For the first time since February of 2020, a potential client asked me for a workshop delivered in-person, rather than through a videoconference. I’m going to have to charge more. But it’s an interesting question if the client is actually getting more value from the in-person session. Some quick history Before 2020, I delivered my…
I travelled constantly as an analyst. Now I hardly travel at all. Not traveling is better. I’m not a newbie. I’m Platinum for Life on American Airlines. It took me 20 years get that. It’s not worth much to me now. I don’t miss: Planning. The late lamented Hipmunk travel planning tool scored flights on…
I’m visiting Vancouver to give a speech and take a vacation. It’s awesome. But not completely. Just a warning — this post starts as a sunny story but there is adult material coming, some heartbreaking, and not in a good way. If you don’t want that in your day, please just don’t read this. I’ve…
I’m on a short vacation right now, visiting with family. I’m staying in an Airbnb and I just had one of Airbnb’s local “experiences.” Stuff has gone wrong. And it’s glorious. If business travel is about comfort and predictability, leisure travel is, at least for me, about having unique, memorable, highly local experiences. My wife…
I’ve travelled internationally with my family many times. We’re immeasurably richer because we stay in people’s houses. I’ll share what we did — and why I loved it. Here’s a list of places we’ve rented from Airbnb and similar outfits, in roughly chronological order. This list starts when my youngest kid was three and ends…
YouTube and Instagram “influencer” Elle Darby asked The White Moose Café in Dublin for some free lodging. The owners of the White Moose responded by ridiculing Darby and banning bloggers. They’re both losers. Learn by observing what they did, and then doing the opposite. Let’s start with Darby. With 90,000 followers on YouTube, she makes…
Due to an IT systems failure, British Airways cancelled hundreds of flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports this weekend. The company’s statements were clear, straightforward, and sympathetic — a notable contrast to the overblown, self-serving apologies that seem typical for airline screwups. As the gateway to Europe, Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in…
When several teenage girls wearing leggings attempted to board a United Airlines flight in Denver, the airline blocked them for “inappropriate dress.” As the airline explained on Twitter, the girls were “pass riders” — dependents of employees using free standby tickets — subject to a more stringent dress code. United’s policy is wrong, and it…
A frequent flyer friend recently received an email regarding the American Express Platinum credit card. It includes some unpleasant news, but unless you’re the type that reads every word of every email, you’d probably miss it. That’s a mistake, because burying the bad news creates a backlash, now that everyone spreads news on social media. Here’s the…