What We Wear Matters!

I am a firm believer that what we wear and how we handle ourselves matter in many occasions. I even talked about the importance of dressing business attire at work (also business casual during the summer). I, however, must confess that I feel somewhat surprised when reading George Hobica’s discussion on USA Today.

According to George, wearing a nice suit got his friend and him an upgrade from the economy-class all the way to the first class when they flew. None of them have elite status of the airlines; the planes were not even full. When everybody else is charged extra fees for a couple inches of extra leg room or an aisle seat, how come they are so “lucky” to get upgraded? Here is what the gate agent said according to George’s direct quote: “our station manager noticed how well dressed you were and told me to upgrade you.”

So, what do we learn from this story? Are we getting another good excuse to shop more? Or do we have to wear suit and tie all the time? Actually, my point is: what we wear and how we handle ourselves matter in all settings. The fact is human beings could be very judgmental at times. We can influence others’, especially strangers’, impression of us by taking good care of our appearance --- it may seem that I am using the impression management theory again. Well, let’s forget about the impression management theory. Do you sometimes feel good about yourself just because you are wearing a very nice dress?

References:
George Hobica (2011, August 10). Fly guy: Do well-dressed fliers get more perks? USA Today online
Picture was downloaded from NoHolidayNoLife.com

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United Airlines pushes economy-class travelers away with a new frequent flyer program

United Airlines just revealed massive changes to its MileagePlus Program. How much a traveler spends on the tickets is the only thing that matters in the airline’s new frequent flyer program.

Not long ago, United quietly switched from a distance-based reward program to a fare-based frequent flyer program. Since 2015, people earn mileages based on how much they spend on the air tickets instead of how far they fly.

For example, I typically earn about 4,000 reward miles for a round-trip ticket between Los Angeles and Asia, even though the distance of the trip usually ranges from 10,000 to 12,000 miles. Nevertheless, the distance I fly still matters because it will be counted towards the “qualified miles” for elite status.

Now, the airline wants to take a big step further to (only) reward those top-spending travelers as their elite customers.

The terms used in the current MileagePlus Program

There are four elite statuses in the United Airlines MileagePlus Program, including Premier Silver, …

Promoting student success in the STR Student Market Study Competition

I was in New York City (NYC) over the Veterans Day weekend for the HX: The Hotel Experience 2019, one of the most important trade shows in the lodging industry. Similar to last year’s trade show, the HX 2019 also entailed four components, including HX: The Marketplace, HX: The Conference, Boutique Design New York, and the STR (Smith Travel Research) Student Market Study Competition.

STR is the leading data analytics provider for the lodging industry. Since its debut in 2015, the STR Student Market Study Competition (the STR Competition hereafter) has received significant attention from the hospitality programs around the world.

This year, over 20 students from the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona traveled to NYC for HX 2019. Moreover, six of them also participated in the STR Competition for the first time.

In the end, the Cal Poly Pomona team won the 2nd Prize among the 25 competing colleges and universities. The other winning teams include Michigan State …

Want a job at McDonald’s? Now, it is as easy as talking to Alexa

McDonald’s Corporation introduced the world’s first voice-initiated job application process called McDonald’s Apply Thru. Now, job seekers can initiate the job application process through McDonald’s Apply Thru by taking to either Alexa or Google Assistant.

How McDonald’s Apply Thru works
The job application process begins with the applicants saying:
“Alexa, help me get a job at McDonald’s.”
or
“Google, help me get a job at McDonald’s.”
Then, the job applicants will need to answer a few basic questions, including their name, job of interest, and the location where they want to work.
Afterward, the job applicants will receive a text message with a hyperlink that will take the applicants to continue the rest of the application process.
Where McDonald’s Apply Thru serve
McDonald’s Apply Thru is now available in nine countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. It will be made available to other countries in the coming months.
Why McDona…

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Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

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