The month of January comes as a surprise every year to the travel planners. While it does seem to come with alarming regularity, it ambushes the unwary travel planners every year.
If a trip must be planned in the first 4-6 weeks of the year, then you had better hope that the trip is planned before December 5th. If not you run the risk of all the hotels disappearing from the ‘preferred list’. I’m not talking about just the reasonably comfortable ones, but often well past those considered borderline are gone. As if they have magically disappeared, sucked into a black hole along with those airline miles earned on a carrier you are forced to take once a year because they had a sale..
A hotel you stayed in just last week has been added to that horrifying list of ‘exceptions’, if it can be found at all. If you have too many exceptions (ok if you have one), you must be counseled by your management. You can become a person of interest in the ever growing inquiry. Your records may be subject to auditing. All for staying in the same hotel you did last month. A place where they have come to know your name.
And just as magically, sometime in January the universe starts to become more normal. The hotels have been brought out of their stasis fields. The list grows, morphs, and gradually resumes something like it’s previous form. Usually sometime in late January, though it has been known to stretch into February.
Happy travels!
