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This week in Opportunities:

Summer Travel Outlook Still Seems Bright
Carnival Corp. Just Keeps on Growing
Networking Season is Here!
New Opportunities!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS!

Summer Travel Outlook Still Seems Bright

So just how good is the outlook for travel this year? Despite record gas prices and low consumer confidence, most major forecasters are predicting a good summer for the industry. The most recent forecast comes from PricewaterhouseCoopers' hospitality consulting group, which predicts an increase in summer travel as well as a 5.3 percent bump in revenue per available room for hotels. The consulting group's top analyst believes the combination of a late of Memorial Day with a very difficult winter will lead to an increase in pent-up demand among travelers. Average gasoline prices recently hit a record $1.80 per gallon, according to several surveys. But PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the effect on the cost of a vacation is negligible, and the fuel price rise would only depress hotel occupancy by one-quarter to one-half of a percentage point. The average trip of about 500 miles would cost an extra $7.50 in a car that got 20 miles per gallon if prices rose 30 cents per gallon. PwC cited the improving economy and higher consumer confidence as the chief factors behind the expectations of an improved summer travel season. All of which means that many travel companies, especially hotels, may be looking to hire more personnel as the industry continues on the road to recovery.

Carnival Corp. Just Keeps on Growing

The world's largest cruise group is growing yet again. Carnival Corporation & plc last week unveiled a major restructuring of its fleet that will impact capacity for two of its top brands, Cunard and Princess P&O Cruises. Cunard Line's Queen Victoria, a ship now under construction in the Fincantieri Marghera Yard, will be transferred to P&O Cruises and renamed the Arcadia, which is scheduled to enter service in April 2005. Cunard, meanwhile, has ordered a new Queen Victoria, scheduled to enter service in January 2007, which will accommodate 1,850 passengers and is expected to cost roughly $480 million. The design of the new Queen Victoria will be more consistent with the grand ocean liner style of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2. Meanwhile Princess Cruises will allocate more of its capacity to the U.K. market. The 77,000-ton, 1,950-passenger Adonia, currently sailing as part of the four ship P&O Cruises fleet, will be transferred to Princess in May 2005 and renamed the Sea Princess. In May 2005, the Royal Princess, which currently sails for Princess Cruises, will be renamed the Artemis and join the P&O Cruises fleet, which will bring the number of P&O Cruises vessels to five. The transfers of Adonia to Princess Cruises and the Royal Princess to P&O Cruises will further increase the capacity growth of the Princess brand to approximately 16 percent in 2005. All of which means two Carnival's top brands, Cunard and Princess, are going to expand even further in the foreseeable future.

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES!

Network with Top Travel Execs at TravelCom

There are just a few days left to register for Travel Commerce Expo 2004, being held April 19-21 at the Hilton New York, one of the top networking events in the travel business. TravelCom 2004 focuses on marketing and distribution strategies relevant to offline and online travel firms alike, with targeted programming covering critical issues of immediate concern, such as marketing, distribution, customer service, consolidation, CRM and emerging technologies. Its objective is to provide attendees with valid information needed to develop innovative, cost-effective marketing or customer service strategies. It attracts some of the top marketing and online travel executives in the business as speakers and seminar participants. The conference also includes an Executive Women's Forum (by invitation only), Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Internet Strategy Forum and an expo of top technology and marketing providers. The price for registration for the full conference is $1,295 through April 16, but $1,495 after that date. For registration and more information, visit www.travelcomexpo.com.

Meet Travel's Best Marketers at ATME

Want to find out more about how the travel industry markets its products, as well as network with key contacts in the business? The Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) may be the place to start if you're a senior level marketing executive. The 23-year-old professional association is made up of senior level travel industry marketers representing all segments, including airlines, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, tour operators, online travel sites, international tourist offices, CVBs, state and local tourism offices, car rental companies and technology providers. ATME holds monthly luncheon seminars focused on hot industry topics in New York, as well as special educational forums, "think tanks" and other networking events in various parts of the country. ATME has several categories of membership, including senior level executives who are active travel marketers, marketing solutions providers, publishing and media executives, and educators. Other criteria for membership include 10 years of experience in marketing and an executive level of director or above. For more information call ATME Director Kristin Zern at 914-834-9110, or visit www.atme.org.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES!

Boutique Hotelier Joie de Vivre Adds Hotels!

Boutique hotel companies are continuing add properties. Joie de Vivre Hospitality, a boutique specialist, next month open the 163-room Hotel Carlton in San Francisco just a mile away from Fisherman's Wharf and such top city attractions as Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, Union Street, and Fillmore Street. In August, the Hotel Carlton will open a 66-seat cafe that will offer an affordable breakfast and dinner menu. Joie de Vivre is one of several cutting-edge boutique hotel specialists that have been adding properties in the last few years, even during a downturn for travel. For more information on the company and its prospects, visit www.jdyhospitality.com.

Fledgling Independence Spreads its Wings!

We keep writing about it in Opportunities-and it continues to be true. The fastest growing segment of the airline industry is in low-cost carriers. Now, after many steps and starts, a former regional carrier now seems ready to blossom into the latest low-cost airline. Atlantic Coast Airlines is set to become Independence Air, a new low-fare airline that will serve Washington Dulles International Airport with more than 300 daily departures this summer to destinations across the U.S. In May, Independence Air will hold a nationwide satellite news conference and launch celebration from Washington, DC. The fledgling carrier will then unveil additional details of its launch plan to the public, including the destinations the airline will serve starting this summer, low-fare pricing, scheduling, the opening of its www.flyi.com reservations web site, and the exact start dates of service to the Independence Air destinations. The inaugural Independence Air flights are scheduled for June 16, and more will be added in July, August and September, quickly building up to over 300 daily departures this summer serving destinations in Florida, the Midwest and the West Coast. You can find out more information about Independence Air and its plans by visiting www.flyi.com.

New Luxury Hotel Group Looms on the Horizon

Some of London's top luxury hotels will soon have a new owner-and that may lead to a major global expansion for some of the most well-known property brands in the world. Earlier this month the Savoy Group was sold by Blackstone Capital for nearly $1.4 billion to a group of investors led by Quinlan Private, an Ireland-based property investment and consulting group. The Savoy Group includes such well-known London hotels as the Berkeley, Claridge's, the Connaught and the Savoy. The deal, which is expected to close May 8, extends Quinlan's luxury hotel portfolio (it recently bought Four Seasons hotels in Milan, Budapest and Prague). Quinlan pledged to work with Savoy Group's existing management team and said each hotel would also retain its own identity. But Savoy Group's new owners also are reportedly mulling the creation of a worldwide chain of hotels branded as Claridge's. Quinlan is looking to buy upmarket hotels in cities such as New York and Paris in a bid to expand the brand overseas. And that could mean more top executive posts will soon be created to support such expansion.

Regional Travel Agencies Keep Adding Clients

One area of the travel industry that is growing, even though many often discount, is corporate travel. A number of regional corporate travel agencies have been experiencing record sales and winning new accounts. For example, Milford, Mass.-based Atlas Travel International, Inc., one of New England's largest travel agencies with $65 million in annual sales, reports that it just finished one of its strongest corporate business sales quarters in company history. Atlas says it won 20 new corporate accounts in the first three months of 2004 with gross air sales of $13.5 million. Of those, 63 percent are from referrals from current clients. Atlas also says it expects its growth to continue throughout the year. New clients include Brown University, Ocean Air, Echo Bridge Entertainment, Zoll Medical Corp., Cohesion, Trans Oraal Pharmaceutical (in California), Speedline Technologies, Pomroy Associates, Inflexxion, C.G. Mupac, Menlo Corp., Galaxy Semiconductor, Holographix Inc., MA Assistive Technology Partnership, Christmas Tree Shops, Fisher College, VCG&A Inc., Genesys S.A. (in France), and Vanasse Hangen. For more information on Atlas, visit www.atlastravel.com.

Growth Continues for Private Jet Charter Firms

One area of travel that is often overlooked is private jet charters, which have been expanding dramatically over the past two years as high-end customers avoid commercial passenger airlines. Elite Flight Solutions Inc., for example, has been growing through acquisition and new agreements. It already has an extensive network of charter jets that provide a one-stop-shop for air charter needs. The company's charter service is not only available to major commercial airports, but in more than 5,000 airports nationwide. For more information on the company, visit www.eliteflightsolutions.biz.

EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

AIRLINES: Frontier Airlines named Captain Jim Sullivan as vice president of flight operations, effective April 1. Sullivan, a Frontier pilot since 1994, was formerly the airline's director of flight operations training. In his new role, Sullivan will be responsible for Frontier's flight operations group, which includes approximately 550 pilots, flight operations training, flight standards and flight safety. Sullivan will report to Frontier President & CEO Jeff Potter.

CAR RENTALS: Cendant Car Rental Group, owner of Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car, named Robert Lambert its senior vice president-corporate sales. Lambert will oversee the corporate nd insurance replacement sales functions for Avis and Budget.

CRUISES: American West Steamboat Co.'s parent company hired Tom Carman as president. Carman most recently was chief operating officer of Delta Queen Steamboat Co. Carman is now president of Oregon Rail Corp., parent of American West Steamboat Company and American Orient Express, the luxury rail companyÖResidenSea Ltd., which owns the World of ResidenSea, a ship whose cabins are purchased outright by high-end owners, promoted Nikki Upshaw to senior vice president-sales and marketing and Emilio Freeman to senior vice president-operations.

DESTINATIONS: Linda Fort, director of the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism in California resigned after months of criticism from city officials and hotel operators and one day after the release of a poor performance audit. Fort's resignation was announced in a written statement from SMG, the Philadelphia-based company that manages the bureau for the city. Howard Jacobs, the bureau's director of sales, has been tapped as interim general manager. A search is being conducted for Fort's permanent replacement.

HOTELS: Wyndham International, Inc. named Jamie Walters as senior vice president-operations North Central Region, replacing Jeff Wagoner left the company after 15 years to take a position with zipRealty, Inc., an Internet realty firm. Walters will be responsible for leading Wyndham's operations for 32 properties located in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and the District of Columbia/Baltimore, reporting to Ted Teng, president and chief operating officer. Most recently, Walters was Wyndham's senior vice president-sales, supervising all of Wyndham's sales units including travel agent, business transient, group/meeting sales, as well as the individual property sales teams. Prior to joining Wyndham in September 2000, Walters held posts with Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Hotels CorporationÖLa Cabana All Suite Beach Resort & Casino in Aruba has named veteran hotel marketing executive Albert Lacle as director of sales and marketing. Lacle replaces Adwina Arends, who is retiring after 14 years at La Cabana and more than 30 years in the Aruba tourism and hotel industry. Lacle has established a U.S. marketing office for La Cabana in Smithville, N.J, and will split his time evenly between Aruba and the U.S. He previously was vice president of sales and marketing for the Sands Casino Hotel in San Juan and Atlantic City. He also served as executive director of marketing for Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal and has worked for Intercontinental Hotels and Holiday Inn Corporation.

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: Richard Braddock resigned as chairman of Priceline.com effective immediately. Online discount booking site Priceline named Ralph Bahna as non-executive chairman to succeed him. Braddock joined Priceline.com as chairman and CEO in 1998 and led the company through its early product launches, initial public offering and development of its travel business. Bahna, has served as a company director since 1998, the year the travel service first launched. He previously was CEO of Cunard Line and a senior marketing executive with Trans World Airlines, Inc. He is the founder and current president of Masterworks Development Corp., which has developed an international chain of specialized business hotelsÖTRX promoted Vic Pynn to executive vice president of global solutions and information technology, spearheading TRX's global expansion. Pynn joined TRX last November from American Express, where he helped launch that company's offshore operations.

TRAVEL AGENCIES: Boston-based Garber Travel, a full-service travel agency offering corporate, leisure, group and incentive travel services, promoted Arthur LoPresti to director of leisure sales. LoPresti had been manager of cruise development at Garber for the last four years. LoPresti will be responsible for the direction of the leisure sales department, with Nancy Greenfield, manager of leisure product development, overseeing the leisure land products. Esther Borer will continue in her role as vacation values specialist in encouraging corporate clients to book their leisure vacations with Garber Travel.

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