Summer To Fall 2022 Random Thoughts

David J. Danto

Business travel thoughts in my own, personal opinion

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

Summer To Fall Random Thoughts – September 2022

As I walked up the stairs from my basement home-office at the end of my workday this week I noticed it was dark – very dark…nighttime dark. It took me a minute to realize that it wasn’t really nighttime yet, but rather the days are getting shorter and the evening is coming sooner. Summer is turning into fall. With that transition, I’ve collected a number of my recent thoughts for your education and amusement. Spoiler alert, they are mostly depressing.

· My friend and industry influencer Evan Kristal posted a question on twitter recently that made me think. I believe that we are mostly ignoring the crises of climate change and greed in the world, almost guaranteeing that the future won’t be as good as the past. What a weird, horrible situation to realize we’re in.

Stop and think about what’s going on in the world. The US west is experiencing a record drought. The Hoover Dam had to shut off intake systems as they were no longer covered by water. At the same time there are “once in a century” weather events taking place every other year or so – historic flooding in Pakistan, hurricanes in the Caribbean, melting ice at the poles, and on and on. Sadly, it’s not going to get any better. The best we can hope for is not making it worse, and those efforts are not looking that great either…

· There was talk this week that the pandemic might be over. (Hint: it’s not.) What is over is most people’s patience for dealing with it. That’s another sad realization. I only see ten percent or less of people in public wearing masks and taking precautions. Even if I’m the last person doing it I’ll still be protecting myself, my family, and others by using N95 masks – at least until we have no more widespread variants. I’ve also received the latest booster – called a bivalent booster because it covers the original virus and the most common Omicron variants. You should get it too – ASAP.

· I’ve begun traveling to business conferences again. (I’m masked on planes, taxis and on the conference floor when I’m not speaking from the stage. As you read this I’m about to travel to Dallas for a week for the next one on my calendar.) I heard a news report on the radio this morning that this sector is returning faster than was anticipated. Airlines, hotels, and the rest of the hospitality industry are experiencing much higher volumes than the in the recent past. So can we assume that services will be restored and prices will come down? Hahahahahahah…Sadly, no, not a chance. That will only happen if people stop accepting the service reductions and refuse to travel.

· Despite all the conversations about ending the confusion of Daylight Savings Time, and a US senate bill to eliminate the changes, nothing much has happened since. Here is your reminder that the US ends DST on Sunday, November 6^th. Of course, if you work internationally (as I do) you have to keep in mind that many countries in Europe change back to standard time a week earlier on October 30^th. That means US-UK time difference becomes four hours for one week, instead of the usual five. If you have any recurring meetings or events that have US and UK participants, business calendars like Outlook or Google will automatically correct these for you, but one location or the other will be taking the meeting at a time they don’t expect. Maybe just cancel meeting for that week and visit the glaciers before they’re all gone.

As we all contemplate how bad things are getting, there is some good news. It’s September and the NY Mets and Yankees have both made the playoffs with historic seasons. As I write this The Yankees’ Aaron Judge has hit his 60^th home run on the way to a probable new record, and the Mets’ number three and four hitters, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, have combined for 220 RBIs, the most prolific combination in the majors this year. Hey, maybe I’ve got this wrong. Maybe this is also another sign of the coming apocalypse.

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!