Travel Technology
prnewswire | July 03, 2023
Shoes on or off? Full recline or no recline? Is skipping the security line ever OK? What about standing at the gate before your boarding zone is called? These are all questions we've asked ourselves when flying and likely have strong opinions about yet aren't quite sure what is considered socially acceptable versus outright rude. KAYAK is here to help. Known for searching hundreds of travel sites to find people the perfect flight, hotel or rental car, the world's leading travel search engine is taking it one step further by conducting an extensive search across the Internet, leaving no digital stone unturned to uncover how Americans truly feel about travel etiquette.
The search included blog posts, social media platforms, news outlets, online forums, and other sources to identify the most hotly debated topics surrounding air travel. From there, the company conducted a survey with aytm (Ask Your Target Market) revealing 64% of travelers have witnessed bad plane etiquette underscoring the urgency for establishing travel rules ahead of the most popular holiday travel weekend of the summer (July Fourth)**.
That's why KAYAK is posting the Unspoken Rules of Air Travel in the one place no one argues: the Internet. So now travelers will know what IS and IS NOT OK when taking their next trip.
These comprehensive rules address a wide array of topics, ranging from whether it's OK to put your feet on the chair in front of you (which 68% agree it's not) to the food you should never bring on a flight (spoiler alert: it's hard boiled eggs, according to 74% of North Americans.) Let this be your travel moral compass (which apparently we all need): Simply scroll through the rules on your own or share them with someone who needs them.
So… what ARE the Unspoken Rules of Air Travel? According to a survey conducted in partnership with aytm and work facilitated by Brandwatch's Consumer Research Platform, here are the Unspoken Rules of Air Travel as defined by all travelers:
Sit back and Relax. 88% of people say it's OK to recline your seat. But timing is important to some with 1 in 3 saying it's only okay to recline your seat on a long or overnight flight.
Arm rests are up for grabs. 57% say the middle seat is not entitled to both arm rests
Socks stay ON. 76% say you're NOT allowed to take your socks off.
Stinky foods stay at home. 92% of people agree that you should not bring any food with strong smells on a plane. That includes the biggest offenders: tinned fish (89%), hard boiled eggs (74%) and a rack of ribs (84%).
Keep your feet on the floor. 68% say you are NOT allowed to put your feet up against the back of the seat in front of you.
Noise control. 70% say you are not allowed to watch something without headphones. And, headphones on is the equivalent to do not disturb according to 94% of people.
Sleeping is not a valid excuse… for just about anything. Leaning on a stranger's shoulder (77%), snoring loudly (66%) and refusing to wake up to let the passenger next to you get up (66%) are not welcome.
Hold the phone…call. 69% agree you are NOT allowed to call someone before you get off the plane.
Nail care is a no-no. 92% say you are NOT allowed to clip or paint your nails at your seat. Filing your nails is also a no no, according to 81% of people.
Storage wars (overhead bin edition). 73% say you are allowed to store small items or jackets in the overhead bin
Below are some additional findings that KAYAK was shocked to learn:
Shoes ON during flights. 56% of North Americans agree your shoes should stay on during a flight. But, the fact that this was SO close (56% vs 44%) is a bit disturbing…
Furthermore… 1 in 5 people believe it's OK to use the restroom without shoes on. That means someone in your row likely did this during your flight… gross!
No Babies on Board. 1 in 4 people (26%) say it's NOT okay to bring a baby on a flight… ever. Wahhh.
Who called the fun police? 58% say you are not allowed to laugh loudly at a movie when on a plane.
Long Hair, Don't Care. Over 1 in 4 people (26%) say it's OK to hang your hair over the headrest/onto the front of the seat behind you.
It's NOT Crunch time. 55% of people say no to eating crunchy food on a plane.
"Travel etiquette is one of those things that is universally acknowledged yet frequently debated," said Matt Clarke VP of NA Marketing. "Even within our own team at KAYAK, we couldn't all agree whether it was or was not OK to recline your seat on a flight. So, we wanted to put an end to the debate once and for all. By launching these rules as summer travel really picks up, we hope to create a more enjoyable and agreeable summer travel experience for all."
The rules will be running on digital displays in major airports throughout summer and will also be available via a modernized seatback manual downloadable at www.kayak.com/rules starting Tuesday, June 27.
"In a perfect world these would grace the seat back pockets of every US flight. But, we recognize this ambitious endeavor cannot be achieved singlehandedly," continued Clarke. "In solidarity with flight crews everywhere, we hope that airlines will get on board with establishing official etiquette guidelines on all future flights. Imagine hearing 'please stow your rack of ribs' or 'keep your socks on when using the bathroom.' Planes everywhere would be a better, happier and overall more enjoyable place."
About KAYAK:
KAYAK is part of Booking Holdings Inc, one of the world's most prominent search engines for travel. It helps people find the vacation package, hotel, rental or shared car, and flights they want. The company enables travelers to search for the best flight deals and book with flexibility, as it's pretty reliable and completely free to use. With trip planning tools like a flight tracker, trip planner, and bag measure, KAYAK ensures that travelers' overall experience is more than just a flight search site!
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Hospitality Trends
prnewswire | August 22, 2023
Dripkit Coffee, a leading single-serve pour over solution for a variety of roasters and wholly owned subsidiary of NuZee Inc. (Nasdaq: NUZE), is teaming up with new Columbus, Ohio hotel, The Junto, to launch an in-room coffee solution honoring Ohio State's 1926 homecoming queen, Maudine, the Holstein cow.
In 1727, Benjamin Franklin — you may have heard of him — founded a "club for mutual improvement," which he styled The Junto. Ben's club brought together people from diverse backgrounds to discuss issues and ideas of the time. The Junto hotel is a modern-day embodiment of this idea. With an emphasis on public gathering spaces, the hotel gives visitors, locals, entrepreneurs, and artists alike a place to come together, exchange ideas, and inspire one another.
In designing the packets for this collaboration, The Junto and Dripkit teams drew inspiration from the hotel's breakfast and coffee shop, Maudine's. In 1926, when Rosalind Morrison won the distinction of Ohio State University Homecoming Queen and learned that she had received more votes than there were students at the school, she passed her crown to the runner-up, Maudine Ormsby. An esteemed member of the university's dairy herd, known for her award-winning milk production, Maudine was officially declared Queen.
The black and white cow print Dripkits featuring a small yellow crown can be found in all 198 rooms of the hotel for guests that need a pick-me-up before heading down to Maudine's for breakfast, visiting the hotel's two restaurants or walkup food window, meeting in the multiple event spaces, or hitting one of the many amenities including a gym, patio, working spaces, and "Gear Garage," where hotel guests can borrow bicycles, kayaks, paddleboards, instant cameras, backpacks, and GoPro video cameras.
Founded in 2017 by Ilana Kruger, Dripkit offers single serve pour over coffee formats on a large scale to combine convenience and quality. Dripkits produce a 10oz cup of coffee using 17g of roasted and ground coffee without the prep or cleanup of a traditional pour over. The just-add-water format enables hotel guests and visitors to brew the perfect cup of coffee in two minutes and enjoy freshly roasted specialty coffee on-the-go, sans equipment, and without the mess.
The Junto joins an esteemed line of Dripkit hospitality partners, which include Kayak and Autocamp. Dripkit Coffee is a business division of the NuZee (NASDAQ: NUZE) brand portfolio. To learn more, please visit https://dripkit.coffee.
About The Junto
The Junto is an independent hotel developed by Columbus-based Rockbridge, under the company's Makeready division. This is Makeready's first Columbus hotel, following hotels in Savannah, Charleston, Nashville, Denver and Dallas. The company is planning a second hotel in the Merchant Building underway next to the North Market.
About Dripkit
Dripkit offers a large-size single serve pour over format that delivers what it believes to be a barista-quality coffee experience to coffee drinkers in the United States. The brand has combined its focus on convenience and quality, as well as a goal of using first-rate, ethically sourced coffee beans, to become a leader in the single serve coffee category.
About NuZee Coffee
NuZee, Inc., (NASDAQ: NUZE), is a leading co-packing company for single serve coffee formats that partners with companies of all sizes to help them develop within the single serve and private label coffee category. Providing innovative and eco-conscious solutions with the flexibility and capacity for both small roasters and large global brands, NuZee is revolutionizing the way single serve coffee is enjoyed in the United States. Through the brand's unique process, NuZee fulfills every aspect of co-packing needs, from roasting and blending, to packing and packaging. NuZee has production facilities in the United States and Korea.
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Destination and Tourism
businesswire | July 07, 2023
Life House, an innovative management company for independent hotels, is proud to announce the launch of its Referral Program. The hotel industry is in a period of low transaction and development activity and the program is designed to support those folks who are particularly impacted, including brokers, developers, architects, designers, and hotel owners. Life House’s management services and revenue management solutions are designed to help owners yearning for better results with less effort, especially in the current economic environment - and Life House is committed to supporting the hotel community that fuses the industry together.
With its tech-driven management approach, Life House makes hotels more profitable and makes owning a hotel hassle-free, with case studies showing NOI increases of 250% and improved guest experiences. The model leverages proprietary tech and complex operating systems and processes to deliver consistent success across its diverse portfolio of 100+ properties, ranging from select service hotels, to lifestyle motels, to luxury Forbes Five Star hotels and those affiliated with Leading Hotels of the World.
While the Company has been receiving referrals for years, Life House is now launching a formal referral program given the economic climate to support both the hotel owners it serves as well as those who make referrals. The referral fees may not be as lucrative as a broker transaction fee, but could be up to $50,000, depending on the size of the hotel referred. If an introduction results in Life House signing a Hotel Management Agreement, Life House will provide a one-time reward in the amount of 0.5% of LTM Revenue for existing operating hotels OR 0.5% of Projected Year 1 Revenue for new builds or hotels that will undergo renovation.
"We’re deeply committed to our mission of helping not only independent hotel owners, but the industry as a whole. We understand that the hotel industry is small and while most of our friends, broker partners, etc. make referrals out of the goodness of their hospitality spirit, we wanted to be proactive to reward those who may be going through a dry patch in this economic environment," said Rami Zeidan, Founder & CEO of Life House.
About Life House
Life House is a vertically integrated hotel management & technology company focused on serving small and medium independent hotels with institutional quality service. Life House uses advanced software & operating systems to increase profitability and reliability for independent hotels throughout North America. Life House was founded in 2017 by real estate, hospitality, and technology veterans and is backed by world renowned private equity and venture investors. The company is ambitiously investing in its operational systems to make hotels far more profitable, predictable, and seamless for owners.
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