Dem Convention Has Denver A-Buzz

Fifty thousand visitors, give or take, are taking in city sights

My travels this week involve nothing more than a daily commute via RTD bus to Denver, where I am volunteering at the Democratic National Convention. Short as my trips are, they are as thrilling as any I've every taken, because they are to an event that will never again occur so close to my home in my lifetime. The last time Denver hosted a convention was exactly a century ago, when the city was was trying to shake its cowtown image.

In 1908, Oklahoma had become a state just the previous November, and Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii were still be admitted to the Union. Delegates arrived at Denver's beautiful Union Station by train. Some stayed right near the station at the Oxford Hotel (1891), the Barth Hotel (1882) or now-gone hotels. Other delegates took a trolley ride to the the Brown Palace Hotel (1892), more than a mile to the east. The Oxford is a charming boutique hotel, the Barth houses low-income senior citizens, and the Brown remains a historic jewel. Word on the street is that former President Bill Clinton, wanted-to-be President Hillary Clinton and won't-be President John Kerry are staying there this time around.

The 1908 convention itself took place is the Denver Arena Auditorium, now remade into a part of the Denver Performing Arts Complex. The 2008 convention is taking place at the Pepsi Center (above right), where the NHL Avalanche and NBA Nuggets usually play. State caucuses and other activities take place at the huge Denver Convention Center. Two blocks from the convention center, the 16th Street Mall is festooned with banners. Vendors are selling Obama buttons, pennants, T-shirts, flags and other souvenirs. Yellow-shirted local hosts (above left) answer visitors' questions. Manyh downtown streets are blocked and more will be, in effect expanding the pedestrian zone. Still, despite the ponderous presence of in-your-face security, the general ambiance is upbeat and positive -- and there's a electricity in the air and a buzz everywhere.

I don't know what security was like in 1908, but it was probably fairly tight for the day, since President William McKinley had been assassinated just seven years earlier. In 2008, I've seen uniforms from the Denver Police, county sheriff, state police, various Denver suburban police departments, Colorado Springs police, private security firms and the Transportation Security Agency. Officers on foot and horseback keep an eye on the legions of earnest protesters of all stripes, from Pro-Life to End the War Now crusaders, in case anything gets out of hand, perhaps clashing with each other. Officers on bicycles cruise the 16th Street Mall. Helicopters fly overhead. SWAT teams drive around the city ready to quell any trouble that may arise. Squad cars are parked all over the place. There's a K9 unit standing by.

Security people are posted at every entrance to every place, and within the agggressively fenced-off convention complex itself, your badge better be the correct side out. If it has flipped over backwards, someone in a uniform will ask you to turn it over so they can see the front with its distinctive hologram. The place is crawling with Secret Service Agents, some wearing serious dark suits and facial expressions to match, and others clad shirts that prominently say "Secret Service," which doesn't seem secret at all. The TSA has been enlisted to run the screening processes to get into the convention itself, just as they do at airports.

The Pepsi Center has been transformed, both backstage and in the arena (below left). The centerpiece is a soaring podium backed by a "gigantimus" video screen (below right). I'm a volunteer on the "press team. I have completed two afternoons of orientation, training and volunteer briefings, which is why I've seen the Denver scene, so to speak. The real work starts tomorrow.

The buzz is building daily, and by tomorrow, it will be full-throttle excitement and adrenalin for the tends of thousands of delegates, media, DNC staff and volunteers, Republican war room warriors ready to spin the slightest Democratic verval misstep, and squadrons protesters (who I hope stay cool) and security forces (which I hope will have proved to be unnecessary).

"What's the biggest problem facing the travel industry?"

Chris Elliott wants your thoughts

That's the question traveler consumer advocate Christopher Elliott is asking readers of his award-winning website. He has declared today as "open-mic Tuesday," and he wants to hear from you. If you've got a gripe or, more productively, a practical suggestion on how to solve a general industry problem that you have identified, drop him an E-note at elliottc@gmail.com, including your full name, occupation and city/state. Besides the opportunity simply to vent, something might come of this, because when Chris Elliott speaks, the travel industry listens.

Fewer Airplane Seats + Overbooking = More Bumps

Nearly 350,000 passengers bumped in the first half of 2008. That carries a cost for airlines -- and ultimately for the flying public

Put these random thoughts together any way you choose, and draw your own conclusions of the sort of mess American air travel is in:

• According to "More Flights Are Overbooked, but Payoffs Are Rising" in today's New York Times business section, "about 343,000 passengers were denied seats on planes...out of 282 million passengers. Most of those people volunteered to give up their seats in return for some form of compensation, like a voucher for a free flight. But statistics also show about 1.16 of every 10,000 passengers had their seats taken away outright because of overbooking — which may sound like a low rate, until your name is called."
• The article continued, "Back when most tickets were refundable or easy to change, and the airlines offered multiple daily flights to many cities, carriers used to routinely overbook about 15 percent of their seats. Passengers who missed their plane could simply catch a later flight. Rules are tighter now, and passengers with nonrefundable tickets can only expect a credit for an unused ticket, often minus a hefty fee, if they change their flight. That means they have more incentive to show up. But airlines still overbook."
• Compensation to bumped passengers is up. Times reporters Micheline Maynard and Michelle Higgins wrote, "Travelers can now receive up to $400 if they are involuntarily bumped and rebooked on another flight within two hours after their original domestic flight time and within four hours for international. They are eligible for up to $800 in cash if they are not rerouted by then. The final amount depends on the length of the flight and the price paid for the ticket....Compensation must be paid immediately in cash, or with a voucher if the passenger accepts it, and the airline must offer a choice of a refund, a return flight to their departure city or an alternative flight. Volunteers also receive compensation, which they negotiate with the airline. Passengers are learning, however, that if an airline does not get enough volunteers at a lower figure, they might be able to bid up the offer, and also obtain sweeteners that include vouchers for meals, hotels, transportation and even plane tickets."
• Passengers flying free or using a voucher are cutting into airlines' direct revenue streams.
• US carriers have announced plans to cut routes they claim are unprofitable. Airlines have imposed fuel surcharges and miscellaneous other fees. Despite these additional charges along with service reductions, planes are quite full and will be fuller come fall.
• The annoying, arbitrary and ever-changing Transportation Security Agency screenings add to the unpleasantness of domestic air travel today.
• With frequent-flier awards increasingly difficult to redeem (and now costly to redeem), miles have stacked up, adding to the liability on airlines' balance sheets.
• The recession in which the US finds itself, but is loathe to call by that name, is cramping many Americans' travel styles. Like it or not, "staycation" has become a word in the travel vocabulary.

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 let airlines chart their own operational courses and set (and change) air fares at will. Three decades later, in a very different world in terms of fuel costs, technology, sheer numbers of flyers and travelers' expectations, the airline industry in the US has broken, and no one seems to be taking much interest in fixing it.

Daily Beast's New Airport Rankings

The Daily Beast studied, rated and ranked 27 US airports

The Daily Beast's provocative headline, "Airports from Hell," is affixed to an analysis of 27 top airports in the US in eight specific areas, including on-time arrivals/departures so far in 2009 and a separate evaluation of holiday arrivals and departures, which is oh-so timely. The subtitle is "first to worst," which means they can't all be "from hell."

The best, according to The Beast, is Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 

On-time departures 2009: 86.19%
On-time arrivals 2009: 84.73%
On-time holiday departures: 90% (ranked first)
On-time holiday arrivals: 86%
Average security wait time: 6.1 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 22nd out 27
Safety: 5th out of 27
Amenities: 8th out of 27

The worst is Newark International Airport (EWR)
On-time departures 2009: 73.76%

On-time arrivals 2009: 64.14% (ranked last)
On-time holiday departures: 70% (ranked last)
On-time holiday arrivals: 75%
Average security wait time: 7 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 23rd out of 27
Safety: 25th out of 27
Amenities: 15th out of 27

Denver International Airport (DIA) ranked 17th
On-time departures 2009: 79.23%

On-time arrivals 2009: 80.84%
On-time holiday departures: 84%
On-time holiday arrivals: 80%
Average security wait time: 11.3 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 9th out of 27
Safety: 23rd out of 27
Amenities: 24th out of 27

According to The Beast, getting through DIA's security lines took several minutes longer than at the speediest airports, on average, and its "Safety" was downgraded significantly after an incident last year when a Continental plane skidded off a taxiway into a shallow gully (often described as a "ravine," making it seem far deeper than it is), injuring 30 people. A hotel at the terminal, fancy Gucci-esque shops and a better selection of more interesting restaurants might have elevated it in the Amenities category. The Beast quoted Matt Daimler of Seatguru.com who said, “It’s one of the better airports to experience.” As for on-time arrivals and departures, IMHO, when there are delays in Denver, more often than not they are due to delays elsewhere in the country's obsolete air-travel system. The Beast's  report is accompanied by a gallery of airport pictures three screens, nine airports to a screen, or as a slide show.

New Denver Sheraton Downtown is City's Largest Hotel

Former Adam's Mark reborn after $70 million renovation

The gleaming hotel straddling downtown Denver's Court Place place is a new Sheraton, but it's not a new hotel. The tired Adam's Mark is now the Sheraton Denver Downtown following a year-long, $70 million total renovation from the parking garage to the roof. It was officially dedicated yesterday with a champagne reception and ribbon cutting (below) that brought out Mayor John Hickenlooper, business leaders and executives from the hotel's owner (Chartres Lodging Group of San Francisco) and  management (Starwood Hotels & Resorts) group. Chartres purchased the hotel for $176 million in early 2008, so a lot of coin is represented in these interconnected buildings.

The hotel  is Colorado's largest with 1,231 guest rooms, and Hizzoner noted that when it is fully occupied, its "population" is greater than Breckenridge or Telluride (about 2,400 each). The mayor and tourism leaders praised it as a key to attracting large convention groups, but IMHO, it's also a great location for people who come to Denver for arts and culture. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is a short walk to the west. The Denver Art Museum is a short stroll across Civic Center Park to the south, and when it opens in 2011, the Clyfford Still Museum will be there too. The galleries of the Golden Triangle Museum District are nearby as well, and the free Mall Shuttle stops right outside the door for a quick ride to the restaurants, shops and nightspots of Larimer Square and the Platt River Valley attractions too.

I haven't seen any of the guest rooms yet, but if the classy, spacious lobby is an indication, they are lovely. The new lobby is bright and attractive, contemporary and yet warm. I particularly like its newly welcoming pedestrian approach from the 16th Mall. The old Adams Mark design, like many newer downtown Denver hotels, is so vehicle-oriented that people coming in on foot after shopping, sightseeing or attending an off-site meeting often felt like afterthoughts.

Once inside, the square columns and the coffered ceiling are about all that is recognizable from the lobby's previous incarnation. Some people might miss the horse sculpture in the old lobby (top image, below), and while I have no particular attachment to it, I do sort of wonder where it went.

Above, the old Adam's Mark lobby

Above, the new Sheraton Denver Downtown lobby

1550 Court Place, Denver, Colorado 80202; 303-893-3333 or 866-716-8134 (reservations).

Terror Watch List Hits One Million!

Travel impacted by a list containing the names of one out of every 300 Americans

According to the American Civil Liberties Union's Watch List Counter, the Department of Homeland Security's Terror Watch list passed the million-name mark a few days ago. Click on that link and you can see the counter spinning around as fast as the dollar counter on a gas pump. The ACLU website further reports:

"September 2007, the Inspector General of the Justice Department reported that
the Terrorist Screening Center (the FBI-administered organization that
consolidates terrorist watch list information in the United States) had over
700,000 names in its database as of April 2007 - and that the list was growing
by an average of over 20,000 records per month. (See also this new March 2008
report.)

"By those numbers, the list now has over one million names on it. Terrorist
watch lists must be tightly focused on true terrorists who pose a genuine
threat. Bloated lists are bad because they ensnare many innocent travelers
as suspected terrorists, and because they waste screeners' time and divert their
energies from looking for true terrorists. Small, focused watch lists
are better for civil liberties and for security."

At this rate, the only people who won't be on the Department of Justice's Watch List are those wearing American flag pins in their lapels. These days, the Justice Department doesn't seem much more concerned with justice than the Department of Defense is with war. IMO, such shifts in policy and procedures have a lot to do with Americans' travel experiences -- whether we are experienced hassles and delays when we fly or whether we feel "liked" when we travel abroad. For words like this, I'm probably going to end up on the list myself!

Winter Park Ski Train Poised for Return

Train-only and train/lodging packages are options for this ski season

The Rio Grande Scenic Ski Train seems "this close" to finalizing operational agreements for the 2009-10 ski season. The newest incarnation of the inconic ski train between Denver and Winter Park is ready to roll on a three-month winter timetable from December 27 and March 28, according to a report in today's Denver Post. All that remains a sign-off from Amtrak, whose crews will run the train. The train will operate up to four days a week, making about 50 roundtrips this winter and using cars from its summer excrusion train in the San Luis Valley.

The new 17-car trains will have a capacity of 2,000 seats, more than double that of the former ski train. Ed Ellis, president of the San Luis Railroad that will operate the revived ski train, told the Post that the "typical run will have 17 cars — two dome cars that seat 140 each and a mix of club cars and standard coaches." Click here for images of the cars.

Advance tickets are available online and are being purchased, according to the Post. If for any reason that last signoff is not accomplished, full refunds are promised. Regular roundtrip fares will be $49 in a coach car seat, $99 for a premium upper-level seat in a dome car or $600 for a season pass (purchase before December 24). Other early-season values include a 10-ride pass forr $290 and a one-day $79 roundtrip train ticket/lift ticket package (use by February 7). For more information, call 800-726-RAIL.The Winter Park Resort is also packaging a roundtrip train ticket, overnight lodging at the resort base and a lift ticket starting at $139 a day per person. Book that one through the resort, 800-453-2525.