Business Traveller November 2017

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Business Traveller and our new design. It’s been a busy month arguing about the best fonts our stories should be typeset in, which paper stock to use, whether champagne should be spelled with a capital “C” (opinions differ), and whether this picture looks like me or someone 20 years older. (It is the latter, by the way, but at least it won’t need updating for a while. Or ever.) We were determined that while the new look should emphasise the enjoyable and sometimes luxurious aspects of business travel, we shouldn’t neglect the information that readers have come to expect from Business Traveller over our 40-year history. To that end, you’ll find the Tried and Tested reviews in an expanded section at the back,…

JENNY SOUTHAN Former features editor Jenny Southan has been a member of the Business Traveller team for ten years, and has won multiple awards for her journalism. Before going freelance, her last feature as a member of staff for the magazine became our cover story on Las Vegas. After the tragic massacre on the Strip on October 1, we decided that the optimism surrounding the renaissance of Downtown was important to tell the world about; page 32. DEREK PICOT Veteran hotelier Derek Picot has worked in senior positions on five continents, most recently as regional vice-president for Jumeirah’s hotels and resorts in Europe. He now consults for hotel owners and luxury developers, advising on design and trends in hospitality. Encouraging more traditional operators to embrace 21st-century fashion concepts for staff, he has been…

GLASS ACT There's a lot riding on this glassware. It’s part of a £400 million investment in BA’s Club World. After a fairly awful year of IT meltdowns and the removal of free food and drink for economy passengers on short-haul, the airline promises a new start – at least for premium passengers. Already trialled on its London Heathrow to New York JFK route, business class will see a new restaurant-style dining experience, a partnership with the White Company for bedding and amenity kits, and elegant glasses for a new range of wines and soft drinks. Already opened is the new First Wing check-in at Terminal 5. We’ll have a detailed report on the new business class online at businesstraveller.com and in next month’s issue. DINING HOTSPOT OPENED IN THE SUMMER, Frog by…

There are plenty of considerations to take into account when planning an event, from facilities to dining, logistics and value. Trumping most is Hilton Prague‘s sevenyear- long run as the Best Business Hotel in Eastern Europe, voted by readers each year, and awarded at the Business Traveller Awards. Located at the edge of Prague’s UNESCO World Heritage centre, the hotel is one of the Czech capital’s best-equipped meeting venues, providing creative solutions for events of any size and style. With 38 venues set across 5,000 sqm, Hilton Prague has many options. The Congress Hall is capable of holding 1,500 people, and features a stage, foyer and separate entrance, while the stylish Grand Hilton Ballroom has room for 650 standing delegates at a reception. For cocktail events that make a statement, the…

POINTLESS PR I’m not sure what the point is of the replies in your letters section. Not one of the replies in your September edition addressed the issue being raised. Virgin Atlantic, instead of saying they would remind their cabin crew to keep their voices down on night flights, waffled on about spraying pillows; while Hilton said they pay particular attention to the air conditioning, when clearly they do not as it was not working. It would be nice if just once a reply was human, and dealt with the issue rather than pulling down Replies 101 in the How to Dismiss a Complaint Manual. Feel free to publish this along with a reply from yourselves pointing out you get 2,300 Avios for taking out a subscription. Tony Raven, Royston BUSINESS TRAVELLER REPLIES: Thank…

BUSINESSTRAVELLER.COM/FORUM BA EURO TRAVELLER SEAT ALLOCATION – A TINY MORAL DILEMMA POST GLOBETROTTER I’ve just done a very short sector in a full BA Euro Traveller cabin. The last to board was a young couple in their late teens or early twenties. The young man politely asked the aisle seat passenger if he would swap with his girlfriend (they were in middle seats immediately behind/in front of each other) on account of his girlfriend being scared of flying and needing to be sat next to him. Said aisle passenger obliged and vacated to the middle seat in the row in front. I was wondering – in these days of potentially paying £23 weeks in advance to reserve a preferred seat – would that aisle passenger have been reasonable (if they had paid up front)…