Monthly Archives: November 2014

Are the new Eurostar trains good for your business travellers?

Posted on by

Eurostar has unveiled their new fleet of trains. This provides a much-needed and overdue upgrade. Eurostar trains were beginning to look a little tired!

They continue to offer three classes:

Standard class

Economy seating, low fares, no free refreshments, Fares:  £69 – £309 return
from 25th November: Paris: £69 – £347 Brussels £69 – £316

Leisure Premier

First class seating, cold meals & refreshments, 30 minute check-in, Fares: £189 – £390 return
from 25th November: £195 – £420

Business Premier

First class seating, 3 course hot meals and refreshments, 10 minute check-in, but £490 return

So no major changes to the service but we’re disappointed by the seat layout.

Most individual business travellers prefer solo seats with their own personal space.

Tables of four and two leads to complaints of playing “footsie” with passengers opposite and problems sharing the table.

The airline style seating is an alternative, but the solo seats are the most popular. In a first class solo seat, the passenger can enjoy privacy – and be productive during the trip, whether paying the “Leisure” fare or the “Business” fare.

So it’s a surprise – and a pity that whilst the new Eurostar fleet appears to offer 7 solo seats in Business Premier carriages, but only 3 in the Leisure Premier carriage.

Few companies are prepared to pay £490 for the Business Premier fare to Paris/Brussels nowadays. Normally it’s just CEO’s and politicians that travel in this class.

Whilst the “Leisure Fares” are aimed at the leisure market, few tourists care to pay the extra for what is, let’s face it, a 2 hour journey.

But many business travellers want a first class seat so they can work efficiently on the train, and it seems to us that Eurostar has overlooked these customers.

Indeed, Eurostar is trying to force business customers to buy the Business Premier fare at £490 by changing the conditions of the leisure fare. From 25th November, all leisure fares will be non-refundable. But changes will still be permitted however, at a fee of £30

You can view the new trains at the Eurostar site here.

Where to find the best fares, beat the fare increase and take advantage of the Eurostar January Sale, see my recent article here

Marriott Hotels – another reason why to book direct

Posted on by

We’ve always recommended that you book Marriott hotels directly on the Marriott website because their rates match the online travel agents. And booking direct has other advantages:

  • The hotel will have the guest name immediately
  • Additional flexibility if there’s a problem as you’ll be able to deal direct with the hotel rather than via an intermediary
  • More tailored booking options such as specific room types etc

But now there’s an additional reason;

Marriott is offering free WI-FI but only to Rewards members to who book directly on the Marriott website, its mobile app, via a call center or through a particular property. –

Travel Management Companies have complained to Marriott as this policy means that their bookings will not include the free WI-FI

For now however, we continue to recommend booking direct at the official Marriott website

Eurostar Sale for travel 5 January – 12 February 2015

Posted on by

January is traditionally a quiet month for Eurostar for leisure traffic so the train operator is offering return fares from London to Paris and to Brussels for just £59 return!

That’s just £29.50 each direction!

We’ve checked and seen good availability except for evening departures. Especially Friday evenings

For just £10 more you can travel onwards to any Belgium station, for example, Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent

Standard Premier is just £140 return. Enjoy the extra comfort and complimentary (but cold!) refreshments

Book by Monday 24 November 2014,

The cheapest Eurostar Fares are always direct on www.eurostar.com website and the French partner website www.voyages-sncf.com

Fares are identical on both sites but it may be that availability is sometimes different

Eurostar charge a one-off fee of £4 for credit cards and SNCF charge 2.5% so for tickets costing less than £160, you are better off booking at SNCF

But, the Eurostar site is more user-friendly and after buying your ticket, you can select your seats

Strike News in Europe November December 2014

Posted on by

Belgium – National Strike – Updated 7th November 2014

Due to a national strike in Belgium on Mondays 08 and 15 December, Eurostar services to Brussels are likely to be affected with trains only able to operate to and from Lille Europe.

As a precautionary measure, Eurostar has closed sales on all Brussels services on those days, though bookings may still be made for Lille.

Other travel services are likely to be affected too

Air Portugal – Update 13 November 2015

The possibility of further TAP Crew strikes, on two separate days, has been announced for the 30th November and 2nd December 2014.

Italy Transport Strike

Transport unions in Italy are taking part in a 24hr general strike, Friday 14 November 2014.

Flash sale – 50% off all hotels in China with Hilton

Posted on by

Bookable only this week (by 15th November) but for stays up to 31st December 2015!

Take advantage of this 50% discount by using this code to achieve the discount:

PR11RO

Example, Conrad Hong Kong

1Conrad HKG

 

Or the Hilton Shanghai

2Hilton Shanghai

Key Points:

Offer valid at all participating Hilton Worldwide portfolio of hotels across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao for stays booked between 11 November 2014 and 16 November 2014, and completed between 13 November and 31 December 2014. Offer subject to availability. Blackout. Discount is 50% off Best Available Rate (33% off for Waldorf Astoria Beijing and Waldorf Astoria Shanghai, and 45% off for Conrad Macao)
Full non-refundable prepayment required at time of booking. Your credit card will be charged immediately for the total amount quoted for the entire stay as reserved and refunds or credits will not be issued unless otherwise indicated by local law.
Must book at least 2 days in advance of arrival
Charges cannot be applied to other stays, services or merchandise.
Bookings cannot be changed

 

How to book completely free domestic flights on British Airways

Posted on by

If you are redeeming Avios flights within Europe, you can include domestic flights within the UK for free!

Routes that apply to this include

Edinburgh-London-Edinburgh
Glasgow-London-Glasgow
Manchester-London-Manchester
Belfast-London-Belfast

Example: Redeeming Avios for a flight London-Geneva-London and include free flights Edinburgh-London-Edinburgh.

When on the British Airways site, find the flights you need for London-Geneva-London and the price will be 9,000 Avios plus £35

Then search again but from another UK domestic airport

(Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester or Belfast), for the dates required. You’ll be offered “You can break your journey with stopovers”
Choose, I want to break my journey and you can select different dates for each flight.

Please note that you must use the ticket in its entirety, as booked, in the same date sequence. If you don’t turn up for the first flight, BA will cancel the onward flights.

If you wanted a London-Edinburgh-London ticket, you cannot book it as above. BUT, you could book

London-Geneva-London-Edinburgh

To do this, you have to book separate tickets: London-Geneva one way, (cost 4,500 Avios + £17.50)

And another, Geneva-Edinburgh, choose a stopover in London (cost as above, 4,500 + £17.50)

This will provide you with a one way ticket London to Edinburgh, for free!

You can either buy a cheap one-way Edinburgh back to London or if you can plan in advance, another Avios ticket, this time starting in Edinburgh, to complete the journey.