Canada for example has set the bar high for what it considers an “undesirable.” According to a briefing by Canadian Customs & Immigration, they will not allow people who have been convicted of DUI entry into Canada. In Canada, a DUI is a felony offense which they take as a very serious infraction. Canada does not allow convicted felons entry into their country whether the conviction was in Canada or the U.S. Additionally, any U.S. conviction of a misdemeanor offense including reckless driving, domestic violence, shoplifting or drug possession just to name a few, can also be grounds to be turned away from entering Canada.

Reminds me of stories from Singapore where chewing gum could land a punishment of lashing. Since 9/11, the world has been inherited by the crazies. This is another extreme reaction. Hopefully, we are headed for more moderate times where reason and common sense prevail over crazy extremism.

George

Now here’s the problem. Bill and Suzy bought the lowest price package for that air and hotel combination. They still think they have breakfast included because it was listed on the hotel’s own web site for people paying the standard (higher) rates. However, in a price driven market the travel operator negotiated a steep discount from the hotel who inturn stripped out the breakfast because the wholesale rate they had to provide to the travel operator was so low. So Bill & Suzy get to the hotel have breakfast and also get a bill.

An example of this situation is a review posted on www.ReviewResorts.com by Jean from Denver. In this review she wrote: “Beware what their WEB page offers as you may not be getting what you think you are!”

Another example of this disconnect are “Resort Fees” imposed by the large vacation hotels. Many times the resort fee is not included in air & hotel travel packages for price advantages. This can be a harsh $25 per person. per day reality check.

The quick take: These situations hardly make for satisfied customers. Most of these disgruntled travelers feel taken advantage of, and will probably not return. More importantly, they let as many people as possible to beware by posting on review sites advising others to beware of the hotel.

Last night I was processing the user-generated hotel reviews received for www.ReviewResorts.com and was struck that each one was negative about a Mexican hotel. This was unusual. Most times the reviews are split 60/40 negative/positive. As editor of this site, I am aware of the old adage about pleasing a customer makes one happy consumer, but piss one off and they will get even by telling everyone they can how bad they were treated. So this probably explains the higher slant toward negative reviews. However in reading the experiences of the travelers, I was left to wonder how much of this was their perception of a different culture or actual bad service? Some of the people just seemed impatient while some clearly had legitimate complaints.

In North America and Europe there is an expectation of attentive and expedient service at hotels and restaurants. The people of Mexico and other Latin countries tend to savor the journey. In other words, the “urgency of time” by itself is not treated the same as us impatient Americans. Could these negative reviews simply be a problem of culture clash?

It’s their country. We travel to Mexico because we want to experience a different culture. Yet, because this culture is a bit different in ours, we get frustrated? Crazy.

Now for the $64 question:
If they are marketing their destinations and resorts to North America and Europe should they modify their style to accommodate us impatient types or is it up to us to embrace the culture difference?

Traveling Saves Marriages !

I came across an article that made me think about how travel can save a marriage!! – Hear me out… The article was about a study that a Professor Arthur Aron, Ph.D. conducted at New York State at Stony Brook on how couples in long term marriages stayed “In Love.” It seems this study revealed that continuous new experiences by couples were a critical factor. They had couples go out on a date night and half went to the same restaurant and the others were made to go to a different dining venue each time out. Well, you ladies already know which couple had a higher feeling of love. Indeed, the couple that went to the different restaurants scored much higher in brain scans indicating affection and love for each other.

Being in the travel business, I once wrote that couples travel to keep their relationships fresh and exciting by experiencing new things. This study seems to validate this statement. Travel functions as a process of replacing the old experience with the new. Doing this together allows couples to have a fresh sense of excitement and commonality. Thus, travel can reduce the monotony of sameness and increase the sense of excitement in the relationship far beyond the 10 days on vacation. Travel may very well be one of the best aphrodisiacs for a stale relationship.

Happy Valentines Day – Now go someplace different…..Together.