Peter Greenberg - The Travel Detective: How to Get the Best Service and the Best Deals from Airlines, Hotels, Cruise Ships, and Car Rental Agencies

CONTENTS

This book is dedicated to my mother, who always encouraged me to travel; to my sister, who understands why I still travel; and to my late father, who continues to show me the way home.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Harriet Choice at the Chicago Tribune took a big chance on me, and for that I will always be grateful. Grateful as well to Jerry Hulse, a tough editor and a great boss, the former travel editor of the Los Angeles Times. When Jerry decided to run my column, my work was nationally recognized. Jerry will always be a giant in my eyes because he did it allNot only did he edit a complete Sunday newspaper section each week, he also wrote for it, and, sometimes it seemed as if he wrote all of it! Thankfully, he knew what he was writing about. And I like to think he felt the same about me. He will always be missed, and he will always be remembered.

Thanks, too, go to Michael Jackson, who will always be the dean of radio talk show hosts in my eyes, and who was enormously generous in allowing me time on his show. He is one of the few radio interviewers who understand the questions they ask as well as why they ask them, because he always does his homework beforehand.

Over the years, I have been blessed with assistants who also became friendsthey helped me so much, and they had many things in common, among them that they are strong and incredibly capable women: Jodie Sternberg and Meredith Patterson, Jessica Nathan, and the rock-solid Jessica Milligan. Last but not least, Jill Gable, who held down the fort and organized my life while I crossed every time zone.

I have so many people to thank in the travel industry itself that my biggest fear in writing these acknowledgments is the highly likely possibility of forgetting some. And so I apologize now for any omissions.

Having said that, there are the legendary and unforgettable hoteliers who helped me and pointed me in the right direction, even if what I found out wasnt always flattering to them or their hotels: Stan Bromley and Wolf Hengst at Four Seasons, two men who really know how to run hotels; Wolfgang Hultner of the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco, and John Toner, who was arguably, and singlehandedly, the Ritz-Carlton in Maui, both of whom have mastered the art of making the impossible look effortless. I was in New York with John Toner and Ed Mady, another great GM of the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, on 9/11. Timing is everything: They were scheduled to meet with all their general managers on the morning of September 12 at Windows on the World.

Bill Marriott continues to amaze me by being so accessible and helpful; then theres the legendary Kurt Wachveitl at the Oriental in Bangkok, who is the Oriental in Bangkok; and Tom Guertner and Bill Black, both veterans of the Regent hotels in Hong Kong and in Bangkok. (The Regent is now an InterContinental in Hong Kong, and its a Four Seasons in Bangkok.) Black is not just a GM, but a teacher. He can explain Thai culture and nuanceand servicebetter than anyone else I know. Speaking of legends, theres Sally Bulloch, who personified the Athenaeum in London until she did what all of us felt was the impossiblenot only did she fall in love, she left London for South Africa! But Sally remains the role model of limitless energy, and in my mind will always be the consummate hostess. Even from the far reaches of the southern hemisphere, she remains the go-to personshe knows everything and everybodyand shares her information with an impossible combination of great flair and discretion. Thanks to Jon Tisch, who has been a friend and supporter, even when he didnt have to be.

Most guests who have stayed at the Mark Hotel in New York didnt know the name Birgit Zorniger. But she knew their names, and, thankfully, she knew mine. She quietly, efficiently, and with limitless strength turned the hotel into a gracious home. It is almost an understatement to say that this book would not have been possible, or even conceivable, without the incomparable Raymond Bickson, the legendary general manager of the Mark, whom I unabashedly worship as a hotelier but above all as a friend.

Given the inevitable turnover in the travel business, Raymond is now doing what Raymond does best: not just managing one hotel in New York, but running more than sixty of them worldwide for the Taj group from his new home base in Mumbai. And Birgit is there, right alongside him, continuing to make magic for her guests.

Thanks also to Jane Mackie, Deb Bernstein, and Katie Meyerall formerly of Starwood hotelsfor always having answers for every one of my questions. Jane is now at Loews hotels, Deb is an independent PR person, and Katie, after a stint at Meridien hotels in London, has returned to the United States and is now at Hyatt in Chicago.

And some true professional public relations women: Vivian Deuschl, Stephanie Platt, and Colleen Evans at Ritz-Carlton, who have been so generous with their time, their support, their information, and their honesty. I cant just thank them. Instead, I have to say my pleasure and certainly for reasons they know all too well. And that now includes Julia Gacjak, who relocated from Asia to Washington, D.C. for Ritz-Carlton. Also thanks to Lou Hammond, Yvonne Middleton, Jeannie Datz, Anita Cotter, Nancy Friedman, and Florence Quinn, who know the difference between promotion and presentation, puffery and the truth.

Anchors of thanks aweigh to Julie Benson of Princess, Mimi Weisband of Crystal, Liz Jakeway of Celebrity, and Morris Silver and Virginia Sheridan, who worked so hard with me in reporting the launch of the Queen Mary 2.

A special, special thanks to Sheila Donnelly, my dear friend, and one of the most wired, informed, smart people I know. Outside of being a great PR executive, she understands marketplace reality and was never afraid to tell the truth, even when it hurt. She was always there for me as a constant and selfless source of support, inspiration, and direction.

My love-hate relationship with the airlines includes some people who still helped me immeasurablyTim Doke at American, Jon Austin at Northwest, Mark Abels at TWA, and Joe Hopkins and the late Chuck Novak at United. None of these men are with their airlines anymore, and Chuck is flying high. Then theres Ned Walker at Continental, Stephanie Ackerman at Aloha, Tom Wright and Scott Mowrer at Cathay Pacific, Gareth Edmonson-Jones at JetBlue, John Lampl at British Airlines, Peter McLaughlin and Ken Groves at Qantas, and John Selvaggio at Delta, who left to start Song. And then left Song. But thats another story...

My column is no longer syndicated in newspapers. It now is available to a much wider audienceand is updated every three dayson the Internet, at TravelNewsToday.com.

At NBC, I have been lucky to work with some great producers, ranging from Beatrice Myers and Kim Bondy to the total professional, Linda Finnell, who never asked me for anything other than hard, good workwhen she wasnt gently asking me to get out of her office!

At the Travel Channel, Jay Feldman, with whom I once worked at KNXT in Los Angeles, hired me on as chief correspondent and developed a great and ambitious show, Travel Daily, along with another KNXT alum, Nancy Jacoby, who served as executive producer.

And most recently, Steve Cheskin, who didnt have to keep me at the channel when he came on board, but, thankfully, did. Im still there, thanks to Billy Campbell, who embraces the notionand then acts upon itthat travel news is must-need, must-use information.