

In a 2012 survey of 52,000 properties conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, 63 percent reported being 100 percent smoke-free. “But keep in mind,” said Bradley, “many hotel chains that ban smoking in their U.S. properties have smoking rooms available at their properties in other countries.”

Many of the estimated 43.8 million adult smokers in the U.S. who travel will smoke even if they have to rent a nonsmoking room. “They’ll burn candles, use cologne, blow the smoke out the windows, all in an effort to mask the smoke,” said Bradley.

Smoketels.com may have a hard time going up against existing online travel agencies, said Marcello Gasdia, a consumer analyst with PhoCusWright.

“The only way to generate revenue is to steal market share,” said Gasdia. “That’s a tough thing to do when you’re going against entrenched players like Priceline, Expedia or Kayak. Going for a niche audience is one approach, but it’s still difficult to pull any consumer from these household name brands.”

(My story about a new website that lists hotels where it is OK to smoke first appeared on NBC News Travel.

High-flying Valentine’s Day packages

Holidays, , ,

Valentine couple

On Valentine’s Day, winning a heart can cost an arm and a leg.

In 2013, Americans spent about $18.6 billion (an average $131 per person,) on Valentine’s Day cards, candy, jewelry, flowers, clothing, meals and other gifts, according to the National Federation of Retailers.

And that doesn’t take into account the cash some flush romantics spend on over-the-top hotel packages.

This year, for example, the Pelican Grand Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is offering a $13,000, three-night “Mega Yachts & Martinis” package through Feb. 28 with one night on a private chartered yacht and two nights in an oceanfront suite.

It includes sedan service to and from the yacht, catered shipboard meals and a magnum of Moët & Chandon. Back on land, there are “bottomless martinis” in the lounge—with a limit of five per person.

In Miami Beach, the three-night, $55,000 “Turn the Lights Down Low” package at the W South Beach Hotel is available Feb. 13 through 17.

In addition to a penthouse suite, this package provides round-trip helicopter transportation between Miami International Airport and Miami Beach’s Watson Island helipad, a Ferrari California loaner car and an aphrodisiac menu served en suite on Valentine’s Day. A seaplane tour of South Florida, a Miami night sky helicopter tour and a four-hour sunset cruise with dinner on a 120-foot yacht round things out.

Too busy to plan a special evening but thinking of popping the question on Valentine’s Day? Then the “Capital Engagement” package available Feb. 10 to 16 at the Capella Washington, D.C., might work for you.

Priced at the lucky sum of $777,777, this package has a long list of activities and amenities, including private jet transport for two from anywhere in the United States to Washington, two nights in the hotel’s presidential suite, a five-course en-suite dinner with a string trio accompaniment and a private tour of Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home.

The engagement part of the package covers (commercial) flights, hotel rooms and meals for 20 guests; a surprise rooftop engagement party; and a 5.01-carat diamond engagement ring.

“We’ll take it from A to Z,” said Alex Obertop, Capella’s general manager and the creator of the turnkey plan. “We wanted to make this over the top but comprehensive enough so that someone didn’t have to put their own imagination to work. We’ll do the work for them.”

Not enough for your sweetheart? Then “Proposal of the Century Package” at the Langham Huntington in Pasadena, Calif., could be the ticket.

This $100,000 plan includes private use of the Rose Bowl Stadium so you can pop the question out on the field in front of 40 friends. A performance by the 40-piece Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and a 2.5-carat diamond engagement ring worth $35,000 will help seal the deal. Back at the hotel, two nights in the presidential suite come with Champagne, 100 long-stemmed roses, meals and a host of other amenities.

If proposing on Valentine’s Day seems cliché, the package is available through the end of the year.

Print

Courtesy Farnsworth Art Museum

 

 

Those with smaller budgets might consider taking their true love to the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, for an exhibition of work by Robert Indiana, whose LOVE imagery has become iconic in American art (admission is $12).

Or stop by Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., to see the annual display of valentines from the collection of Esther Howland, the savvy businesswoman credited with inventing the commercial valentine industry in the United States in 1848 (admission is free).

And if you and your honey would rather stay close to home, you could instead let your Valentine’s Day card do the traveling.

For the price of a few first-class stamps, you can have a card remailed from Bliss, N.Y., or Hartsville, Tenn. And in Loveland, Colo., about 50 volunteers gather each year to hand-stamp and repost more than 160,000 valentines with a special Valentine’s Day cancellation.

“We get everything from handmade valentines to store-bought Hallmark cards, along with what we call ‘Chunky Monkeys,’ which are boxes filled with gifts and envelopes stuffed with letters,” said Mindy McCloughan, president and CEO of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce.

Loveland’s Valentine Remailing Program also sells its own official valentine each year.

For $9.75, volunteers will not only hand-stamp the card but write your love message inside.

(My story about high-flying Valentine’s Day packages first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior).

 

Posh public potties in airports, hotels & parks

Airports, family travel, Fun Stuff, Seating, , ,
Tampa Airport

Twenty recently renovated restrooms in the airport’s main terminal now have automated, hands-free fixtures and glass murals depicting scenery, animals and plant life native to the Sunshine State. “We’re overflowing with pride to be nominated for our restrooms,” said an airport spokesperson.

Travelers on the go know it’s sometimes difficult to find a welcoming and clean place to, uh, go.

So it’s encouraging to see the 10 posh potties, cool commodes and imaginative public washrooms that restroom supply company Cintas has flushed out as nominees in the 12th annual contest for America’s Best Restroom.

The family-friendly restrooms at Chicago’s Field Museum won top prize in 2011 and last year the 83-stall restroom at a Buc-ee’s convenience store in New Braunfels, Texas, just outside of San Antonio, was named king of the thrones.

“Guests look at the public restrooms as a clue to how the entire operation is run,” said Katie Davin, associate professor and director of hospitality education at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.

“If the bathroom is clean, that’s a good indication that the kitchen is probably clean. If the restroom is out of paper towels, maybe management isn’t really on top of things. And if a restroom has TVs in the mirrors and cool music playing, that’s a good sign the business is probably modern and hip,” she said.

Among the nominated restrooms this year are those at the Waldorf Astoria New York. The very definition of swank since the 1930s, the landmark Park Avenue hotel oozes elegance at every turn. That includes the lobby-level ladies lounge, which has an Art Deco staircase, faux fireplace with oversized marble vanity, attendants and private stalls with toilets, vanities, sinks and Salvatore Ferragamo bath amenities.

“We often see harried female midtown investment bankers in early evening entering our lobby ladies room. They emerge transformed from dark business suit to gown and fabulous shoes,” said Matt Zolbe, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. “We play a small but really helpful role. Sometimes the event is not even here; still we are part of her plan. The men? I suspect they change in their offices.”

Guests have surprising recall about whether or not a hotel restroom is unkempt and in need of renovation or whether or not it’s “wow,” said Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the New York University Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. “And many non-guests expect hotel restrooms to be especially clean and safe and will stop at hotels, en route, whether they’re walking or driving, to use the restrooms.”

So, like that bit of toilet paper that sometimes gets stuck to the bottom of your shoe, the condition of a restroom can linger and, said Hanson, “enhance or harm a hotel’s image beyond the experience of hotel guests.”

Voting for America’s Best Restroom continues through Oct. 31. This year’s winner will be announced later this fall.

For a slide show of the nominated restrooms, see the original version of my story 10 Posh Public Potties on CNBC.