Gyms and Hotels and Travel Fitness

When I travel I like to be able to get to a gym. It helps me to clear my head, and keeps me from getting too out of shape. It is clear to anyone who knows me that I should be more diligent on this matter. That said, I actually do pay attention to this, and try hard to find hotels with decent gyms. Almost every hotel in the U.S. makes an attempt to have a gym. Some attempts are better than others. When you look at the picture on hotels.com, the gyms always look like they are the size of a Life Fitmess facility. Usually they show a Nautilus machine, free weights, and a treadmill. A dead giveaway that it's bad gym is that the treadmill is an older, circa '92 model. These are often accompanied by a universal gym, a 17" TV, and a stand with a bowl on top with 2 apples in it.

I honestly think the really bad ones are the exception and not the rule. While many are limited, they will often still have good working equipment and a nice TV or integrated units in the treadmills and ellipticals. You can almost always check these out online, and it's definitely worth it if a nice workout is something you value while on the road.

Safe travels.

The Downfall of Airlines in the U.S.

When I first started my career I was in Atlanta. Delta was the fold standard in air travel. I thought they were infallible. Over the, they began to struggle and my long held belief of their rock solid stability was debunked. Then I moved to Charlotte. Piedmont was great. They were like the "Delta of the Carolinas". Then they sold to USAir, who renamed themselves USAirways, and were bad, then better, then struggling again. Then I moved to Chicago, where I spent most of my time on airplanes. My company had the executive team setup with United Pass Plus and American Air Miles programs. I was treated well. I really liked United. But over time I had bas experience after bad experience with them. The service went down. Ten years ago I started going to Europe every three weeks, and began to fly British Airways. They rate largely fantastic, and really get international business travel. Because American is a One World Partner, I moved most of my US travel to American. Every once in a while I fly United, and am reminded how much I detest getting nickel and dime'd for everything. I can't even check in online without being asked if I want to buy access to the security line (which is a joke), buy extra legroom, and now carry bags on board. When I look around, many of the other airlines are getting so bad. My son flied Spirit form NY to Chicago sometimes. They have the nickel-dime thing down to an art form.

A few weeks ago AMR, the parent of American, filed for bankruptcy protection, ostensibly to reorganize under the protection of the courts similar to what United did. I am hopeful they don't erode into an irritating company delivering bad experiences in air travel. But if they do, they will, unfortunately, not be alone, at least in the U.S.