Tag: customer service rankings

On the Sunday, February 9th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Marriott, in two separate moves, cuts the value of your Bonvoy points pretty significantly.  Between the new "peak/non-peak" award chart, and the "annual realignment" of awards for individual properties, considerable value has been lost for some. Cruise ships are scrambling to respond to the Coronavirus, dropping planned stops in China, refusing Chinese passengers and even getting stuck in quarantine.  Plus, Disney will open a Star Wars Hotel in 2021! Our Smarter Traveler segment features ways you can ditch single use plastics while you are traveling; and we talk about how major credit cards are quietly removing many of the travel-related benefits you used to get with your annual fees. We share the 2020 Elliott Customer Service Awards, as voted by the readers of Elliott.org, regular Travel Guys contributors Chris Elliott's consumer advocacy website. We close the program visiting with Anna Harris.  Anna is a lady with a mission, a mission to improve life for some people she has met in her travels.  It's a most unique story.

On the Sunday, May 12th, Mother's Day edition of The Travel Guys.... In the Travel News, the Utah Attorney General's office is investigating Expedia for collusion with some major hotel chains. Speaking of major hotel chains, Hilton has taken over the top spot from Marriott in "brand value," as measured by Brand Finance Hotels ranking. Marriott's brand value suffered a 30 percent reduction, while Hilton's was climbing 17 percent. The brand value is based in part on marketing investment, stakeholder equity and business performance. Of course, Marriott has been plagued with a series of problems after its merger with Starwood. Our Smarter Traveler segment looks at recent rankings of hotels, airlines and other travel providers, based on their service levels. In our Travel Mailbag, Mark answers questions on passports for tiny travelers (babies), Southwest Advance Boarding Passes and how to find out if your cruise ship is clean. Finally, we take you to Oregon's North Coast, where their latest tourism promotion is rewarding local service station attendants for being the best tourism ambassadors in the region.