Travel - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

FAA Computer Outage Delays Thousands of Flights

January 13, 2023

Last week, we looked at how bad weather and an overloaded scheduling system led to disastrous consequences for Southwest Airlines as it canceled more than 13,000 flights over the holidays. But while this disaster could at least be partly blamed on a rough winter storm, airports had no such excuse on Wednesday when a computer outage led to another massive wave of cancellations and delays. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a damaged database file corrupted the agency’s system Continue reading →

Airlines, Branding, Ethics, Marketing, Operations Management, Regulation, Supply & Demand, Travel

Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management

Southwest’s Meltdown Creates Holiday Travel Nightmare

January 4, 2023

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The end of December is one of the busiest travel times of the year as people rush back and forth from home for the holidays. For travelers who booked trips on Southwest Airlines, though, the season was even more stressful as the carrier canceled more than 13,000 flights in less than a week. The trouble started when a major winter storm swept the country and prevented many pilots and flight attendants from working. Southwest staff usually solve this problem by Continue reading →

Airlines, Branding, Ethics, Holidays, Labor Relations, Supply & Demand, Travel, Unions

Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility

Airbnb Guests Face Stress from Long Lists of Chores

September 23, 2022

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When Airbnb launched in 2008, the short-term rental company marketed itself as an easy alternative to hotels that had supposedly become too restrictive for the modern traveler. 14 years after its founding, however, many guests are heading back to hotels because of extensive cleaning requirements from Airbnb hosts. For example, teacher Christina Marie recently booked a short-term rental house on Lake Tahoe with her family of six. She spent the last day of her vacation cleaning and ensuring that her Continue reading →

Airbnb Looks to Limit Unauthorized Parties

August 17, 2022

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Most people who rent rooms or houses from Airbnb use their short term rentals as home-base for a vacation or business trip, nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary. Occasionally, though, the company must deal with customers who host unauthorized gatherings, potentially leading to noise complaints and safety issues. In fact, numerous incidents of violence have occurred at Airbnb parties that got out of control, leading the company to institute a new set of policies to prevent these illicit Continue reading →

Airbnb, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Marketing, Product Distribution, Travel

Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship

Pilots Demand Big Changes from Airlines

July 12, 2022

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Since the start of the summer travel season, air carriers have canceled thousands of flights as they grapple with bad weather, high fuel costs, and rampant inflation. Along with these problems, airlines are also encountering increased resistance from one of their most important groups of employees: pilots. Faced with large workloads and an unpredictable post-pandemic environment, pilots are demanding substantial wage increases as well as quality of life benefits from their employers.

According to analysts, airlines are likely to Continue reading →

Airlines, Global, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Motivation, Pandemic, Supply & Demand, Travel, Unions

Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility

Thousands of Flights Delayed or Canceled over Holiday Weekend

June 22, 2022

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Americans traveled in droves over the busy Father’s Day and Juneteenth holiday weekend, leading to widespread delays and cancellations at airports despite the best efforts of carriers. All told, airlines canceled more than 5,000 flights over the weekend while almost a third of all arriving flights on Friday were delayed. Travelers experienced similar moments of chaos at airports over Memorial Day weekend, reflecting an industry struggling to return to normal after the pandemic.

According to airlines, poor weather and high Continue reading →

Airlines, Compensation, Ethics, Global, Operations Management, Pandemic, Supply & Demand, Transportation, Travel, Unions

Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management

High Gas Prices Will Make Summer Travel Expensive

May 24, 2022

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Fuel costs continued to climb last week, reaching a national average of $4.59 per gallon. According to AAA, this represents a 50 percent increase from last year when many drivers chose to stay at home rather than travel the country on road trips. That won’t be the case this year, however, even as gas prices rise to their highest levels since 2008. Many Americans who have spent the past two years stuck in the same place are looking to hit Continue reading →

Automobiles, Global, Operations Management, Pandemic, Product Distribution, Russia, Supply & Demand, Transportation, Travel, Ukraine

Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management

Business Travel May Never Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels

March 29, 2022

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With omicron infection rates falling and mask mandates expiring across the country, many companies are attempting to reestablish a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy by reopening offices and bringing employees back to stay. But while firms return to business as usual, the nation’s biggest companies may never again return to business travel as usual. According to the Global Business Travel Association, spending on corporate travel amounts to a third of what it was before 2020.

For example, the consultancy giant Continue reading →

Airlines, Global, Motivation, Office environment, Organizational Culture, Pandemic, Transportation, Travel

Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure

AAA Forecasts a Busy Thanksgiving Travel Week

November 18, 2021

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Last year’s Thanksgiving was an unusual one: with travel restrictions largely in place and mass vaccinations still months away, fewer people traveled home to see their families for the holiday. According to AAA, however, that will not be the case in 2021 as the transportation agency expects 6.4 million more people to travel than in 2020. Lifted restrictions as well as clearly defined safety procedures for air travel have made many Americans confident about taking a trip for Turkey Day, Continue reading →

Air Travel, Automotive, Global, Holidays, Supply & Demand, Thanksgiving, Transportation, Travel

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management

[VIDEO] How the ‘Great Resignation’ Is Reshaping the American Workforce

November 16, 2021

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The pandemic completely upended the concept of work in the U.S., resulting first in mass layoffs as companies closed down followed by mass resignations when businesses returned. This video looks at how the first problem may have led to the “Great Resignation” as workers continue to leave their jobs and companies struggle to attract talent.

Questions:

Why have employment rates in travel and hospitality struggled to return to pre-pandemic levels?
What are some of the causes of the Great Resignation? Continue reading →

Compensation, Global, Hiring, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Motivation, Supply & Demand, Travel

Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Videos