Checking In

Your opinions about your experiences on the road have the power to change business travel, or so says a New York Times article on road warriors whose online complaints have moved airlines, hotels and car rental companies to change their ways.

In some cases, that is. The piece, by Christopher Elliott, acknowledges that there aren't too many situations where a big air carrier or hotel chain made a change based on one tired business traveler's blog post (one he cites is Northwest Airlines' $15 charge for extra-legroom seats in economy).

The point is, since business travelers are out there living in planes and hotel rooms, they have the ability to zero in on specific problems and act as the eyes and ears for travel providers, almost like mystery shoppers. That inside insight of being on the ground, as well as in the sky, produces informative stuff.

For instance, one of the blogs mentioned in the article, Red Room Chronicles, focuses almost exclusively on Marriott hotels. Recent entries noted things like a flat panel TV in the rooms at a JW Marriott in Houston. Who else would notice that, and then write about it, other than a business traveler with time on his hands?

You have to wade through a lot of diary entry writing to get to useful insight on some of these blogs. But others are better at entertaining as they inform.

Another business traveler blog, Upgrade: Travel Better, had a little piece published about Somali Muslim cab drivers picking up passengers at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport giving travelers a hard time about carrying liquor bought at the duty-free shop. That was originally reported by USA Today, but it didn't make it into that paper's daily travel roundup, Today in the Sky.

Is there something too cozy about customers writing about the airlines, hotels and cars that can award them with upgrades and more? From what I've read on most of the blogs written by real road warriors, they never shy from telling it like it is. After all, getting the frustrations off their chest is the main reason most of them do it.

I would love to know if you read travel blogs, who your favorites are, and what you'd like to see more of. Write to: Barbara Correa at bboydstoncorrea@yahoo.com