More Free Amex Points, Northlandz, Onefinestay CEO Interview

We try to get you more free Amex points, visit amazing Northlandz, read a recent Onefinestay CEO Interview talk about where the industry is going, loyalty, convenience, takeover by Accor and not much else!

TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order!

I usually do not post on Saturdays. But you guys have been using my Amazon link a lot lately…we are talking double digits THREE days in a row. So I felt obligated to do a post. Amazing how that works. Anyways, at this rate I can buy a mailbox for the Hamptons mansion of The Points Guy this year! Hey, we all need goals woohoo!

Amex does this here and then, you could get 10k Amex Membership Rewards points for enrolling in the Pay Over Time mode if you were targeted. And there is a way to see if you were, follow the directions in this post. No luck for my household this time. Oh, and don’t you dare USE this option, the TBB intern will haunt you down fast just like he finds this crap on this Pokemon Go insane game!

This blew me away! Have you been to Northlandz? This artist built this MASSIVE model train installation by himself and he made it his life’s work. Apparently, not getting many visitors so I hope some readers check it out and help this guy out. Very touching film about his work. Check it out. Wow! Here is a summary of the film:

What happens when artwork becomes life’s work? When creator becomes a caretaker? SOME KIND OF QUEST, from Sylvain Labs, Greencard Pictures and director, Andrew Wilcox, is a film that invites you into the singular world of Northlandz, a 52,000-square-foot model train installation just 75 minutes outside of Manhattan, and into the ornery mind of the man—and steadfast wife—who brought it all to life.

An interview with onefinestay’s CEO. “The full service hotel is dead”. Probably one of the most interesting interviews of a travel exec I have read recently. Full disclosure: The guy sold out to giant Accor Hotels. And apparently he is left in charge to do as he pleases as the founder, blah blah blah…they all say that until one day they are gone and off to the next startup. Okay, here are some excerpts I found most interesting:

The genie is out of the bottle, and hotels are going to have to completely rethink what their product offering is.

I think you look at things like the combination of Marriott and Starwood, it’s a reaction to the unbelievable, intense, and rising competitive pressure from the distributors, because these guys are frantically trying to play Booking.com at its own game. I don’t see how they can succeed.

The loyalty program is basically just bribery. You’re participating in a loyalty scheme if you genuinely get value out of it, but it’s basically just bribery. I think the loyalty schemes in airlines operate in a very different way from loyalty schemes in hotels. I have a loyalty points program on British Airways because they help out on Heathrow. I’m going to end up flying them anyway most of the time, and therefore there’s real value in having points with that program for me. When I’m traveling for leisure, as least I already have that. I’m going to have to hop out at Heathrow anyway. But I’m very skeptical that you get the same value out of any hotel loyalty points program. Even if you’re a road warrior, I just think you’re basically just being bribed to attend to a brand. You have no real brand. There’s no actual product difference.

There is a LOT more,  he went on and on…If you believe what he says about the Accor management, maybe there is hope for the loyal Fairmont Hotel customers…But I certainly would NOT bet on it!

And I leave you with this…When I receive a resume for my blog I have this reaction lol

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