Setting priorities when planning vacations

Which comes first when planning a vacation: deciding where to go, what to do or where to stay? And do you decide the budget before or after? Value may not depend on how much you spend but on the dialectical balance of time, cost, convenience, comfort - and opportunity. Do you splurge on a short, last-minute luxury break or eke out your credit balance on a three-week budget holiday? Interesting insights into how people make those choices are provided by YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners 2005 National Leisure Travel Monitor (www.ypbr.com), published in June. According to the report, just over half (51 percent) of leisure travelers in the United States select their vacation destination before they determine the budget for the trip. Financial considerations typically come next, with the third consideration being the mode of travel. Next are selecting the hotel or resort and last, deciding on the activities to pursue. Travelers deciding where to go (with money to spare) may find themselves spoiled for choice at www.luxuryexplorer.com, a luxury travel site launched July 7, with direct links to more than 100 independent hotels and resorts in Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia-Pacific, along with jet and yacht charters, train companies and river cruises. The Luxury Explorer chairman, Peter Matthews, says, "For most travelers the Internet is now a first port of call when researching travel possibilities, especially independent travelers who want to find well-known destinations or to discover hidden gems with as little fuss as possible." A Web site's requests for personal details are a deterrent to those who visit the sites to book vacations, according to a poll of 508 Web users conducted by www.onlinetravelbrochures.com. Half leave a Web site immediately when asked for optional data before continuing to view a brochure, the poll indicates. And of the remaining 50 percent that continue to view the Web brochure, only 21 percent gave personal information; of those users, 53 percent requested the removal of their details from the database once the visit was completed. The Web site's managing director, Paul Green, says, "The obvious question: How many of the 50 percent who continued to view the brochure would have done so if the data request had been compulsory?" Having the run of an airport lounge takes some of the pain from flight delays, cancellations and long connecting times. You can relax with a drink or catch up on work, far from the madding crowd (although it is often more of a zoo there than the main concourse). A lounge is one perk that's worth the money, whether you get access with the price of a premium-class ticket or by joining a lounge program, such as www.prioritypass.com (with 450 lounges in 245 cities), or www.loungepass.com (100 lounges in more than 65 airports) for about $25 a visit. Expensive; but what price do you put on a port in a storm? American Airlines's Admirals Club, Delta Air Lines's Crown Room Club and United Airlines's Red Carpet Club are all worth joining. But some airport lounges are more equal than others. What we need is a "Good Lounge Guide," to evaluate things like décor and ambience, business facilities, washrooms and showers, food and beverage, "exclusivity," and friendliness of staff. The Skytrax Research "2005 Best Airline Lounges Survey" (www.airlinequality.com), based on 1.4 million votes, ranked Cathay Pacific's first- and business-class lounges in Hong Kong best in the world. Thai Airways's first-class lounge in Bangkok and Virgin Atlantic's business-class lounge at London's Heathrow were ranked second; and South African Airways's first-class lounge in Johannesburg and Gulf Air's business-class lounge in Bahrain were ranked third.