Travel Scope – Hotels, Airports, Flights

Iain Mackintosh asked:




I’ve heard a lot of misconceptions about what the new UK employee holiday entitlement laws will involve, so here I shall do my best to explain who is affected, and what the changes to the law mean for businesses.

Firstly, before you (or your employees) jump for joy, it should be pointed out that the laws, which increase the number of paid statutory holidays employees are entitled to from 20 to 24, are unlikely to be of much benefit to the majority of business workers. This is because the changes to the holiday entitlement law are mainly to tie up the loophole that some employers were using which meant that the 8 annual UK public holidays could come out of employee’s paid holiday allowance. In 2009, the number is due to increase to 28 days to allow the standard 20 days minimum holiday entitlement in addition to the 8 public holidays for all workers in the UK.

So the good news for employers is that, unless you’ve been scrimping on paid holiday entitlement anyway, you won’t need to change the way you operate. So who will it affect? Well according to the Employment relations minister, around six million workers. But where are they all?

Well, the majority of the workers affected are likely to be found in sectors which are required to work bank holidays, namely hospitality, retail and service industries. Basically, the change to minimum holiday entitlement means that anyone who is currently failing to get the minimum 24 days (including bank holidays) will be given four more to play with by law, while those who already get 24 or more will see no change to their holiday entitlement, in all likelihood.

I’ve heard a lot of workers are excited about the changes to the employee holiday entitlement law, because of the commonly accepted urban myth that workers are guaranteed public holidays on top of their 20 day statutory paid holiday allowance. The truth is that there is nothing in the law about this, and employers who previously did give their workers additional bank holiday entitlement were either doing it as an act of good will, or were unaware that the law would have protected them until the 1st October. It’s great news for those estimated six million who currently don’t get much holiday, but the majority of the country is unaffected.

Audrey Sussman asked:




Were you stuck in the airport because of the volcanic ash keeping planes from flying, feeling helpless, angry and stressed? If you are someone with panic disorder this “act of nature” might have brought on a full blown panic attack.

For people with panic disorder being stuck anywhere can be a horror. Without the skills to bring down panic, the feeling of being out of control continues to build, making you feel helpless to stop the onslaught.

There is a way to stop panic in its tracks. There are techniques and skills you can learn to get back in control of your mind. Having a mental “tool kit” can help to normalize the chemical reaction happening in your body whenever there is a stressful event.

Even if you don’t have panic disorder, the stress of being stuck can cause terrible distress. Although there may be nothing you can do to change the situation, there is one thing you do have control of, the thoughts that move through your mind.

Thoughts have power. They can create physical reactions that can either add to your stress or create a state of calm and serenity

There are many skills you can learn to stop the stress reaction. Skills that can reinforce positive feelings no matter what is happening in life. The following exercise provides a tool you can add to your “tool kit” of mental skills. You can use these tools to change stress reactions. The technique below gives you a way to start the process of changing negative thoughts into positive calming ones.

1. Imagine a”big red stop sign”.

2. In your mind “shout” the word “stop”.

3. Use your imagination to create possible positive outcomes. Create thoughts of what you would like to see happening, rather than negative possibilities.

For example: After seeing the “big red stop sign” in you mind. Think about a peaceful place you have been. One of my clients used the memory of holding her baby for the first time. She went back to that memory and immediately felt joy bubble up. This was a much better state of mind to be in as she waited in the airport.

4. Do this now. Think of someplace that is peaceful. Use your imagination to make one up if you’d like.

5. Whenever you are feeling stressed go back and “step into” the peaceful place. As you do this notice how different this experience feels.

This can start you on the path to changing how you experience stressful events. There are many skills you can learn. Once you have a “Tool box” full of skills it will be like a security blanket you always have with you, where ever you go.

geriann81 asked:


my parents have a Thomas Cook flight from Gatwick to Tunisia on the 2nd of june.
they come back to Gatwick on the 17th of june.

how do i find out what flights are affected?

AvantgardeHotels asked:

www.avantgardehotels.com The collection of trendy boutique hotels launches its new website dedicated to its hyper-stylish line Avantgarde, Epoque Hotels showcase of its most trend-setting boutique hotels, has now gone live with its new website. To-the-point design, no frills and easy to navigate, the new Avantgarde Hotels portal is conceptualised to provide the visitor with an advanced web experience. The website consists also of a straightforward system that allows clients to find the boutique hotel they are looking for the quickest way possible. Fine tuning the hotel search is made easy and swift through the websites Advanced Hotel Search, where one can single out the properties by continent, location, experience, hotel type and activities. The Epoque & Avantgarde management and IT felt the need to improve both aesthetically and functionally its existing portal. We were aiming to build a very simple, very minimalist yet eye-catching and user-friendly website for the Avantgarde line, says Juan Palmada, Vice President of Epoque & Avantgarde Hotels. A lot of websites nowadays tend to provide excessive content and display a host of distracting gimmicks. We wanted to weed the superfluous and concentrate on the easiest way for travellers to find and book the hotel of their choice, concludes Palmada. Avantgarde Hotels guarantees that AvantgardeHotels.com and its affiliates will offer the best room rate for any of their member hotels under the Best Rate Guaranteed Program …

James asked:


Heathrow to Tolouse sun23 may and back on Sat 29 May are not strike days will the usual BA flights operate ?

Deidre

DEEDEE asked:


Hi.
We have saved really hard to take my young family on a cruise. It leaves from Rome at the end of May for which we have booked BA tickets in the sale.
Today, we have heard that BA will most likely be staging massive strikes throughout May -particularly during half term which is when we are going.
I am gutted and haven’t a clue what to do?
Do we sit tight and hope it never happenes or should we buy other flights – which we can ill afford?
Is there another way to get to Rome if the strike goes ahead?
We are flying in the morning and need to meet the ship by 5pm so can’t even risk the plane being delayed.
We have saved so hard for this!
Can we get ‘flexible’ tickets as a back up plan which we can then cancel and does anyone kknow how insurance works – we booked the flights separately to the cruise.
Please help with any ideas.
Many thanks

forbes asked:

These hotels aren’t clubs in disguise, they put guests first.