Business Travel Tips

A new iPhone Application has been launched by the luxury hotel chain Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

The application will provide access to booking, reservations, hotel information, packages, destination recommendations and more.

It provides a quick resource for individual profiles of each of the hotels, complete with photos, room descriptions and restaurant details.

In addition to having the ability to book, modify and cancel reservations at any time, with Fairmont application users can search for packages by theme.
Fairmont application provides users with a wealth of information also including a destination guides — “10best” — which direct guests to the best food, activities and shopping the area has to offer.

The new application is available globally in Apple’s iTunes Store and the iPhone App Store.

Hyatt will launch The Great 10K promotion on September 15.
The promotion that runs through December 15, 2010, allows members to earn 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points after every 5 eligible nights at any Hyatt worldwide.

Below the main details of Hyatt’s The Great 10K promotion:
- qualifying dates of the promotion: September 15 – December 15, 2010;
- you have to join Hyatt Gold Passport. If you are a current member, please register to participate (visit goldpassport.com);
- you earn 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points after every 5 eligible nights at any Hyatt worldwide (the required nights do not need to be consecutive);
- bonus points can be redeemed anytime — for free nights, upgrades, miles and more — and do not expire;
- you can earn up to 180,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points;
- if you choose Hyatt Gold Passport points for your stay, you will still earn 5 points per eligible dollar spent (you can choose to earn points or miles for your base earning);
- bonus points will be given for one room per member per stay regardless of the number of rooms.

If you need more details about The Great 10K from Hyatt Gold Passport, please call 1-800-30-HYATT (49288) or your nearest Hyatt Worldwide Reservation Centre.

Fairfield Inn Las Vegas Airport launched a promotion on their Facebook page.

The hotel offers 200 Marriott Reward points to those who become a fan of Fairfield Inn Las Vegas Airport on their Facebook page by August 31st.

Simply become their friend and send an email to fairfieldinnrewards@hotmail.com with your Facebook name and Rewards number and your 200 points will be credited within 4-6 weeks.
(see promotion details)

A new airfare shopping mobile app has been launched for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.
The app, OnTheFly by ITA Software, Inc., offers the powerful comparison shopping features used by many travel companies and by ITA’s Matrix airfare search application at http://matrix.itasoftware.com.

OnTheFly enables users to easily shop for optimal airfares for any itinerary in the world and provides comprehensive choices to tailor the search and shopping experience.

Travelers can download the shopping-only version for iPhone and iPod touch for free from the App Store.

ITA Software is planning to launch mobile applications for BlackBerry and Android platforms later in 2010.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is planning to expand Global Entry, the program enabling international travelers arriving in the U.S. to get faster U.S. Customs clearance at kiosks.

The USA Today writes that Alan Bersin, Customs and Border Protection commissioner, hopes to increase membership to 100,000 by the end of the year. Applicants pay a one-time $100 fee.

- How Global Entry works
The process requires participants to present their machine-readable U.S. passport or permanent resident card, submit their fingerprints for biometric verification, and make a customs declaration at the kiosk’s touch-screen. Upon successful completion of the Global Entry process at the kiosk, the traveler is issued a transaction receipt and directed to baggage claim and the exit, unless chosen for a selective or random secondary referral.

Details about the program are available on the Global Entry website.