Certificate of Excellence for TMI!

TMI recently received the Certificate of Excellence Award, conferred by TOPAZ International, Ltd., of Portland, Oregon. TOPAZ is an independent airline airfare auditing firm that benchmarks pricing and airfare discounts. The award is given to travel firms who successfully meet standards and professional criteria for excellence in offering the lowest airfares.

TMI’s audit results were at 100%. The TOPAZ national agency average for the period of time was 96.01% for domestic and international airline sales combined. We are incredibly proud of the corporate travel department!

Why no Cell Phones in the Air?

There has been no hard evidence, nor proper tests made of scientific demonstrations of interference between cell phones and aircraft. Even so, numerous airline representatives have spoken out on this issue to support the ban on in-flight cell phone usage.

The FCC regulations are what bans their use, though not because of concern over in-flight safety. Rather, they do not want calls from above multiple base stations to interfere with ground cell phone use.

Frequent Travelers use Agents

The following research was announced by Plog Research on travel of US road warriors:

- Among those frequent travelers who use travel agents, 81% have college degrees, while 68% of nonusers had college degrees.

- Similarly, 41% of travel agent users had post-graduate degrees, compared with 30% of nonusers.

Vacation Concept – Make it Tax Deductible

Doctor’s and other professionals have been doing it for years! Contact TMI’s vacation staff. Now, The vacation staff at The seminar’s are held in hotels at resort areas of Las Vegas, Cancun, Hawaii, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. The courses are non-industry specific.

TMI can arrange a holiday around your schedule that can include seminars dealing with:

• Time Management
• People Management
• Customer Service
• Sales & Marketing
• Business Management
• Internet Business Development

Travel Tidbits & Area Briefs

• Purchase Business Class tickets to Europe with a MasterCard through December 31 and take a companion for free. Call us for details, there are some limitations.

• Nearly half of all hotel bills contain errors in the customer’s favor per a survey conducted by New Castle Hotels and Richey International. Incorrect billing for in-room movies, postage, fax changes and other miscellaneous costs occur about 46% of the time. Mini-bar charges are incorrect 27% of the time.

• Take advantage of the new trend in meetings. Utilize airline club lounge conference rooms. The airlines charge an hourly fee for the club conference rooms’ usage, generally $25, $35 or $50. Note the fee is rarely waived.

• Volvo has begun providing a free European trip again with the purchase of a new vehicle. Customers purchase the new car, drive it around Europe then have it delivered to them in the US later.

• Purple Yahoo! Taxi’s have been roaming the streets of San Francisco looking for Web-willing passengers. A laptop is provided for free in-transit Net surfing. The MGM Grand’s gym provides surfing on their exercise bikes, stair steppers and ellipticals.

• Trends show that some travel budgets are tied to a percentage of overall corporate sales. For example, if sales go through the roof, first class could be allowed.

• Only 28% of all employers try to capture a travelers frequent flyer miles.

• For a great family vacation go to Orlando’s Discovery Cove. It is $179 for the day or children at $89. You can swim in a lagoon with rays and dolphins, snorkel and swim with schools of tropical fish and explore a river and aviary. You must have reservations.

• AT&T developed a picture guide of universally designed icons. It is very helpful if you find you need to travel to a place where you do not speak the local language. It can be found at www.att.com/traveler

• The quickest way to know your rights on almost all carriers is to go to www.1travel.com and then into the "Rules of the Air" section.

• Don’t get that cavity filled before you fly! You could be setting yourself up for an agonizing flight: During takeoff, changes in air pressure can make gas that’s trapped under a new filling expand as much as 25%. Wait at least 24 hours.

• Soon aircraft will be fitted with TV monitors that show live weather activity at your destination.

• If you need to renew your passport in a hurry, add new pages, etc., US Passport agencies located in major cities will now only be open by appointment only. And, they will only accept appointments by those traveling within 14 days.

Consumer Reports View on Airline Mergers

The following statement was made by Consumer Reports regarding a merger between US Air and United: "A closer look at the DOT’s latest fare report makes it clear that neither United nor US Airways offers low fares in the absence of serious competition, A merger would only worsen this condition, since the historical record shows that airline mergers usually lead to higher fares.

Ever Wonder why Airlines Oversell & Bump?

Per Northwest Airlines, they have to book on average 110 passengers to board 100.

The carrier’s bank on the fact that if they oversell a flight, they can sell more $1,600 tickets to last minute travelers and they will only have to give away free tickets with a value of only $200 each. Follow the money.

Russia opens Airspace – US Benefits

Russia has agreed to open airspace over the North Pole. Flights could be shortened by up to 5 hours. You will begin to see non-stop flights from Los Angeles or Chicago to New Delhi, Singapore, Bangkok and even Beijing.

Tips on Tipping

As a general rule, 15% of the net bill (before tax) represents a fair tip for all types of services (from food and taxis to barbers and wine stewards).

Want the best table in the house – tip the maitre d’ 50% of the price of one meal. You will be seated before you can say; "Where’s the menu?"

If you want to gain access to a club, generally a tip of $20 to $50 will get you past the lines and into where you want to be.

In Vietnam and Argentina tipping is illegal.

International Do’s and Taboo’s

• When travelling or doing business in China, remember that blue and white are the Chinese colors for mourning and should be avoided.

• When in Hong Kong, avoid conflicts that would cause the Chinese to lose face.

• When in England, avoid striped ties in case they are copies of British regimentals.

• In Hong Kong, never begin to eat or drink before your host does.

• Never address a Japanese man by his first name. To say "Mister (last name), "simply say the last name and add the word san.

How to Avoid a Hotel Fire

Fill the bathtub with water. Wet towels and sheets and stuff them around the door and vent which is allowing smoke to enter the room. A wet towel tied around your nose and mouth will help filter out smoke if you fold it into a triangle and put the corner in your mouth.

Fair Temporary Reimbursement

Recently Northwest Airlines announced they would provide money if they temporarily loose your luggage. The amount varies on how much you paid for your ticket. The range goes as high as $100 if you purchased a ticket for $400 or more.

Congratulations are in order!

Shawna Nicoud, previously TMI’s Office Manager, has been named Vice President, Operations. TMI’s corporate travel operations and group department has been consolidated under this new position. Shawna has been in corporate travel management for 18 years, having started with private corporations in Seattle and Portland. A native of North Idaho, she has been with TMI since its inception in 1994.

Kim Adams, previously TMI’s staff accountant has been promoted to Accounting Supervisor. She started with TMI in 1996. She is responsible for corporate account reporting and HR administration. Kim and her 2 daughters have lived in Coeur d’Alene the past 15 years.

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