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When
toll-free calls are not free
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 A
1998 rule by the U.S. Federal communications Commission requires that travellers
be told in advance the long-distance rate they would pay at hotels. Yet, despite
attempts by FCC agents to ensure this is happening, it is still a jungle of phone
charges out there. Many properties are installing high-speed Internet access,
with a flat daily charge for use. These installations mean that regular phone
lines are not used for toll-free-number calls fro Web access; to the hotels,
it means that regular lines are not tied up by callers' computers.
Guests who want to use high speed Internet Links are usually asked to call the
desk or sign up on registration to accept the daily charge. They must also have
network adapter, since the high-speed links are not regular phone lines. A few
of the latest high-speed links accept the USB connectors that are found on newer
laptop computers. Here are samples of what some chains charge for 800-numbers
and similar calls:
The Starwood group, which includes Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, St. Regis
and the Luxury Collection and W Hotels charges guests US 0.85 TO US $1.25 for
connecting to 800 numbers. Hilton rates for calls to 800 numbers are free if
the call is less than 60 minutes, it is US 0.10 a minute. All Marriott brands
provide 800-number calls free. Hyatt Hotels charges US $1.00 for 800-number calls
that lead to a telephone company. Calls to 800 numbers that to something else,
such as a store, a catalogue company or the Internet, are free, At Hyatt resorts,
guests are charged a flat fee of US $10.00 for all telephone use during their
stay.
The New York Times |
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| CAPS
off to new baggage service for travellers |
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 Leaving
Las Vegas? CAPS, a luggage service in Nevada, provides "virtual airport"
services to travellers staying at partner hotels and flying on selected partner
airlines. For US$6.00 a person, CAPS will check in a customer's luggage, assign
a seat and issue a boarding pass - all from the comfort of the customer's hotel
lobby. "One of the worst parts of travelling is waiting in line and having
to transport your bags around town," says Jim Gentleman, vice president
of marketing and sales for CAPS, an acronym for Certified Airline Passenger Services.
A growing number of airlines, particularly in Europe, are offering remote check-in
service to their passengers. What makes CAPS different is that it is the first
to provide the service for multiple airlines. It is authorized by 11 carriers,
including Delta Air lines and United Airlines. At present, CAPS can only check
in passengers flying within the United States on domestic carriers. It does,
however, service international passengers booked on Canada 3000. CAPS , which
provides check-in service two to 12 hours before scheduled departure times, is
currently available only in Las Vegas. It is offered at 12 hotel locations, including
the Las Vegas Hilton, the Flamingo, Sahara and Mandalay
Bay.
It is also offered at Alamo Rent a Car at McCarran International Airport, where
customers dropping off a rental car can check-in at the same time. By the end
of the year, Mr. Gentleman says travellers in San Francisco, Chicago and Los
Angeles should be able to drop off their bags and pick up their boarding passes
at CAPS in-hotel counters. Luggage checked in through CAPS is subject to the
same security filters as those processed at the airport. Similar to airline passenger
agents, CAPS employees are trained to be on the lookout for suspicious-looking
people and luggage. Getting CAPS off the ground was not easy, says Mr. Gentleman.
It took almost three years to convince the Federal Aviation Administration to
give CAPS its seal of approval. CAPS also had to sell its concept to airlines
and hotels.
National Post |
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