Wow, have philosophies changed lately. When I went to business school, I was always told you should avoid at all costs saying the word "no" to a customer. Today it seems like the travel industry has made a science out of it.

My good friends out there in FlyerTalkLand...imagine if these companies really needed our business. I hope during this upcoming economic down period or even recession, the vacancy rates at the major hotel chains do not go below the break even point. Today, these chains are experiencing record occupancy. As we all know, planes are leaving the gates full...That all changes when the economy changes.

There will be a point in time when these companies all need us and our business. It is going to be very difficult for them to come back to us after they keep taking things away from us.

Once again, if you or I ran our business this way, we would be in the unemployment line...and bankrupt. The next time a travel industry employee is rude to you or a frequent traveler program wants to take something away from you, we should remind them of this fact.