Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Dude, I Just Created this Awesome Mix

It's this really rad playlist that includes Metallica, AC/DC, Springsteen, Eminem, Tupac, Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Totally Awesome, man. I could listen to it for hours, man.

As did, apparently, detainees at Guantanamo (along with a healthy dose of Barney singing "I Love You").

Gotta wonder (as did Good) how Bruce and his peers are feeling about their music being used in this way...

Thanks to my friend Maura Gast for the catch...

Going Luxe in Lauderdale

I love a Destination Marketing Organization that goes against conventional wisdom (and the seemingly self-imposed rules that limit so many of us). And, Fort Lauderdale does that with regularity.

Case in point: Their new new TV campaign and microsite: Lauderdale Luxe. As everyone else seems to be targeting consumers on a budget with hotel deals and cut-rate packages, the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB plays to their emerging strength as a luxury destination. And, why not? That's where the money and the future image of the destination reside.

14 hotels are featured...and promoted as being part of the Luxe package by "invitation only." Hell yeah.

But it's that "invitation" thing that intrigues me. How does a DMO feature a subset of its industry partners without incurring the wrath of other hotels? Easy...the Luxe hotels all share a common irrefutable truth. They all have earned a four-star, four-diamond or better ranking, and boast a full-service restaurant and on-premises spa or dedicated/contracted services.

Worried that the whiners will pitch a fit? Set the bar high. Your customers will love you for it.

It's How You Say It

For students of persuasion, Kare Anderson's Say it Better blog is a treasure trove of great suggestions for ways to communicate more effectively. A post earlier this month pointed to an often inadvertent slip that can help make our opponent's position resonate.

Bottom line? If they are any good, they have spent a fair amount of time carefully selecting the incendiary words they plan to use. Never repeat them. Reframe them.

A New Public Health Hazard

A new study, just out (as reported on Elliott.org), indicates that over half of us would board a plane, knowing we had H1N1, rather than pay the $150 airline change fee.

Doesn't this qualify any airline charging such a fee as a knowing, willing and intentional Public Health Hazard?

Just a thought...

The Rare Airport Find

You don't see the hole-in-the-wall, independent diner much anymore in major airports around the country. And yet many of these have been fixtures for years, withstanding the onslaught of the chains.

Found one this past week at DFW in the E concourse: Rider's World.

Blues Music pumping, the Spicy Dog lived up to its name and they didn't skimp on the Maker's Mark.

My kinda place.

A Tasty Way to Stimulate the Economy

130 Million people eat out in America every day...which pumps $3 billion into the economy, every day.

That's one I didn't know...and just one in a great video that clearly explains the impact of restaurants on the nation's economy. And the devastating effect when we begin to view eating out as a luxury.

Thanks to my friend Maura Gast of the Irving CVB for the catch.

Making Lemonade

It's no secret that the Meetings Industry has been demonized by those that want the have-nots to hate the haves. But, in the attempt to defame those that have by showcasing their lavish travel lifestyles, good destinations (and thousands of now out-of-work hospitality employees) got spattered by the same brush. Orlando, Las Vegas, Hawaii and others are now hurting more than the rest of the country because of their reputation as a great place to meet.

Tom Caradonio's crew at the Northern Kentucky CVB surely feel their peer destinations' pain. But, in desperate times, you gotta go with a message that resonates.

Thanks to my bud Meilee Anderson of Seattle Southside for the catch.

Price Fixing, Anyone?

Years ago, I was a member of a professional trade association whose veteran members would go absolutely apoplectic when rookies would inquire about how we all set our fees. They would quickly lecture the young padawan that such talk was akin to price fixing, punishable by large fines from the federal government.

Yeah, like the Justice Department is gonna come after a couple professional speakers who talk about how they price their services under certain market conditions over a beer.

Because they sure aren't coming down on the hundreds of thousand gas stations that all jacked their prices a fairly uniform 20 cents across the country earlier this week.

If that's not collusion...I'm really not sure what is.

Sprint Nails It

While my iPhone makes me an at&t customer for most of my wireless needs...I've been a Sprint customer for my aircard for the past two years because its performance (then) so outdistanced the competition.

It's time for a new aircard. Verizon has eliminated smtp support...so they are out. The 3G coverage of at&t is increasingly questionable...so they're out. And, while Sprint was the leader (at least in my region) two years ago, there were always compatibility issues with my Mac that made it an inelegant solution.

What a difference two years can make.

Despite my initial trepidation in working with a Sprint rep that didn't seem to understand my concerns about past compatibility issues, I now know it's because there aren't any (so, he clearly didn't know what I was talking about). And, the coolest thing? There is no CD with software to install.

Just insert the USB card...and you're good to go. The proper software is installed automatically. The configuration is completed without a single keystroke.

I'm simply amazed that Sprint has so completely embraced the future of seamlessness.

It Takes a Virgin Mind to Solve Boarding

No...not that kind of virgin. The Richard Branson kind...as in Virgin America.

We've already issued Air Law 5 about the goofs that insist on attempting to carry on luggage as big as small pony. And Air Law 7 about the people who rush to the gate to board, regardless of their section, in order to secure overhead bin space for said pony.

Virgin America's brilliant solution: Board First Class first. Then, people needing assistance (though not with their pony)...then people without carry-on luggage. Leaving the people with ponies to duke it out for space after everyone else has been seated, thus ensuring that the boarding process moves smoothly right up til the end.

And, what an incentive to pay the $20 fee to check luggage! An easier time in boarding. Now, for some, that is a benefit that might just be worth the fee that other airlines have imposed with no additional benefit.

I love Virgin America. But, because the other airlines will never follow suit, Air Laws 5 and 7 still stand.