Eye on Travel

Radio Guest List — New York — September 26, 2020

On this week’s broadcast of Eye on Travel, we take a hard look at how the hotel industry has been impacted by COVID-19 with Jon Tisch, Chairman & CEO of Loews Corporation. How many hotels will close? How many won’t reopen? The numbers are scary. And then, we check in with the most frequent flyer in the world, Tom Stuker. So what does he do when he’s grounded? We’ll get an update from legendary restaurateur Drew Nieperent and Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. The Wall Street Journal’s Scott McCartney bids farewell to the 747 and the early demise of the A380. And Captain Greg Morris reports on the looming cloud in the travel industry — we’re five days away from major airline furloughs with up to 90 U.S. cities losing air service. What does this mean to you? Is there any way to stop it? There’s all of this and more on this week’s broadcast of Eye on Travel.

 

Tune in to PeterGreenberg.comfrom 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. ET for the latest Eye on Travel on Saturday, September 26, 2020

Have a travel question? Then ask Peter. E-mail him at peter@petergreenberg.com, or tweet your questions to @petersgreenberg (include #AskPeter).

 

Jonathan Tisch, Chairman & CEO of Loews Corporation, explains that companies like Hilton and Marriott tend to be management companies, and there are separate owners of the buildings that house their hotels. They are referred to as “asset light.” Loews prefers to operate differently and likes to own a lot of the real estate that houses their hotels. Jonathan explores the fact that 30% of hotels in New York may never reopen. He estimates for Loews alone will most likely take three to four years to work its way out of its current financial predicament. Business travelers and group travel are a large portion of many hotels’ income, and this will be the slowest sector to return. Then, Jonathan and Peter speak about the rippling effects of the looming October 1st deadline for the CARES ACT PPP ending for airlines. Hotels did not get the same sort of bailout that airlines did, but they are also a vital part of the travel industry that faces many foreclosures.

 

Tom Stuker, World’s Most Frequent Flyer, speaks about how he earned over 22 million miles on United Airlines alone. During a normal year, he’d be flying over one million miles, but this year is obviously different. Then, he runs down some of the many ways that he uses his miles throughout the years. These ways include cruises, giftcards, luxury hotels, and donations to children’s cancer fighting charities. Now that he’s been mostly grounded for the last six months, he has taken to walking 17 miles a day, and so he’s truly a man who is always on the move!

 

Alex Guarnaschelli, Iron Chef and Food Network Celebrity Chef, speaks about her restaurant in New York that is currently closed. She’s ready for her staff to get back to work but not until it’s safe. Many restaurants have taken creative approaches like closing entirely and selling cookbooks of their regular dishes to try and stay in business. She then switches gears and speaks about what people are now eating at home. Many people are exploring cooking and baking when they normally wouldn’t have. She says that through food, you can often give yourself the illusion of going somewhere. She then discusses how people are leaning a lot into their comfort foods, because they want simplicity and food that makes them feel better about their day, especially in these uncertain times. Food is a powerful thing that allows us to share cultures and our stories.

 

Drew Nieporent, New York City Restaurateur and owner of Myriad Restaurant Group, describes the current state of restaurants in New York City. Currently, the city is only open for outdoor dining. His locations that are providing that option have seen a positive response from patrons. He admits to even having recently sold a $3,000 bottle of wine, indicating that some people are still wanting to go out and that they have money to spend. He also gives some predictions of what we might see over the next few months. He is optimistic about things turning around for the better. Although it was hard hit at first, New York has done a good job at pushing through this pandemic and finding ways to survive. Restaurants are now slated to be able to open for indoor dining at 25% capacity on November 1st. He says that restaurants can not survive on such low capacities, but it is a step in the right direction.

 

Scott McCartney, Travel Editor for The Wall Street Journal, expounds on the difficulty of getting Global Entry and the current backlog. For those who are renewing their Global Entry, they will get an extension of up to 18 months because of the current long waits for the interview process. Although interviews have restarted, availability is scarce. Then, he discusses the end of the wide-body airplane. Boeing has said it will build its last 747 next year and the A380 is quickly disappearing due to its size. These aircrafts may be more comfortable to fly in, but they are not financially viable for the airlines. Now, there are smaller, more fuel efficient aircrafts that can make these long-haul flights more profitable.

 

Greg Morris, Commercial Airline Pilot, analyzes the reality of the September 30th deadline and the end of the PPP for airlines by the initial CARES ACT. This won’t just affect a substantial number of airline employees that are most likely to be furloughed next month but also travelers. As a part of the CARES ACT, airlines were required to continue operating service to a number of secondary and tertiary cities. American Airlines has already announced that it will be cutting its service to at least 15 cities post October 1st.