One More Shore Trip

David J. Danto

Travel thoughts in my own, personal opinion

eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD on all

One More Shore Trip – December 2023

- Or - (and please do hear this in the voice of the late William Conrad)

‘Should Olde Travel Acquaintances Not Be Forgot’

As the days left in 2023 shrink to just a handful my thoughts about this jam-packed year were all over the place. I needed to take one more weekend away to unwind. My wife and I took one more trip “down the shore” to the resort we sometimes stay at near Atlantic City. Here are my stream of consciousness thoughts from that visit as we come close to the end of the year.

· I wrote back in in July about this resort that put flow restrictors on their showerheads. When my wife and I arrived, and this time I remembered to bring the pliers I mentioned – completely prepared to unscrew the showerhead and remove the flow restrictor. When we got to the room we noticed it was completely refurbished, and it sported a brand-new, hand-held showerhead that had plenty of pressure. It was very good, but made the schlepping of the pliers seem silly.

· With all the positives of the renovation (including new lighting, new carpeting, etc.) there was the silliness of replacing the little bottles of soap and shampoo (that I’d never use) with bolted-in pump bottles (that I’d never use) in the shower and on the sink. I still will never understand why they don’t just offer small bottles on request at the front desk for people who might need them and just leave the rest of us alone. Using a shared bottle of shampoo is just about as off-putting to me as it would be using a shared glass for drinking in a public place. Unless it’s been through a sanitizing dishwasher I won’t go near it – and I’d prefer it not be on my sink or in my shower.

· The Atlantic City shore and boardwalk are as pretty from a distance as they are occasionally ugly up close. It was nice to see it one more time to confirm it has survived another year. The pretty white-sand beaches and disgusting, brown, break-water waves are exactly as we remembered them…

· When we checked-into the resort I asked the front desk clerk if there were any upgrades available. She actually snickered at me. I can somewhat understand never having received an upgrade at that place in the five or so years we’ve been going there, but to actually laugh in the face of the suggestion was unnecessarily insulting.

· My wife and I left the room for a late breakfast at about 10am Saturday and the room was never serviced or cleaned. What shore-town resort cuts-off daily cleaning at 10am on a Saturday?

All of the above made me reminisce about the state of travel today as compared to four decades ago when I started in this business travel game. All the rules have completely changed. Airline and hotel upgrades are now scarce legends, not every-trip occurrences. Good customer service is the exception, not the rule. Daily housekeeping service is also the exception – even when it is promised it is rarely performed or performed well. All of the improvements we’ve experienced in science and technology – ones that usually go toward improving products and services – are leveraged in the travel business to reduce service to a bear minimum and squeeze pennies out of the customer at every opportunity. It’s very sad.

I hate to be the guy saying “I remember back in the day when things were better,” but, sadly, I remember back in the day when things were better than they are now…..

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From my family to yours, have a joyous holiday season and a safe and prosperous new year.

This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal opinions.

All image and links provided above as reference under prevailing fair use statutes.

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As always, feel free to write and comment, question or disagree. Hearing from the traveling community is always a highlight for me. Thanks!