Chicago In Top 25 World Destinations (Traveler's Choice) on Trip Advisor (Belgium: renter, hotels)

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

This is terrible news for Chicago.

But good news for the towns along the BNSF, especially Hinsdale.

[Standard111]

It's not really a list of the most popular world destinations. It's just a Tripadvisor algorithm looking by search.

So, for example, "Los Angeles" will be hamstrung because one could search for "LA", "Hollywood", "Beverly Hills", etc. You get the idea.

I mean, does anyone here really believe that Miami is only the #20 destination in the U.S.? Seriously? Nashville is a bigger destination?

[oliminator123]

Awesome.

I think Chicago is underrated. If you've ever read comments on ESPN, CNN, etc. (I know, trolls and what not), people always associate Chicago with murder and it makes sense (to an extent) but everyone thinks downtown Chicago is some sort of crime paradise.

It's quite sad but, during my walks around downtown, the amount of tourists with cameras is hard to miss.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Standard111

It's not really a list of the most popular world destinations. It's just a Tripadvisor algorithm looking by search.

So, for example, "Los Angeles" will be hamstrung because one could search for "LA", "Hollywood", "Beverly Hills", etc. You get the idea.

I mean, does anyone here really believe that Miami is only the #20 destination in the U.S.? Seriously? Nashville is a bigger destination?

First of all, it's not a search algorithm based on popular keywords. I don't know where you pulled that one from. The algorithm is actually all about reviews - quality and quantity.

http://ir.tripadvisor.com/releasedet...leaseID=838773

Travelers' Choice Destinations honor top travel spots worldwide based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travelers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, attractions and restaurants in destinations worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.

Second of all, it doesn't even matter what formulated them in this place. It's all about free publicity putting Chicago in the top 25 of a "Best Destinations in the World" list on a site that a lot of international tourists use every day. This is a good thing for anybody on the list as a small percentage of people will see this and start to wonder why in full certain cities are in fact on the list and consider them.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Standard111

It's not really a list of the most popular world destinations. It's just a Tripadvisor algorithm looking by search.

So, for example, "Los Angeles" will be hamstrung because one could search for "LA", "Hollywood", "Beverly Hills", etc. You get the idea.

I mean, does anyone here really believe that Miami is only the #20 destination in the U.S.? Seriously? Nashville is a bigger destination?

I vote Nashville over Miami.

[chet everett]

Occupancy rates could be much better. I suspect too many "travelers" are using the dubious services of AirBnB. Conventions used to pack the hotels.

Btw Vacancy rates in the burbs are even worse -- blame that mostly on folks preferring to fly home or just use web conferences... Hotel building has long been an exercise in over supply : Chicago near term hotel occupancy recovery OK, planned building could be troubling

And for record anyone that is looking for hotel in eastern DuPage Co is going to be out of luck if they look anywhere near the BNSF or UP-W lines. Frankly the only kind of rail service that gets people near any hotels outside the Loop is the O'Hare Blue line...

[marothisu]

I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. The algorithm is based on data from TripAdvisor. You don't rate AirBnb properties on TripAdvisor.

Also, have you ever used AirBnB Chet? I have and my experience was far from dubious. It's also less dubious in Europe where there's hotels in the most random places. When I was in Rome 3 weeks ago, my hotel (not AirBnb) was 3 floors of a 6 or 7 story residential complex with no signs in front, but had a legitimate office on the 5th floor. The hotel was a legitimately registered hotel with the government with many ratings and reviews on normal hotel sites and was very adequate. Different, but still a legitimate hotel where if you saw it, you'd probably claim it was run by an AirBnb guy.

I guess for US standards it's pretty dubious, but if you're used to traveling over Europe and not staying at the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons everytime you go, then it's a little less dubious.

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by squirrels

Chicago is cool and all, but when I first came here I had a hard time filling up a holiday weekend with stuff to do. I can't imagine many people visit the US with Chicago as a primary destination.

Oh. My.

Unpossible. Chicago is one of the few cities -- IMHO --where a two week+ trip would not do justice. Every morning you could get up and find something cool, unique and fulfilling to do.

Maybe you just like horse shoes or rodeos or mountain climbing. Not a lot of that here.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by marothisu

What, Istanbul? Istanbul is an absolutely amazing city and easily one of my favorites in the world, but there's some political stuff going on right now in that country where it's a little eh. Still fine to visit but not as good as even a few years ago just because of that.

I was in Rome for the first time a few weeks ago too - great city, but I still prefer Istanbul because it's more magical feeling. Though in the tourist areas, people in Rome are far less aggressive than people in Istanbul who are trying to get your business. Rome is very familiar, for the most part and Istanbul you could be like "what the...??" in a good way, and then 10 minutes later be presented with modern, western culture alongside it. The first time I was in Istanbul, after being sleep deprived, 5 minutes into my hotel room I had 5 different mosques blaring the adhan (call to prayer) around me and it's one of the most beautiful things I've heard. I literally almost started crying, but then close by were still modern things mixed with old with exotic culture here and there.


BTW, there are round trip deals on Turkish Air to Istanbul direct from Chicago for the last handful of years between January and early March for $525 round trip. It is not WARM during winter there but still warmer than Chicago. It's closer to NYC temps or higher in the winter there. You can get to other cities in Eastern/Central Europe, Middle East, and northern Africa from there for $699 total. I think NYC has a similar deal but it's $699 to Istanbul instead of $525 (no idea why it's more expensive - it's a shorter flight from NYC).


I'm glad to see Chicago on the list too of course. I think Chicago is the #2 place for conventions now after Vegas.

I never mentioned Istanbul...

[chet everett]

This is simple. I am not really disagreeing with you about the "free publicity" angle and the way that trip advisor gathered their stats, all I am saying is that there are still folks that make a pretty decent living working for hotels in jobs from the front desk to the often very well paying catering /kitchen management functions to even housekeepers and doormen that can do surprisingly well especially in place that does have good occupancy and nice tips. The kind of analysis that firms in the hotel business rely on include the occupancy and "average daily rate". Chicago occupancy is doing better than when travel was on the rocks a decade or so ago but as the report I linked to clearly shows ADR is still well off the peak. My hunch is that too many folks that are doing their own "trip planning" are relying on things like AirBnB and this does not help the hotel business which really and truly does count on folks using more traditional means of booking trips and does not make as much money when folks hit the "discount" sites but this is a consequence of the need to fill hotel rooms that used to be booked solid with folks attending conferences and such in the city before they got used to webinars or got fed up with hostile policies perpetuated at McCormick Place... Unions agree to new work rules at Chicago's McCormick Place - Chicago Tribune

I have never felt any desire to use AirBnB, the whole fiasco of the firm allowing idiots that rent out clearly illegal broom closets to unsuspecting bargain hunters tells me all I need to know about the money grubbing crooks behind every level of the operation. I will admit to using VRBO and other sites that do screen the properties for suitability if I am looking to rent a vacation home or similar, so it really is a question of the business practices of AirBnB that I object to more than the "concept". Many many years I did investigate doing a "swap" of a private residence in Europe for an extended vacation but ultimately decided it was preferable to see a wider variety of places that comes when you just stay in different hotels. I agree that mixed used hotels are much more common in Europe and that is a consequence of the land uses in even their less dense areas still being far different than the vast amounts of space that US can give to parking lots and such...