by David DeVoss Sinitic cultures are famed for their hard work. From Shanghai to San Francisco, Singapore to Seattle, Chinese work hard so they can take 10 days off for at Chinese New Year. This week Chinese, Vietnamese and Koreans are celebrate the Year of the Rat, one of the zodiac symbols that define the…
How restaurants control your experience in ways you may not realize By Peter Greenberg Ever wonder why so many fast food chains use red and yellow in their logo? Research shows that color scheme is an intentional stimulant signifying happiness, energy – and hunger. They subtly tell consumers enjoy yourself, but to also get in…
LA’s New Landlords Is Los Angeles the Next Shanghai? By David DeVoss There are more than 225,000 Koreans living in and around Los Angeles and this week they have a new symbol of accomplishment, a glass-sheathed hotel, office and retail tower topped by an enormous, sail-shaped LED screen that nightly beams the Korean Airlines logo…
Buzz Phrases and Fake Photos Plague Internet Hotel Advertising By Peter Greenberg Pictures don’t always say a thousand words. Have you ever booked a hotel that looks great online, only to show up and find out you were completely misled? There are all kinds of phony marketing tactics designed to get you to click. When…
Turkish Airlines Lounge in Istanbul is the Best Reason to Arrive at the Airport Early By Peter Greenberg In the world of airline consolidation, mergers, and failures, it’s easy to argue that competition has suffered, and along with it customer service. That can often be an easy argument to make in the U.S. Then there’s…
Cuba Flirts With U.S. Entrepreneurs, But Courtship Can Be Challenging By David DeVoss Seattle tour operator Zach Smith built Anywhere.com into a $15 million travel business by offering customized tours to exotic locations in Latin America. The 35-year old entrepreneur knew from ten year’s experience that small and medium-sized companies like his must constantly…
Trans Pacific Partnership Under Fire From Both Right & Left in America by David DeVoss Foreign Ministers spend most of their time persuading other countries to do their bidding. But last month U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Los Angeles to convince a decidedly American audience to support the Trans Pacific Partnership, the…
Detroit Emerges from Bankruptcy, but Recovery will take Years By David DeVoss For close to a century the Forest Arms apartments was one of the most prestigious addresses on Detroit’s near Westside. But by the start of this decade Detroit’s declining population, municipal mismanagement and foundering economy had left the building reminiscent post-war Berlin The…
Dawn of the Aerotropolis By David DeVoss By David DeVoss Just outside Korea’s Incheon airport there are two roads leading to downtown. One heads east to the Korean capital of Seoul more than an hour’s drive away. The other angles south over a short causeway to New Songdo, a decade-old airport city that is known…
The Brave New World of Disruptor Airlines for Business Travelers By Peter Greenberg There’s a lot to be said about incumbency, especially when it is successful, entrenched and has little competition. After years of merger, consolidation and a fair amount of failure, the big four U.S. airlines now have their strongest balance sheets in history. But history also…