Category Archives: travel

Rakesh’s travel secrets for your holiday travels

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Rakesh Agrawal

Having flown more than two million miles, including more than 45,000 in the past month, Over the years, I’ve developed strategies for coping with the hassles of air travel. I hope you don’t need any of them on your holiday … Continue reading →

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Favorite things, day 2: credit cards

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Rakesh Agrawal

There are many reasons I love credit cards. As a payments nerd, I marvel that I can be on the far side of the world, tap a card and walk away with things I want. As a marketing nerd, I … Continue reading →

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Favorite things, day 3: Hawaii

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Rakesh Agrawal

(All photos taken by me; message me for licensing.) Sun, sand, beach, surf, ancient cultures, outdoors — there’s so much to love about Hawaii. An archipelago of 8 primary islands, it offers a great break far away from most things. … Continue reading →

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Favorite things, day 5: Alaska Airlines

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Rakesh Agrawal

What’s not to like about an airline that more or less runs like the good old days of air travel? Courteous staff, clean planes, great terminal facilities at San Francisco and Seattle, where I travel the most. Their social media … Continue reading →

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Favorite hotels from around the world

Posted on December 6, 2019 by Rakesh Agrawal

Here’s a list of my favorites. St Regis Vommuli Resort This is in a class by itself. St Regis New York St Regis Princeville, Kauai (now the Princeville Resort) St Regis Dubai (now the LXR Habtoor Palace) St Regis Deer … Continue reading →

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How customer service should be done

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Rakesh Agrawal

Last week I was skiing in Deer Valley when Groupon’s terrible earnings came out. While I was skiing, I got an email from CNBC asking if I could come on air to talk about them. We tried to get me … Continue reading →

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Short-term, transactional thinking in a social media world

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

I woke up this morning to find a bill under my door for a $7.60 bottle of water, courtesy of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Apparently the bottle of water next to the bathroom sink wasn’t free. There wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in strategy, travel | 2 Comments

Up In The Air

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

The airline industry is one of the most volatile out there. I’ve had a chance to experience many of the ups and downs of the industry on a variety of U.S. and foreign carriers. U.S. carriers Alaska American Avelo Cape … Continue reading →

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Asking meaningless questions: CBS’ faulty poll on TSA screening

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

In defending its actions in screening passengers, the TSA continually points to a CBS News Poll which claims that 80% of Americans support the scan. What does that really mean? Let’s take a look at the actual question that was … Continue reading →

Posted in metrics, research, travel | 3 Comments

Favorite airports from around the world

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been doing a lot of travel the last few years and have gone through a lot of airports. There are huge variations in quality from airport to airport and even within terminals of the same airport. A few stand … Continue reading →

Posted in airlines, travel | 11 Comments