Tag: city

Double The Deals For You

Double The Deals For You.

Due to competition between the two principal and giant hotel booking aggregators, I can now display deals from both the competing giants which both are my partners. It is much trouble to add retrospectively, though.

The deals from Booking dot com are traditionally shown as a vertical banner for each city. Agoda dot com’s smaller banners, or what they are called dynamic banners, are shown as a sample above (circled in red).

Adding one more set of deals not only doubles the options and choices, ideally, but some frequent travelers have their own preferred login credentials or preferred middle men. Deals aren’t a precise science and it depends on the prevailing occupancy, demand and season, I speculate. Is controlled by the hotels according to their own algo and formula. In fact some cities, deals wont show up for some unknown technical reasons. I shall ask them at their webinar this Friday.

If no hotels are shown on the banner, just click on it and it will take you to the city. I am adding the second option to more cities as we go along. Use the generic Hotel Search (http://www.mycen.my/hotel/) and it should unravel any hidden deals or flash prices. I complained about some banners not rotating and they now have added up down arrow keys to cycle through manually.

Thank you to regular users for your valued support and I hope to improve your experience and value. Please PM me or e-mail me, should you have questions. Thank you. Hotel Deals Finder Index is here: http://www.mycen.my/hotel-deals-finder/

Finding A Hotel In An Emergency,

Finding A Hotel In An Emergency,

Some taxi hailing services were criticised for exploitative surge pricing following the London Bridge terror attack. I am curious as to how hotels in an affected city respond to a crisis. After all, in a modern booking system, where rates are adjusted dynamically this can be monitored. This is not a scientific test as no business will show their price before increase or the upward percentages, if any. Price increases are understandable during a natural disaster though.

For example, I saw many hotels shuttered during the annual monsoonal floods. Price surged when supply was reduced. Some continue to operate by hiring electric generators. Online booking becomes unavailable with internet services cut off. Many staff were also stranded at relief centers or stuck at home when roads became inaccessible. In some places the lobbies were covered or submerged in mud. How can they accept credit cards when there were no phone lines to do authorization or how can they provide you with potable water when everything is cut? It was strictly walk in or boat in,

So who goes to a hotel in a city facing a terror attack or disaster? Many journalists, first responders, investigators, emergency rescuers and public who got caught up unexpectedly or were stranded due to lack of transport, curfew and other unforeseen circumstances.

In a war, a hotel can be a temporary safe haven or shelter. But not always as hostile forces may target it. Melbourne was under terror-linked siege a few hours ago. since deals and offers are dynamically generated according to current day, let’s see how Melbourne hotel prices fare here:

http://www.mycen.my/melbourne-hotel-deals-finder/

Please send link or book for a friend, colleague or relative who may need your assistance, IF phone contact is available. Stay safe.

http://www.mycen.my/melbourne-hotel-deals-finder/

#shelter #emergency #melbourne #city #australia #city #terrorattack #hotels #safety #mel

*pic of great southern hotel melbourne by booking dot com

Hotels In KL – A List For All Seasons

In anticipation of Air Asia’s inaugural flight to Honolulu, Hawaii, I am in the process of preparing the list of hotels in the various islands of Hawaii.

In doing so, I consulted a few Hawaiian friends. A couple off them asked me: “What about us?” They can now also come to Kuala Lumpur just as easily. Fair enough. I prepared a list of hotels for people planning to visit KL. Although, I grew up in Kuala Lumpur and have been to many of the hotels myself, it is turning out to be a challenging task. I have not even heard of many of the newer hotels. It was like 20 years ago when I asked Singaporean friends and relatives about a hotel. They will say “I don\t know lah. there is a new hotel popping up at every corner”

Kuala Lumpur city has progressed tremendously and expanded in that way too, if the many new hotels are an indication. For example, I didn’t even know there is a new Holiday Inn after the last one in Jalan Pinang. That became Impiana On The Park. To refresh my memory, I took a drive around. Old timers will be surprised to see the Equatorial flattened and demolished. Another supper favorite The Lodge is still there, albeit with a new name. The old KL Hilton is also gone. Some are nice surprises like seeing Majestic Cinema is now D Majestic by Swiss Garden.

Shabby Pudu Plaza behind is now Hotel Pudu Plaza. Hotels may remain but name changes. Pan Pacific is now Seri Pacific and classy Carcosa is no more. Sometimes a hotel is not gone but is using a new name. Nikko is now the Intercontinental. Silly that new owners or management try to shake off every connection to the old name, losing all the goodwill earned and making it difficult for satisfied customers fo find.

One thing I should point out is that the grander the name, the reality is likely to be opposite. Also the tagging of landmarks to the name or address may not necessarily mean proximity. Check maps yourself. For example, every hotel in Brickfields has KL Sentral in its address when they are xatually outside the transport hub.

Similarly, be aware that KLCC is also tagged to many hotels not even under the shadows of the twin towers. Keep this list when friends from abroad are planning to visit. I have zoned the hotels into 5 distinct areas. KLCC/Golden Triangle, Putrajaya, Brickfields, Chinatown/Pudu/Masjid India and others. The type of accommodation covered ranges from the RM 500 a night 5 star Shangri-la to a RM 14 a night dormitory in Chinatown.

Please share with a friends visiting Kuala Lumpur and peruade them to book a room through me. Thank you for your support:

http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-kuala-lumpur/

The Shadow Of Your Smile

On that sunny day, I thought I saw the shadow of a giant Christmas tree appearing on the wall of the Selangor Dredging building. It was the shadow of one of the adjacent Twin Towers. The smiling sun put up her own Christmas decor, albeit for a brief moment.

Olympus E-3, ISO 100, f7.1, 1/400 sec.

#shadow #sun #cityscape #klcc #christmastree #christmasdecor #olympus #klcc #tbt