Add 33% to your Uber price in Chicago

This past week I flew to Chicago for a convention and decided to take an Uber from O’Hare to the convention center.  The fare quoted was $34.75 which I thought was pretty reasonable so I punched the approved button and headed to find my driver. Ten minutes later my friendly driver arrived and I had a safe and easy ride to my destination. A day later I received my Uber bill and found out the $34.75 price had risen to $46.34 (33%) after they added a wait time fee (I waited on him), Booking fee,  Chicago Special Venues Surcharge, Chicago Accessibility Surcharge, Chicago Ground Transportation Surcharge and a Chicago TNP Administrative Surcharge to the bill. The point I am making is that just like car rental, Uber has layers upon layers of hidden governmental fees you will be charged.  It appears politicians love to tax visitors to help them pay for their services.

Get this! Sometimes the flight to Chicago is cheaper than the taxi ride from the airport – The taxi ride from Chicago’s Midway Airport to a downtown hotel runs an average of about $45 plus a 15% tip for a total cost of $51. A recent airfare sale on Southwest Airlines featured $49 airfares to Chicago Midway Airport. In other words, in this case, it cost more for the taxi ride than the airfare. Compare this with Rapid Transit trains that only cost $5 from O’Hare and $2.50 from Midway. The trains also work wonderfully during rush hour as you don’t have to fight stop-and-go traffic.

The pandemic is starting to cause Hotels to drop like flies – This week alone I have seen lists of over 30 hotels in the U.S. that are up for auction. This of course is the result of the pandemic that has caused a massive decline in travelers. The recent COVID Delta variant is bringing the second wave of hotel defaults as they are simply running out of money. This past week we also learned that Travel Agency giant CWT has filed for bankruptcy protection as they too had run out of money. Our good friends at Travel and Transport last year were gobbled up by Australian-based Corporate Travel Management as TNT faced a rocky financial future because of the pandemic. I am pleased to report that despite COVID Executive Travel has been one of the great beneficiaries of this industry pruning and is now postured to enjoy less competition with an amazing opportunity to grow as the pandemic subsides. This past month we have added more travel advisors to continue our commitment to provide world-class service as our industry rebounds.

Some companies are searching to find one competitive advantage over their competitors, Executive Travel has seven – Executive Travel has identified seven specific competitive advantages that differentiate us from our competition. Several months ago we put together short 60 second videos that highlight what makes us different from other travel management companies. Please take a peek at our short videos by CLICKING HERE. 

One airline announces vaccine mandate for customers, will other airlines follow? – Recently Air New Zealand announced they will become the first airline to require all travelers to be vaccinated to fly. The next question becomes, will any other airlines follow? My crystal ball says you may see some international airlines follow suit by requiring all passengers to be vaccinated but I think all USA flagged airlines will be very cautious knowing that only 56% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. The airlines are already having trouble filling planes. If they eliminate over 145,000,000 Americans from their potential customer list they may end up belly up. CLICK HERE to read more.

The Sea of Red travels to The Emerald Isle – Join Executive Travel as we journey to Ireland to cheer on the Huskers as they take on the Northwestern Wildcats in 2022. We will experience white-washed lighthouses perched high above the Atlantic, prehistoric stone-age ruins, fairy tale castles, and hear the music of Celtic generations, all capped by a once-in-a-lifetime football game in beautiful Dublin. CLICK HERE to view the brochure for the tour. CLICK HERE to reserve your spot.