Hotel Hype Is Mostly Blather and B.S.

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

He is the author of "Online Travel" (2000) and "Business Travel: When It's Your Money" (2004), the first step-by-step guide specifically written for small business and self-employed professional travelers. He was also the co-author of the annual "Best Travel Deals" series from Consumers Union.

Perkins' advice for business travelers is featured on MyBusinessTravel.com, a website devoted to helping small business and self-employed professional travelers find the best value for their travel dollars.

Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

Perkins' travel expertise has led to frequent television appearances, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "This Week with David Brinkley," "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN, and numerous local TV and radio stations.

Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Perkins lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife.

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Although you might think that wine blather has the highest percentage of B.S. in various media, hotel blather is mounting a stiff challenge. Yes, this is a rant, and not my usual focus. But every once in a while I get to rant a bit. And the focus of a recent press release about a new hotel in Las Vegas seemed particularly outrageous. Among the statements:

“never before seen Las Vegas experience creating an intimate urban resort”

“redefine the boutique hotel experience”

“ultimate in VIP treatment and unique social experiences”

“iconic style will completely reimagine the hotel experience”

“ultra-lounge”

“casino providing a unique upscale energy”

“discrete [sic] underground and intimate vibe” (I think they meant “discreet”)

“a completely unique upscale lifestyle experience”

Honestly, can anyone tell me what useful information any of those eight statements actually convey? Fat lot of good those do for you. What you really want to know about a hotel is room size and amenities, what sort of bathroom you get, how much it costs, and such. I didn’t omit that stuff from the release—none of that real information was to be found. Overall, I’d say that the ratio of B.S. to useful information in this release is about 100-to-1.

What consumers need is lots of useful information, not blather. But blather seems to be the commodity du jour with hotel claims. Feh!

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