Finally, an option for mobile tipping at hotels

Plus: Bleisure travel tips | A new bucket-list destination | Squid Game's sweep and Korea | Sustainable tourism to hit $1 trillion

Punakha Dzong in Bhutan -- Courtesy of Aman

Greetings travel friends,

If you’re like us, the more you travel, the longer your bucket list grows. And now we have yet another adventure to add to ours: a restored hiking trail across the “happiest country in the world."

This week we’ll also take a look at the new world of business travel, and some of the challenges that come along with tacking on some R&R to your next work trip.

Oh, and FINALLY, a major hotel chain (one we didn't expect!) is moving into the 21st Century with a new digital tipping app.

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More on all that below. First, here are the headlines we’re watching this week:

  • Demand for London spikes. Given the global obsession with all things royal, we weren't surprised to see soaring demand for London flights since the Sept. 8 death of Queen Elizabeth II. Data from travel app Hopper suggests demand from U.S. travelers alone jumped 49%. Searches for hotels are also up for the period leading up to the queen’s Sept. 19 funeral. If you hop over for a quick trip, here are some tips that Barb shared with USA TODAY recently about enjoying the city when it’s crowded.

  • Tinder meets travel. Illustrating how much social media continues to influence our travel buying decisions, the new app OfftheGrid lets users swipe left or right on peoples’ travel photos to discover new destinations – and maybe meet up. TechCrunch describes the app as a Tinder-like experience. Its 25-year-old founder, Ethan Serbantes, launched the app after catching the travel bug.

  • South Korea: Next hot spot for Americans? On Monday, the fabulously dystopian Netflix drama from Korea, Squid Game, took home four Emmy Awards and made history as the first non-English-language show ever to be nominated for a big award. It’s just one example of how Korean culture – including K-Pop music and food – are all the rage in the U.S., and how the Korean Tourism Organization aims to capitalize on it. Travel Pulse reports that the government organization is launching a program in the U.S. aimed at training Millennials and Gen Z travel agents to become Korea experts. (Link to Season 2 trailer.)

  • House Dems seek probe of airlines’ use of Covid relief. Just what did airlines do with those billions in taxpayer-backed pandemic relief dollars? Our friend David Koenig at The Associated Press reports that two leading Democrats in key oversight roles, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Rep. James Clayburn, D-S.C., requested a federal probe into whether carriers used any of the $54 billion to pay employees to quit. The money was supposed to help the carriers keep enough staff to ramp back up. But we all know how well that went.

Wyndham becomes first big hotel company to launch mobile tipping

Tipping in cash has been a headache for years. How many times have you shown up at a hotel with only $20s from the ATM – or no cash at all – for tipping the bellman? Or discovered as you are scrambling to check out that you have no bills to leave the housekeeper?

Finally, Wyndham has come up with a global solution that can apply to all of its brands, including La Quinta, Days Inn and Radisson. The company announced yesterday that it worked with tipping-tech provider Béné to create a system that lets customers send gratuities to employees of participating hotels with their mobile phone. It's believed to be the first major hotel chain to offer a cashless tipping solution. You would think that a luxury leaning hotel company like Four Seasons, Marriott or Hilton would’ve beat them to it, but hey, we’ll take any progress by hospitality companies to move into the digital age.

Ironically, Travel Essential subscriber Nancy McKee, a college counselor and founder of Edwards McKee Consultants, had just written us on Monday, wondering why hotels don’t have QR codes for tipping housekeepers.

She was on a business trip visiting Denver-area colleges and discovered her ATM card didn’t work, leaving her cashless. She was able to tip the hotel car driver, because he had a QR code and she had Venmo. But she said her hotel offered no cashless solutions for tipping housekeepers.

“I’m sure I’m not the only one having this issue," Edwards said. "No one has cash anymore. Why can’t hotels figure this out?”

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Bleisure travel has its limits. Our take? Don’t be greedy

Travel Essential isn’t expecting business travel to make a big comeback this fall – especially on the heels of Google’s announcement that it’s putting the kabosh on business travel amid corporate expense cutting and layoff chatter.

Still, for the trips that are happening, more people are tacking on a day or days for leisure. We’re talking about the so-called “bleisure” trend, which began before Covid and continues to grow. A recent Global Business Travel Association survey notes that 90% of travel managers said their employees are interested in trips that combine work and pleasure, according to The Wall Street Journal.

But combining the two can cause unexpected headaches. Here are a few TE takeaways to avoid HR hassles:

  • Be transparent about your intentions. The president of Concur Travel, Charlie Sultan, says that if you get hurt during a personal day on a business trip, it’s not clear who'll be liable for expenses, the Journal reports.

  • Be extra vigilant about tracking expenses. Most employers don’t have formal rules for blended trips. And based on our experience both covering business travel policy and traveling as bleisure workers and companions, it’s safe to expect that it’s only a matter of time before a CFO tells her or his team to create some.

  • Don’t be greedy. Why make assumptions about who will pay for that four-day rental car or that additional hotel night? A Minneapolis-area scientist, Pat Scaramuzza, told the Journal he split the bill for his hotel in Italy when he brought his wife and two sons, putting only a portion on his corporate card. That's both fair and smart.

  • Don’t use these experiences to replace real vacations. Sure, bleisure trips help us stretch our travel dollars but they’re not the same as turning off that laptop and reconnecting either with yourself or spending time with friends and family.

A new one for the bucket list: a historic hike across Bhutan

Camping on the Trans Bhutan Trail -- Courtesy of Red Savannah

We're always looking for new adventures. And this one really caught our eye: the Trans Bhutan Trail.

Set to officially open on Sept. 28 by the King of Bhutan, the restored 250-mile trail is described as “one of the most beautiful, culturally rich and least explored trails in the world,“ following the path that for hundreds of years was used by pilgrims, messengers, armies and traders.

Restoration of the trail, which runs from Haa in the west to Trashigang in the east, was led by the Bhutan Canada Foundation with the support of the Tourism Council of Bhutan, local government and countless individuals across the country, including government officials and volunteers.

Not only is it far off the tourism paths well traveled, it hits all the marks for sustainable and authentic tourism. Oh, and did we mention that Bhutan is one of the world’s happiest, most peaceful and sustainable destinations in the world?

Bhutan is the last standing Buddhist Kingdom in the world and has preserved much of its culture since the 17th Century by staying largely isolated and limiting tourism.

But that is slowly changing. And the reopened trail offers visitors a unique way to delve into the country's unique culture and dramatic Himalayan landscape.

“The restoration of this trail will provide you with an intimate view of one of the world’s best preserved traditional cultures and environments while traversing the world’s only carbon negative country,” the trail's official web site tells readers. “By walking or cycling the Trans Bhutan Trail you will immerse yourself in generations’ worth of stories, and become a piece of a unique part of the country’s history.”

The web site encourages visitors to book trips directly through the trail organization to maximize contributions to research, education, and community development.

But travel companies are also getting involved. And if you’re looking for a professional travel company to help you plan a once in a lifetime adventure in Bhutan, we recommend Red Savannah, a London-based luxury travel agency that just unveiled three itineraries:

Highlights of Bhutan & the Trans Bhutan Trail: This eight-day trip allows guests to hike some of the most iconic parts of the trail and find beautiful orchards, remote hillside dzongs and the spectacular Dochula Pass. Other highlights include climbing to the revered Tiger’s Nest Monastery and enjoying a spa day at COMO Uma Paro, a hotel with sweeping views of the picturesque Paro Valley.

A Taste of the Trans Bhutan Trail: This 10-day trip provides visitors with two days’ worth of hiking along the trail and a true taste of Bhutanese culture through traditional scenic lunches in local farming villages. Guests will also have the chance to learn how to play archery, Bhutan’s national sport, unwind at Gangtey Lodge’s spa and see a Black-necked crane at the Gangtey Goenpa monastery.

The Trans Bhutan Trail to Far East Bhutan: Visitors who join this 12-day trip have the opportunity to explore some of the least-visited areas of the country. The eastern section of the trail hosts experiences most tourists do not get to see, including the Namling waterfall, the ruins of the Zhongar Dzong fortress and the historic Dramatese temple. The majority of the trip is spent along the Trans Bhutan Trail, with outdoor lodging at the trail’s campsite and traditional Bhutanese meals.

Travel Essential's stat of the week

Speaking of sustainable travel, the market research group Future Market Insights projects that the sustainable tourism market will top $1 trillion in 2022, representing a 33% year-over-year increase. (Hat tip: Travel Agent Central). Why the spike? Millennials and Gen Z'ers are increasingly voting with their wallets. And while the trend started several years ago, the growth of Covid-era social media storytelling featuring remote locations where sustainable tourism experiences are being marketed has accelerated the trend. People are literally making full-time jobs out of sharing this type of content on social media.

TE Takeaways:

Pros - This sounds like a bonanza for industry marketers and PR agencies, and the consumers who love feeling sustainable in some way.

Cons - The notion of sustainability is complicated, especially when it involves remote places where food, water, shelter and infrastructure are precious commodities. We hope the rush to capture market share and travelers’ wallets doesn’t lead to more greenwashing.

Want to nominate a new report or survey for Travel Essential's Stat of the Week feature or have other ideas or feedback? We want to hear from you. Email Barb and Jeri at [email protected].

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