On Site: Report from Best of Britain & Ireland Exhibition

The floor of the Best of Britain & Ireland exhibition

After two days of constantly running around the city, it was almost a relief to stay in one place for a whole day. The Best of Britain & Ireland exhibition brought dozens of specialists and tour operators from all over the British Isles together to celebrate all the things to see and do here. A much longer recap will follow, but here are a few attractions and destinations to bear in mind.

*    Kent is hyping up its tourism campaign, reminding people that Canterbury has been a popular tourist destination ever since Thomas Becket was murdered (some would say martyred) in its cathedral almost 1,000 years ago. Two somewhat more modern attractions around Kent are the neighboring properties of Hever Castle and Penshurst Place, where Henry VIII courted Anne Boleyn. (Like I said, only somewhat more modern.)  Naturally, the two estates celebrate their Tudor history with tours and events, and we heard tell that there is a package visiting sites used in the film The Other Boleyn Girl.

*    In Wiltshire, visitors can stay at the five-star Lucknam Park, the new Bowood Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort—which just opened last year—or the new serviced Peartree Apartments.

*    In Devon, geology buffs can rent a car and drive along the Jurassic Coast line, where exposed rocks show off the layers of the earth. For those less inclined towards geology, there are cycling routes, walking tours and intimate bed-and-breakfasts for a genuine escape from the outside world. At The Globe Hotel, a small inn in the town of Topsham, General Manager Liz Hodges hosts unique events—like a community-wide pot-luck dinner that brought 1,500 people together for a locally-sourced meal. (She hopes to repeat the dinner this year.)

*    Last year’s Homecoming Scotland campaign worked very well, said Linda McAllister, trade marketing manager with Visit Scotland. While the recession kept many people home, North American numbers to Scotland remained steady, and are “way up” for this year already. “Value-for-money is the most important message,” she said. “Events and festivals give clients a chance to really experience cultures.” She said some new fam trips were in the works, and that Scotland would begin promoting itself as a destination for adventure travel, including sea kayaking and mountain climbing.

On Site: London Museums, Shopping and The Eye

Shopping at Carnaby Street

Why has America never picked up on the simple, pure, perfect creation that is beans on toast? I mean, it’s baked beans on toast! What’s not to love? We’d be a much, much happier country if we started our mornings with beans on toast for breakfast. Just trust me on this.

After a much-needed night’s rest and a very fortifying full English breakfast, we set off for the Serpentine Gallery (tucked away in the greenery of Kensington Gardens), which is featuring an exhibit of Richard Hamilton’s politically themed artwork. Hamilton has been creating pop and multimedia art for well over 50 years, and the collection traces his reactions to global politics over the decades. Some of the most fascinating pieces include an installation that looks like the “therapy” from "A Clockwork Orange," but with the subject forced to watch video clips of Margaret Thatcher; various versions of Hamilton’s most famous work, "Swingeing London," which depicts Mick Jagger and art dealer Robert Fraser hiding from flashbulbs as they are led away in handcuffs; and his tribute to Israeli activist Mordechai Vanunu, photographed in a pose that eerily echoes "Swingeing London."

From the tiny, intimate Serpentine, we made our way past the Albert Memorial to the massive, elaborate Victoria and Albert Museum—one of the world's largest museums, which reportedly holds a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. We were given one hour to explore. (I know. We needed at least a week to take it all in.) A current special exhibit displays 250 pieces of artwork collected by Horace Walpole at his estate, Strawberry Hill, including paintings by Van Dyck and antique armor. I, on the other hand, got lost in a room of medieval artwork, and was particularly struck by a limestone effigy of a knight. While most of the limestone was a plain bleached white, some original color could be seen in places, giving an idea of what the original statue might have looked like.

Before Stendhal syndrome could set in, we walked down the street to a lovely little French restaurant, Racine, for lunch. My companions praised the bream and the skate; I highly recommend the duck confit or the daube de boeuf—beef so tender it doesn’t need a knife. Exquisite. There isn’t a bad seat in the restaurant.

From there, we had a little more than an hour to explore the city on our own. I caught the Underground (amazing how much easier these things are to navigate after a little practice) to Oxford Circus, where I met up with a wonderful guide who took me on a speedy tour of some of London’s best shopping districts: Mayfair and Soho. From chain stores to bespoke tailors, these two districts are a shopaholic’s dream come true (though as my guide pointed out, the stores here tend to cater to those with champagne tastes. Nothing wrong with that, of course.) While many of the stores could be found on Fifth Avenue in New York, some of the most intriguing and unique shops are located in “arcades”: narrow covered streets that look like something from a P.G. Wodehouse story.

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We reunited at the iconic London Eye and, thanks to our hosts, were able to get a pod (or “capsule”) to ourselves. The Eye moves at a snail’s pace—30 minutes to make a complete rotation, in fact. This not only offers plenty of opportunities for pictures, it helps make reaching the extreme height (443 feet!) seem much less scary. You know that horrible dizzy feeling you get on a rickety ferris wheel at a fairground as it creaks up to the top and then begins to swing you down much too fast for comfort? There’s none of that at the Eye. Just amazing views for 25 miles, and all of London—quite literally—at your feet.

On Site: London's New Hotel... and More

The Underground tube

After delays of more than 2.5 hours (thanks, American Airlines!) and getting lost on the Underground (the Circle Line and the District Line share a track, and only the District Line trains are marked… did everyone else in the world know this except me?), we finally made it to our brand-spanking-new hotel right off of Westminster Bridge. This isn’t just brand new—the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge is still partially under construction, especially on its upper floors, making its debut at once delightfully swanky and comfortably rough-hewn. (When the construction is complete, it’ll be a gem, but it’ll lose that new-hotel smell.) The rooms— at least, my room— aren’t extravagantly huge, but they’re quite comfortable and have a very funky mood-lighting system. Awesome touch for literature lovers: The carpeting is inscribed with a selection from a poem by Keats.

View of Parliament and Big Ben from the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge

After a quick luncheon in the downstairs lounge (and honestly, these new restaurants with their wonderfully fresh food are going to turn all my jokes about bad English cuisine into lies), we took a quick tour of the still-in-progress top floors with the Penthouse Suites. Pictures were strictly forbidden, but we were able to get a quick video of the view from one of the terraces.

The London Eye

Onward to the Queen’s Gallery, which will be presenting a special exhibit of art collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert during their 21-year marriage. There are gorgeous paintings of the Royal Family together, clearly delineating Victoria as head of the State, but Albert as head of the household. Visitors can see a dress Victoria wore to a fancy-dress ball (we call them costume parties) that belies the statuesque woman who appears in most paintings: Victoria was barely over five feet tall. Some other unique features include some furniture the couple owned, such as sofas and chairs made of stags’ horns and a beautiful white throne from India. The exhibit opens March 19.

From the Gallery, we strolled over to the historic Goring Hotel, which is celebrating its centenary this year. We chatted with General Manager Graham Copeman and communications director Lucinda Buxton, who shared some cool trivia about the hotel (it was a favorite hangout of the Queen Mum, and remains the only hotel with one of her favorite recipes). We also learned that, in spring, the hotel will be turning its famous gardens (the largest private gardens in London, we hear) into a croquet lawn.

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Copeman and Buxton took us on a tour of the hotel’s six “Silk Rooms,” which premiered last year with hand-woven silk wall coverings from Gainsborough Silk Weavers, the Royal Warrant-holding textile mill in Suffolk. The rooms have a classical luxury sensibility, but feature some cool modern touches as well: There are rubber duckies in the bathrooms, and the lightswitches have more creative notations than simply “on” or “off.” 

The Goring was opened in 1910 by O. R. Goring, whose great-grandson Jeremy is now the fourth in the family to manage the hotel. It is now the only five-star luxury hotel in London that is owned and run by the family that built it (there has always been a Goring at the Goring), and the staff takes its sense of history very seriously. “The new wing was built in the ‘20s,” Copeman quipped over champagne in the hotel’s popular tea room. “We’re getting used to it now.”

Kirk Cassels' Weekly Wrap of User Comments: March 8-12

There were several instances last year when I take every opportunity possible to reference sci-fi flicks that were coming out in 2009. The whole human travel agent versus online travel agents was too easy to use in reference humans against machines in Terminator Salvation and Transformers 2.

But this week's a little different. You see, an Australian trave insurance firm named iTrek has started a contest titled "The Travel Agent is Dead." Obviously, several readers took offense to the idea. But before we take a look at what they said, just watch this clip. You're not dead, or perhaps you're not quite dead yet.

Now that we've all had a good laugh, let's take a look at what agens are saying. There's no laughing matter here, especially considering that the organization allegedly behind iTrek is one that is not so popular with the masses for some time. On top of that, one agent even seems to aggree with iTrek.

Tony Lopes wrote:

I agree that in the long run the TA is dead.
On the other side of the coin, if the traveller has to deal with a error making computer, that is not programmed to allow you to bitch for sympathy real or imanagery the traveller has a problem. i am recommending my clients to book on line for their airline tickets!! and book the land portion with me.

That comment did not sit well with CPatchell, who posted:

Speaking as a professional TA, I sincerely hope that "Tony" will exit this profession as soon as possible since he sees no future ahead of him and leave his poor clients to someone else! My total clientele has risen and existing customers have increased my involvement in their travel plans over the last two years precisely because they want a professional looking out for them, ensuring they can avoid the pitfalls and no-win situations awaiting the novice booking via the internet. More than ever before, the axiom "you get what you pay for" is true. I see a professional when I need services outside my areas of expertise. Why wouldn't people committing serious resources of time and money to travel want a professional utilizing their training and experience on their behalf? iTrek certainly isn't going to be the advocate for a customer when something goes amiss, ie no reservation record when you arrive at midnight on the other side of the world.

Meanwhile,

Linda had a lighter take on the subject, asking:

I assume the winners will be booking their own trips to Australia?

As much as some may be ready to pile on Tony or iTrek, J. Cobb points out a company behind the curtain that agents should target, writing:

ITrek couldn't do this without the support of their insurance company, in this case Chartis. Chartis owns Travel Guard and Travel Guard provides the assistance services to ITrek. Now we know what Travel Guard thinks about travel agents! By the way, Chartis is owned by AIG and AIG is owned by us ---the American taxpayer. Address complaints to your local congressman and senator.

It didn't take long for the anti-AIG rush to come.

rk group travel shared:

I have started notifying my clients exactly what AIG is doing and why. I have told them I sell travel insurance for their benefit and that I have checked coverages and prices of three different companies for their travel. I now check only two and suggest they seriously consider any other AIG products and services that they may be using. It is time for this company to come to the realization that they are not "to big to fail".  The American consumer is not as naive as this company thinks.

Trudy Richardson wrote:

To AIG I have only one thing to say. Travel Agents are part of the taxpaying public that saved your ass..Now your thank you is to stab us in the back. You have made your stand now we will make ours. We are a valuable asset to you and any seller of travel because we try to teach people the right way to travel. We are stronger than you think and I (an I think many others will follow) will do everything possible to see that sales of AIG related insurance grind to a stop. Sell to the public..you have already proved you are fools..do you not have sense enough to know we are the ones who have been educating that public as to why they should spend extra money for travel insurance. Fools, the average American think they are steel plated and nothing will ever happen to them and if it does they can take care of it..they have not a clue unless they have been educated. Go ahead jump out of the frying pan into the fire..I will be the first one there to turn up the heat.

Sarah posted:

I refused to sell AIG Travel Guard when they tried to "buy" my business. It irritated me to no end that they were offering exorbitant commissions to agents when they and more specifically their underwriter were bailed out by the taxpayers. I know they have nice people working with them, but I'll never, ever deal with an underhanded company like that. My clients are too important to me.

This issue is obviously not going away anytime soon. I'm glad I don't live in Connecticut anymore if the outrage against AIG seems to be rebuilding.

Usual Suspects Watch

Not only is YTB back, but so are JJ and John Frenaye. Last week, I mentioned my appreciation of JJ, and he/she has returned with more. Commenting on YTB's new legal challenges, JJ brings the rage again, saying:

I have issues with Traverus and Rovia. Rovia actually tried to recruit not only myself but a major supplier rep I know. Talk about ballsy. Same MO, different name. However, YTB is the most obnoxious and arrogant. They have called TTA's old hens, dinasours and told us they were taking over the travel industry. They conned the gullible and those that could least afford it into their program. I know for a fact they were recruiting individuals who were mentally challenged and working as baggers at grocery stores. This is unconsionable. I have been to their recruiting meetings. They are surreal--more like a cult meeting than anything else.

JJ's not alone, as John Frenaye returns to address comments that were apparently directed at him. Regarding the piece on YTB's legal challenges, where JJ posted the comment above, Frenaye wrote

Not sure how many times it will take to get it through your heads, but my beef IS with MLM and Travel--period. I am sorry if you feel the vendetta is against YTB--it is not.
However, YTB is THE ONLY publicly traded travel MLM and they are also the largest and most arrogant. Their records (to a degree) are public record. Yes, I use them to make the point.
If YTB were private, and Traverus was public, the name Traverus would appear more often on the blog.
Sorry, your own management brought this upon themselves.
I also find it amusing that me, a single small lone voice in the huge 8 trillion dollar a year travel industry is able to get your panties all in a wad! Hmmm, maybe I am doing something right? Maybe I struck a nerve?

John, I think the "panties in a wad" comment will definitely strike a nerve if you haven't already. But anyway, let's take a look at what Frenaye wrote regarding the resignation of YTB's CFO:

@Drew... I think you are wrong. So there! But seriously, you bring up a good point. I might just take some time and go back over the blog and see what was opined and compare it to actuality and come up with a score. I bet it is over 80%!
And did you hear they changed the rules of your 10K Challenge yet again. No longer do you need to distribute and follow up, now your prospects must go and fill out a survey and attest that they watched the video!
Nothing like dangling the carrot in front of your face and then changing the rules.
And, how do you address the need to sell the HQ building, Coach's half million dollar tax lien from the IRA, and his eviction?

As usual, I'm staying out of this. Of course, I encourage you all to join in. It makes my job much more fun.

Ending With a "What The?"

We indeed get some bizarre comments here at Travel Agent. But one this week was so out there I am convinced it must be a joke. You see, we covered a recent report by Skyscanner about foreign tourists that will be visiting the United States in the wake of the recent signing of the Travel Promotion Act. The title of the article is "U.S. Set for Foreign Tourist Invasion," and someone's either having some fun with us or taking the words to literally.

JerryJo wrote:

Protect your home from these guys with a free ADT home security system.

This isn't 1812 JerryJo. I know there are people out there on edge during this ongoing war/whatever on terrorism, but if you read the article again it's about how foreign visitors will hopefully bring a boost to our economy, not upgrade their own by finding your house on Google Maps, renting a car to drive to your neighborhood then stealing your belongings and your wife. I can only assume your an ADT salesman trying to get some leads. And I must say you did a poor job. But thanks for the laugh!

As always, the conversation does not end here. Post a comment below or at the respective articles I linked to above. Of course, you can always write us a note on our Facebook page and send us a tweet on our Twitter page. Even better, discuss things in real-time (and without my poor attempts at snarkiness) at AgentNation.

Kirk Cassels' Weekly Wrap of User Comments: March 1-5

YTB, Traverus, being a home-based agent, the relationship between agents and online travel agencies (OTAs), Mexico resorts, and the government are all topics that rear their head often amongst the message boards of Travel Agent. You would think that the subject would get old after awhile but, with agents and readers always having something interesting and/or insightful to share, it's a different picnic platter every week. So let's take a look.

A Familiar Name

There's quite the history of comments about YTB and/or Traverus. I've been following it for so long that I almost feel like I know some of the readers personall. For instance, JJ and Drew are firing back and forth at each other at the report on the resignation of YTB's CFO while, over at an update on YTB's battle with the Illinois courts, the very same JJ (at least I assume) isn't backing down from Tracy. Click on through yourself for the full exchange.

I must admit I appreciate JJ more and more with every comment. I don't particularly agree or disagree with anything he/she says, but wish more readers would return to retort or support one another on our message boards.

Another Voice in the Minority

Traverus Travel has been subject to a lot of attacks from readers. In fact, it's gotten so heated that there's a potential court case involved. So when a reader posts a comment that is not in agreement with the majority, I enjoy giving them another venue for their voice. Here's what Georgia had to say about the company:

Do you know what a "paradigm shift" is? If you think the way you've been doing things is the only way to do things and that it should stay that way forever, then you are simply stuck in the old paradigm, and even if the proof was stapled to the end of your nose, you would ignore the obvious and stay with whatever is most comfortable for you.

Watch this video, "The New Business of Paradigms" at http://www.thenewbusinessofparadigms.com/index.htm

After watching the video, ask yourself if you are a victim of "paradigm paralysis". Most people are, and you could be one of them.

TraVerus Travel, a true travel agency in every way. They saw the shifting paradigm a few years ago and went from your standard brick-and-mortar travel agency to an organization that allows individuals to work from. It is a fact that because of network marketing, billions of products/services are exchanged every year. If this were not the case, the business model would have collapsed decades ago.

An Experienced Endorsement

Whether an agent or a client, feed back from someone who's spent time at a new property is always helpful. So take a look at what Karoll had to say about a new resort in Puerto Vallarta:

I had the amazing opportunity of staying here in December 09, and although they are still constructing, the place is stunning! Truly Beautiful, its location is ideal, Garza Blanca's decor is outstanding, very elegant and sophisticated. I was also please by the professionalism of the staff, they were short on personel but always on point. Absolutely loved it!!

Anyone else out there want to share their thoughts on the property?

Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em?

When we first reported that Orbitz started a program the gives travel agents commissions, many were up in arms against the idea, with some exchanging in dialogue with and Orbitz VP on our Facebook page. But after pulling a comment from a thread on AgentNation in which an agent appears to support Orbitz's program, we wrote a litte something about it here at Travel Agent and it appears one agent concurs. Kathy wrote:

I signed up! Too many people price me against them, so I lose the client. If you can't beat them join them! Only challenge I still have...how to do plane only service? The prices change by the minute so how do you get quotes to clients and them book them without riding the roller coaster?

Orbitz program does not do plane only it must be a package! I need help with this one, please???

If you check the discussion thread at AgentNation, you'll see that other agents appear to be on board with Orbitz's plan. Do you agree?

Whether it's a common topic or a new one, keep them coming. You can post them here at Travel Agent or at our Facebook page. You can also send a tweet to our Twitter page, or join the discussion at AgentNation. We want to hear from you.