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Exclusive offer for a monsoon staycation?

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Old Aug 31, 2019, 3:19 pm
  #1  
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Exclusive offer for a monsoon staycation?

I got an email from Bonvoy with a bunch of "exclusive offers" (AMB and LTT) that seemed to be promos for different locations.

However, it doesn't seem wise to try a Kochi "monsoon staycation." I really don't think of a monsoon as a tourist attraction that I would want to fly halfway around the world deliberately to experience.

Tasteless IMO as some monsoons cause loss of life and property. Tourists should stay away (even if good promo package rates are offered) to avoid diverting resources from those who need them after some natural disaster.
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Old Aug 31, 2019, 3:26 pm
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Idk, sometimes people see hardship as a source of pride. Guessing the promo wasn’t targeted at people out of country, hence the term “staycation”.

I grew up in Central Florida and nothing brings people together like talking about afternoon thunderstorms and Atlantic hurricanes. Maybe similar elsewhere.
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Old Aug 31, 2019, 5:26 pm
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It's true that monsoon season is not exactly optimal from a tourist standpoint, but it's something that Kochi (and much of the rest of India) deals with routinely, and it's rarely a "disaster".

Hotel rates in Kochi are generally pretty low to begin with, and drop during monsoon (I'll be there in about 8 weeks). The monsoon package that you reference includes breakfast, dinner, and wifi.

Picking a random date in September shows a rate of $94 USD at the Le Meridian, so a high end hotel with good benefits for less than $100. All you need is a reason to be there and a tolerance for a lot of rain
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Old Aug 31, 2019, 11:15 pm
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
I got an email from Bonvoy with a bunch of "exclusive offers" (AMB and LTT) that seemed to be promos for different locations.

However, it doesn't seem wise to try a Kochi "monsoon staycation." I really don't think of a monsoon as a tourist attraction that I would want to fly halfway around the world deliberately to experience.

Tasteless IMO as some monsoons cause loss of life and property. Tourists should stay away (even if good promo package rates are offered) to avoid diverting resources from those who need them after some natural disaster.
It’s a common practice in India for families to take a short holiday during monsoon season. Probably you were in India recently and got caught up in the promo algorithm.
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Old Sep 1, 2019, 2:08 am
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Originally Posted by MePlatPremier
It’s a common practice in India for families to take a short holiday during monsoon season. Probably you were in India recently and got caught up in the promo algorithm.
I received the "James, Here Are Your Exclusive Offers" email too. Yet I have never been to India.

James
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Old Sep 1, 2019, 3:21 am
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Originally Posted by Flying for Fun
I received the "James, Here Are Your Exclusive Offers" email too. Yet I have never been to India.

James
I received an exclusive offers email today as well. No mention of any Indian destination.
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Old Sep 1, 2019, 4:38 am
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
I got an email from Bonvoy with a bunch of "exclusive offers" (AMB and LTT) that seemed to be promos for different locations.

However, it doesn't seem wise to try a Kochi "monsoon staycation." I really don't think of a monsoon as a tourist attraction that I would want to fly halfway around the world deliberately to experience.

Tasteless IMO as some monsoons cause loss of life and property. Tourists should stay away (even if good promo package rates are offered) to avoid diverting resources from those who need them after some natural disaster.
September is the end of the South West monsoons. All the things you are worrying about would have happened a few months earlier, if at all.

There's quite a few cultural events around this time, particularly Onam and the boat races. Think of this period as the local version of Christmas, or Octoberfest.

A few thousand extra tourists won't be noticed
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Old Sep 1, 2019, 6:24 am
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Monsoon is just the rainy season in India, not a disaster. Occasionally there is flooding, including last year in Kerala (the state Kochi is in), and the state needs tourists to boost the economy.

I'm at Coimbatore airport right now (CJB) after s 5 day trip into the hills around Kodaikanal, not that far from Kochi in fact. Absolutely stunning scenery and no disasters (other than hangovers and a lost SIM card).
​​​​​During the monsoon the weather tends to be cooler and more pleasant while the nature is greener and lusher.

Long story short, not sure what your point is or what value this thread is intended to contribute.
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Old Sep 4, 2019, 7:15 am
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I love the monsoon packages for SE Asia. You usually get a lot of value for dealing with some wind, rain and cloudy days. I would find a TYPHOON package to be rather crass and tasteless.
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Old Sep 4, 2019, 7:52 am
  #10  
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Originally Posted by skywardhunter
not sure what your point is or what value this thread is intended to contribute.
To most Americans, a monsoon is the equivalent of a hurricane. That's just the nature of the educational system (and yes, I went through my entire education in the U.S.), though most FTers are typically more well versed in international affairs than the general public.
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Old Sep 4, 2019, 8:00 am
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Originally Posted by mahasamatman
To most Americans, a monsoon is the equivalent of a hurricane. That's just the nature of the educational system (and yes, I went through my entire education in the U.S.).
This. A monsoon is nothing more than a seasonal change in windflow patterns. It is not a storm, although a monsoon sets the stage for storms.
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Old Sep 4, 2019, 8:26 am
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I think there is a some confusion between typhoons/cyclones which are the equivalent of American hurricanes and definitely no hotel is going to offer staycations during one and the Monsoon season. The monsoon season is like winter in a lot of places. The low season for visitors. Although a bad monsoon season can kill people like a bad winter season can kill people. Generally it just means very heavy rain for about an hour a day, with the rest of the day fine.
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Old Sep 4, 2019, 9:07 am
  #13  
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i got a promo for staying in Hong Kong, no monsoon but hordes of angry people!
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Old Sep 4, 2019, 2:41 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by mahasamatman
To most Americans, a monsoon is the equivalent of a hurricane. That's just the nature of the educational system (and yes, I went through my entire education in the U.S.), though most FTers are typically more well versed in international affairs than the general public.
I don't ever recall learning that a monsoon was the same as a hurricane. I do remember early in elementary school doing some experiment related to the Coriolis effect and learning that cyclones were basically southern hurricanes that spin the opposite direction.

There was a point in time where I thought of a monsoon as a season of really heavy rains, often with flooding. I didn't know anything about wind patterns or what caused the storms.

Personally, I'd avoid most regions' monsoon seasons as a tourist. If anything, I'd want to be in a city with reliable infrastructure and lots of indoor activities if it's alternating between rainy and muggy/humid.
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Old Sep 4, 2019, 3:50 pm
  #15  
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Interesting after reading though this thread, just got off the phone with a Travel agent located in Phoenix. While waiting for the computer to come back with some options, we talked about weather and she mentioned that Phoenix' monsoon season this year hasn't been very strong and she wished they would get more rain. I don't usually hear "monsoon" much, but just read the thread and there it was. And she definitely seemed to think of monsoon as a "rainy" season, not a major weather storm.
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