Alternative investment strategies that beat the market
It’s important to consider diversification and alternative investment strategies in order to withstand major market moves in the U.S. and exceed the returns of the major market indices. Attached are some different strategies that can be employed to meet this objective:
International:
Now is an opportune time to take advantage of a new offering that became available for investors looking to capitalize on the continued boom in real estate investment trusts (REIT) overseas. While a lot of the U.S. REITs have either lost their momentum or have seen their share prices rise so much that their yields have dropped substantially, there are numerous opportunities overseas. Some of these can be purchased in the US as ADRs, but ideally, by letting subject matter experts manage a portfolio of 224 companies spread throughout 19 countries, you can minimize your costs, diversify your risk, and frankly, increase your odds of successfully exceeding the returns of any individual holdings as well as the U.S. indices.
WisdomTree International Real Estate Fund (DRW) has a respectable expense ratio of 0.58%. The weighting is primarily in the countries Australia, Hong Kong and Japan; a third of the ETF is in Europe. The firm claims a backtested return of over 14% over the past 10 years, trouncing the S&P500 return of around 8%. I would certainly recommend this ETF as a 5-10% portion of any portfolio given its international diversification, its sector diversification and its ability to withstand market downturns due to the high yield component of the individual holdings. Granted, the international and emerging markets have been extremely hot and do carry significant volatility, but the U.S. market is somewhat saturated now as well. In addition to some commodities and some conservative components, this instrument would be a healthy addition to any portfolio absent other similar holdings.
Hedged Mutual Fund for Regular Investors:
The norm for hedge fund investing is that you have to have a minimum annual income exceeding $200,000/year and have at least $1million net worth. Not all of us can make that claim. Well, there are alternatives for regular people like you and I which actually match or beat some of the top hedge fund performance histories and don’t come with the fees exceeding 20% of profits that the hedge funds bring with them. This is the first in a series of posts outlining unconventional investments. The investment du jour is Baron Partners and their performance is worth mentioning.
The fund is pretty heavily weighted in large casino/hotel companies, which has driven the strong performance of late, but there’s no reason to believe this industry is at any particular risk compared to the general market at the moment. Additionally, they retain the ability to go short up to 35%. Your standard mutual fund never maintains a short position, which is what helps drive the incremental performance and ride out volatility.
Performance:
Since inception, it has more than doubled the return of the general market indices. While the Dow and the Nasdaq have risen about 50% since its inception in 2002, the fund has risen almost 150%. This spectacular performance comes with a rather low minimum investment of just $2000 and the expense ratio is 1.35%, which is in line with your typical actively managed fund (of which very few ever beat the market, but still charge you this fee).
American immigration policy is based on racism
I feel that the current debate about immigration is totally racist. First, I am a 21 year veteran of the US Navy, not that really matters. Because of the concentration of security on the southern border with Mexico, where am I going to enter if I am a terrorist? Because I live in Washington state, I know I would enter through Canada because it is much easier. A person was caught between Vancouver BC and Washington state a few years ago trying to bring a bomb in. It’s totally common sense that the terrorists would enter through the North. Why aren’t there more conversations about the North borders? As far as Mexicans entering the US from the south, they are merely filling the gaps, doing the work Americans do not do.
Now, to get to the meat, to go back to my military experience. I was in Hong Kong, in the early 70’s. I was on a 3 year tour where I stayed there all those three years. The American tourists I met complained about the people not speaking English, about the rooms in their hotels and the lack of McDonald’s. I told these petty American bastards to either learn Chinese or back to Iowa. What is this idea that we, as Americans have the right to make the entire world work to our ideas. This is why we are in Iraq.
Most people in the world speak at least 2 languages. (I speak Japanese). Uniquely, when Americans hear a language they do not undrstand, they instantly become paranoid. If you want to understand Spanish, study. Do not be so lazy. The people are not talking about you. As an American, I have seen this paranoia over and over. The first generation from any country speaks their old language. (i.e. my great grandmother spoke Swedish) Lighten up! If you want to understand Spanish, study Spanish.
Ching Ming
Macau is often seeing as the world’s new gambling capital, but many will be surprised to see much more than roulette and blackjack when they get to this incredible city. Traditional Chinese pastimes are abundant and cultural and religious festivals are held throughout the year. Among these traditional aspects in Macau, the famous Ching Ming Festival is worth seeing. Celebrated in all South East Asian countries, Ching Ming is the day to honor their deceased ancestors and enjoy the natural greenery.
Ching Ming is translated into English as Clear and Bright. The festival is held on the 104th day after the winter solstice (15th day from the Spring Equinox), which occurs around the 5th of April according to the Gregorian calendar. Ching Ming is also an astronomical solar term, which influences the celebration day. The festival is commonly referred to as the Tomb Sweeping Day in English reports. Ching Ming is an official public holiday in Macau, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Alternative references to the same festival include Qingming, Qing Ming, Qing Ming Jie, Ching Ming and Ching Ming Cheih.
The Ching Ming Festival marks the beginning of many auspicious activities. Starting with sweeping their ancestors’ graves and offering food, beverages, libation and paper accessories, the day goes on to include family outings, spring plowing, singing, dancing and even marks the time when young people start courting. Kites in the shapes of animals and Chinese opera characters are popular during the Ching Ming Festival. Ching Ming is also the day when cultivated fresh green tea is separated into label designations, with tea picked before Ching Ming priced at a higher level.
Originally begun in China as a way to curb needless overspending on ancestral worshiping by the wealthy, the Tang Emperor Xuanzong allocated just one day to pay formal respects to ancestors and this day was named as Ching Ming. The Ching Ming Festival spread across the other practicing nations because of China’s massive influence in the region and migrating communities.
Macau is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, which means most of the traditions and customs followed in the mainland are also practiced here. The region is especially known for its wide range of hotels and tourism-oriented facilities, so when you visit, make sure you opt to stay at a luxury hotel. Macau is much more open and liberal than mainland China, so there are no major restrictions on tourists. Try the Sands Macau Resort Hotel for an amazingly luxurious hotel-stay experience.
India Real Estate – Highrise Buildings : Now Earthquake Protection With Warranty
An earthquake is the most extreme condition that any building may be required to survive during its lifetime. To survive the natures might safely and surely also poses the greatest challenge to the architects and structural engineers. However the modern day computational power and the technological advances in the earthquake protection industry has made the solution once considered un-surmountable a reality. There are numerous companies specializing only in Earthquake Protection.
Today most medium and high-rise buildings are following Life-Safety Design, more popularly referred as Earthquake Resistant Design for protection against earthquakes. However the awareness amongst people living in the seismic regions is increasing and they are now aware that for a small additional cost they can get a much higher Earthquake Protection for their buildings than what is mandatory as per the seismic codes. As the seismic codes are based on the Life-Safety / Earthquake Resistant design so they are aiming to prevent a total building collapse in case of a major earthquake, thereby saving lives. For the user/owner of the property this implies that even an Earthquake Resistant building does not provide any guarantee that it would be habitable for living / doing business after a major earthquake. The earthquake will structurally damage the building and incase the damage is above a threshold level there would be no option but to demolish and re-construct.
The architects and structural consultants are therefore are no longer designing only to meet the government building code requirements but are going by the seismic performance criteria being demanded by their clients, in addition to the mandatory requirements of the building codes. Building codes are applicable to all buildings at large belonging to all strata of society and therefore the socio-economic conditions need to be carefully looked into before formulating them. For this reason it is not possible to lay down the stringent earthquake safeguards as many would not simply be able to afford the associated cost.
The risk assessment exercises by the major insurance companies and financial institutions is another factor encouraging people to reduce risks by going in for the state-of-the-art earthquake protection technologies. Businesses want to limit the threat to their employees as well as cover their business against losses due to earthquakes. The insurance companies world over are refusing to guarantee such losses unless the buildings which house these businesses adhere to enhanced safety standards. The reduced insurance premiums and financing at lower rates of interest more than compensates for the cost of enhanced earthquake protection in the long run. Most earthquake protection devices come with a warranty of upto 35 years which can be further enhanced after a performance related test when the initial warranty period gets over. Typically the life of earthquake protection devices is greater than the life of the building per se.
In United States it is mandatory for the computer data centers mushrooming all over to be designed to withstand the severest of the earthquakes as they house the sensitive data of not one but many hundreds of businesses. The repercussions of not designing buildings to withstand earthquakes are grave. Similarly the US government has laid down very strict compliance criteria for seismic performance of hospitals; they say “you cannot have deaths due to building collapse in a place that is meant to treat earthquake victims”. Various government departments are also paying a great deal of attention on keeping essential infrastructure like public buildings, bridges and airports operational even in case of a major earthquake.
“Immediate Occupancy” and “Fully Operational” during and post a major earthquake is the criteria that is spelt out for important structures. The architects and structural consultants are then asked to meet these criteria. This design concept is also known as Performance Based Design.
As the awareness and economic prosperity is increasing, more and more people want to reduce risks. Not to forget the urge of many upwardly mobile to live in high-rise buildings away from the pollution and noise with their balconies overlooking the cityscape giving them a sense of achievement, superiority and contentment after a tiring days work. However many have started to realize the peril of staying in a high-rise, they become more vulnerable to the seismic effects. Vulnerability can be explained by taking the example of Dubai, 10 years back when high-rises didn’t exist, people use to only come to know of the earthquakes happening in Iran through Newspapers, now with numerous buildings 25 storeys and more their have been instances when the buildings have undergone evacuation because of excessive swaying even for medium intensity earthquakes happening in Iran. A major earthquake will almost certainly cause great structural damage in buildings not incorporating the safe guards.
For enabling the architects and structural consultants to undertake Performance Based Design the client would have to spell out two parameters i.e. Peak Earthquake Intensity and Perceived Distance of the building from the earthquake epicenter. Typically a 6.5 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter 50-100 Kms away is considered good protection criteria. Some may contend with having their buildings designed to resist upto 6.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale where as another person would demand a structural performance even in the case of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake simply because he/she is not willing to accept the associated risk that the earthquake damage may expose him to. The structural consultant then selects an appropriate set of “earthquake time-histories” recorded from earlier earthquakes and designs the structure by undertaking “Time-History Analysis” such that the inter-storey displacements always stay in the elastic range, thereby implying No/Insignificant structural damage even during a major earthquake. Buildings not employing advanced earthquake protection will most certainly sustain high degree of structural damage as the only way the earthquake energy can be absorbed by any building is by way of causing some damage. When a building is subjected to a major quake, energy is absorbed by cracking of concrete and elongation of steel beyond the elastic limits. This damage to the structural members if beyond a threshold level can be dangerous. There does exists another way of absorbing earthquake energy i.e. Dampers.
The most efficient and cost effective way to achieve energy dissipation in buildings is by using Earthquake Dampers. Dampers are mechanical devices that look some what like huge shock absorbers. Dampers function is to absorb and dissipate the energy supplied by the ground movement during an earthquake so that the building remains unharmed, their functioning is also akin to shock absorbers. Whenever the building is in motion during a earthquake tremor they help in restricting the building from swaying excessively and thereby preventing structural damage. The earthquake energy absorbed by these dampers gets converted into heat which is then dissipated into the atmosphere. Dampers thus work to absorb earthquake shocks ensuring that the structural members i.e. beam and columns remain unharmed. There are four types of dampers i.e. Viscoelastic, Friction, Metallic Yield and Fluid Viscous. Many companies specializing in the field are making a bee-line for establishing operations in India. India’s success story of economic growth and the projections for the immediate future, coupled with the heightened seismic activity in the region over the past few years, has led many to look at India as a attractive market destination. For low-rise buildings base isolation technique is also extremely popular. In Base-Isolation the structure above ground is separated from the foundation by inserting rollers/pads between the foundation and the building. These isolators allow the structure to move independently of the shifting ground below, thereby effectively isolating it from the ground motion. Base Isolation is however not appropriate for all buildings and is suitable for only low rise buildings upto 2-3 storeys that have a much larger spread than its height.
Dampers on the other hand are most suitable for high-rise buildings and are in extensive use the world over. High-rises also happen to be the most susceptible to earthquakes. Over the years Fluid Viscous Dampers have come out as clear leaders in seismic applications. Many hundreds of projects have incorporated the technology and the count is increasing by the day. The cost effect for Fluid Viscous Dampers is in the range of Rs. 150 to 200 per square foot, other types cost less however do not come with associated warranties. Dampers manufactured by Taylor Devices have a performance warranty of 35 years which can be further enhanced after testing; however their life is considerably more as they are designed to last more than the building.
Dampers can be installed in existing and new buildings with ease. This makes them extremely versatile for retrofit projects i.e. buildings that need to be seismically upgraded to meet the Revised Seismic Codes. In India the Seismic Code IS-1893 was last revised in the year 2002 after valuable lessons learnt during the Gujarat earthquake. There are many who desire their building also needs to be upgraded to the revised standards. Dampers are ideally suited for this job as it requires minimal civil construction works and the job can be easily undertaken with the building being simultaneously in use. Incase of new buildings by installing Earthquake Dampers you can achieve a protection level much higher than the Earthquake Resistant/ Life Safety design. In most structures, the Dampers stay hidden in partition walls and inconspicuous locations and, therefore, are not visible to occupants. However there are many architects who have used the diagonal, A and V placing of the dampers to give an aesthetic appearance.
Silvertie Centre in Beijing is presently the tallest building in China and towers 63 storeys. It has dampers installed to counter the adverse earthquake and wind effects so as to preserve the structural integrity. As for the seismic susceptibility, Beijing can be compared to Indian Seismic Zones 3 & 4. There are many propagandists of high-rises who time and again have written about converting the Indian cityscape to resemble those of Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. It is important for them to realize that all of these cities fall in the Non-Seismic regions and therefore the architects and structural consultants there only take into account the wind effects while designing structures. India on the other hand falls in the seismic belt and therefore should be compared only to cities in Japan, Taiwan, China, USA ( San Andres fault line) etc. In all of these countries there exist stringent guidelines for tall buildings, it is yet to be seen how and with which regulations the authorities in India confront this issue. Some of the other high-profile buildings incorporating dampers are Sky-bridge of Petronas tower Malaysia, JR Tokai Shin Yokohama station in Japan, Jan-Ron Ritz building in Taiwan, 67 storey Park Hyatt hotel in Chicago, Yerba Buena tower in San Francisco, 55 storey Torre Mayor in Mexico, which also happened to win the award for the best seismically engineered structure in 2005 after the structural engineers monitored the building performance during and post an real life earthquake of magnitude 7.6 on the Richter scale which hit just off the coast of Colima, Mexico (January 21, 2003). Substantial Shaking was felt in Mexico City, but Torre Mayor performed without a scratch. There are hundreds in the list of buildings incorporating dampers ranging from single storey to the highest that the world has seen, a Google search would bring forth hundreds on your screen.
Fluid Viscous Damping technology is also used to protect bridges. When used in bridges the orifice of the giant shock absorbers is substantially reduced so as to get what is known as Shock Transmission Unit (STU). STUs are very widely used in all types of bridge construction as they not only help in protecting bridges from seismic effects but also reduce costs by facilitate load sharing amongst various sub and super structure components. Sutong Changjiang river bridge which also happens to be the worlds longest cable stayed bridge uses these devices extensively and so does Nanjing 3rd Crossing bridge which has the title of the second largest cable stayed bridge to its credit. A glance at the photographs/ rendering of these bridges cannot but take our minds to the striking similarity to the Bandra-Worli sea-link. It is to be seen as to what safety standards the Government insists on this project. The metro projects in Seattle and Taiwan also make extensive use of this technology i.e. Seattle Central Link Light Rail and Taiwan High Speed Rail; however we do not come across this technology being used in Delhi which lies in Seismic Zone-IV. Taylor Devices are the leading manufacturers of Fluid Viscous Dampers for the earthquake protection of buildings and Shock Transmission Units for protection of bridges and flyovers.
A Review Of Johnny Chan vs. Joseph Hachem
In case you come from east and want to be as famous as the ‘Orient Express’ Johnny Chan in the poker circuits, then you really need to hone up your skills in the game of poker. Johnny Chan was born in Guangzhou in the year 1957, and then his family moved to Hong Kong in the year 1962. Soon after that his family shifted to Phoenix Arizona, and then they finally moved to Houston Texas in the year 1973.
Johnny was quick to adapt to the American culture and by the age of sixteen, after that there was no looking back. He started playing poker professionally with the aim to become the best in the field and he achieved his dreams as well.
Johnny Chan was the first Asian who played against the Poker players of the western world and proved his mettle. Johnny Chan won the World Series of Poker Main Event in two consecutive years of 1987 and 1988. He missed the golden opportunity of scoring a hat trick. But till now he has won ten World Series of Poker titles, the last one was when he defeated Phil Laak in the year 2005.
Although he is very engrossed in playing Poker in both national and international events, but still he has managed to maintain his family business and he owns a fast food franchise of his own in the Stratosphere hotel in Las Vegas.
He has also written a number of articles on poker for various magazines; Johnny Cash also consults for various casinos and game makers.
Now let us delve deeper into the life of Joseph Hachem, who was born in Lebanon in the year of 1966 on the third day of November. He was only six years old when his family moved from Lebanon to Australia. Till the year 2002 Hachem was not a poker player, but he had a genuine interest for the game and pursued it with much enthusiasm.
Currently he resides in West Preston which is in the Suburbs of the city of Melbourne. This famed player holds various records in the field of poker. In the year of 2005 when he was participating in the World Series of Poker he started a marathon session of beating different poker players at the same table.
The crowd watched with bated breath as he finished off the hopes of no less than 5,619 poker players, this marathon one sided game continued for fourteen long and exhausting hours. He went back home richer by an amount of ten thousand dollars by the end of the tournament.
Joseph Hachem has earned more than $10,400,000 in live poker tournaments by the year 2007; he holds the second rank when it comes to making the maximum money out of poker within a very short time. He is also the proud owner of the World Poker Tour Title that was given to him on December 2007.
Joseph Hachem is the money spinning wizard who has shown the world that if you have the proper skill, then becoming a professional poker player is a very lucrative career prospect.
Cottages In Cornwall: Where Country Meets Convenience
You walk through the front door, and you find yourself transported into a seemingly new world. The deafening sounds of jackhammers, honking horns, traffic officers’ whistles, and shouting voices that try to rise above the other noises have been replaced by the melodious tune of a happy songbird. Road signs, paved roads, metallic vehicles, angular skyscrapers – all these symbols of the concrete jungle have been replaced by lush green grass; creatures that freely walk, crawl, or hop around; and trees heavy with ripe, sweet-smelling apples. Gone is the heavy, hot, and smelly city air that seems to press down on you like vise. You breathe in deeply, filling your lungs with the fresh oxygen produced by the green world around you. You feel strong, vibrant, and healthy; and why shouldn’t you? Even the most hardcore urbanites around the world can appreciate a getaway to a small house in the country. Cottages in Cornwall allow you to enjoy the great outdoors without missing the conveniences of the great indoors.
Cottage Country
Today, many people are simply crazy about cottages. These structures are less rustic than tents, which are prone to collapsing and depriving you of a good night’s sleep. On the other hand, cottages are also small and simple enough to make your stay more down-to-earth compared to towering hotels. It is fairly easy to find cottages in Cornwall, but where did “cottage” come from? The term originated from the Middle Ages, referring to places that housed farmers and their families. These cotters were servants who had all the rights of citizens, but were still subjects of a lord. Therefore, the first cottages were larger than tinier homes of common peasants. In fact, cottages may have referred not only to a home, but also a barn and some land.
If you visit England, chickens and cows will probably not be accompanying you, so a barn will be unnecessary. However, cottages in Cornwall can still provide you with comfy accommodations that most people during the Middle Ages would never even have imagined possible.
From the Middle Ages to the Middle East
While cottages in Cornwall are renowned the whole world over for their rustic charm, they are by no means rare. In fact, the cottages in Cornwall represent a worldwide phenomenon, as the cottage has spread throughout the world. Whether in regions such as the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia, or the South Pacific, cottages around the world have their own local flavor.
* A traditional cottage in Finland is constructed with logs and is located alongside waterways. As of 2005, there are almost half a million cottages in Finland!
* Canadian cottages are usually situated nearby lakes or the ocean, where hiking, fishing, and sailing are often enjoyed.
* Hong Kong cottages are typically brick buildings with three floors. They often include balconies and an open roof for dining.
Mother Nature Meets the Mother of Invention
While cottages exist around the world, one should definitely experience British cottages which are believed to be the first of its kind. Cottages in Cornwall represent the best that the country has to offer. There is nothing corny about Cornwall cottages! Located in Southwest England, the peninsula of Cornwall boasts of a temperate, moist climate with rich river valleys and a southern coast ideal for subtropical plants. Surrounded by Mother Nature, yet proving that necessity is the mother of invention, these lodgings offer the best of rural and urban worlds. So, even if you stay at the cottages in Cornwall, enjoying the solitude of nature while doing laps in an outdoor heated swimming pool will not be a problem at all!
Behind the name: Connor
The Name of Connor:
Etymology:
Connor probably comes from the Irish name of Conchobhar, and is thought to mean hound lover, dog lover or Wolf lover.
It implies by its meaning someone who is fond of hunting.
Origin and History:
The name is the same as the legendary Irish King, who desired a lady called Deirdre.
Popularity:
The name itself can be used as a first name or surname.
Although it was becoming a bit more popular in 2003/2004 its popularity has fallen again in the records of 2006.
Fascinating Facts:
In the early 1960’s the Commissioner of Public Safety for Birmingham, Alabama was a man called Eugene Connor, nicknamed “Bull”. He ordered police dogs and water hoses to be used as a means of controlling the crowds of civil rights demonstrators.
On September 23rd 2005 there was a report in the New York Sun that there were claims made that Charles Rangel said President Bush is “Our Bull Connor”
Martin Connor was first elected to the State Senate in 1978 and is still there in 2006.
In a book called “Curse Control” by James O’Connor he mentions that the director David Selznick was fined five thousand dollars for the curse word “Damn” used in the film Gone with the wind released in 1939.
It was used when Rhett Butler tells Scarlet O’Hara, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
Namesakes:
The Connor group which has its headquarters in Hong Kong was founded by William E Connor and is a world wide merchandise sourcing organization.
Conner is an area in Aroostook County in Maine, U.S.
Connor is the name of a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
There is also a Diocese of the church of Ireland called Connor.
Connor hardwood Courts makes maple hardwood courts for basketball, volleyball and sports halls.
There is a Conner Hotel in Jerome, Arizona.
Famous Persons:
The Terminator films have got two famous characters, Sarah Connor played by Linda Hamilton and John Connor played by Edward Furlong, also of course acting alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In the T.V. Series Angel, Connor is a “miracle” child the human son of two vampires called Angel and Darla.
Conor Cruise O’brien was an Irish writer and Historian.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman have a son called Connor.
Connor Trinneer plays Commander Trip Tucker on Star Trek Enterprise.
Jason Dolley plays Connor Kennedy in Read it and Weep Disney Character.
Sarah Conner is a German pop/R&B/soul singer-songwriter.
Chris Connor is a famous lady jazz singer, also a clarinet player, she is from Kansas.
William D. Connor is Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Name Variants:
Conchobhar is an Irish name used in Irish mythology.
Conner is an English name.
Coner is an Irish or English name.
Koner is an English name for a boy.
O’Conner is an Irish surname.
MacConnor or McConnor, in Scottish .
Modern Irish translation of Connor is Conchur.
Poker room reviews: Bellagio, Las Vegas
This is a review of the Bellagio poker room, as specified by the title, not a cut-and-paste description of the hotel.
First of all, let me say the Bellagio Hotel is one of the most luxurious in Las Vegas, with magnificent architectural design, both interior and exterior, and a lagoon in front that boasts a breathtaking line of dancing fountains. I walked by one evening and stood fascinated as the fountains danced gracefully sky-high while scores of speakers played Sinatra’s, “Luck Be A Lady.” It was as if Frank himself was walking beside me.
Before I critique the poker room, let me say the Bellagio has a policy that is good for adults who want to lose their money peacefully in the casino and poker room without the distraction of the patter of little feet. You cannot bring a child into the hotel unless he or she is a registered guest.
The Bellagio poker room is one of the most popular in Sin City, and especially on weekend nights. From about 9 pm on, there is at least a one-hour waiting list before you can sit down and start playing. Of course, there is less waiting to get to one of the high-limit games. What used to be unusual for poker rooms, but becoming more prevalent, smoking is not allowed in the Bellagio poker room. I don’t know what the rich cigar-smoking Texas oil barons and Hong Kong drug dealers do about it, except maybe ask to play in the private, really big gamblers’ … the whales … rooms.
The quality of the poker room is regal, probably the most professionally decorated one in Vegas. I’ve watched the play there several times, and it reminds me of a high-class New Orleans bordello, not that I’m that familiar with the genre. It is in two levels, with the lower limit players on a level slightly below the big players.
All the players sit a comfy swivel chairs, and the wait service is fast and luxurious. The daily rate for poker players is $149 weekdays and $219 weekends, with a daily time of play requirement of six hours. Some of the world’s most well-known, big-stakes players drop in from time to time to gamble a few hundred thou or so. I certainly would not advise an amateur to sit in with them unless he’s willing to lose his shirt and life savings.
The Seven Wonders Tour
In my capacity as the UK Director of Operations for One World Tours Limited, I am often asked about the destinations I have been to and how it all began in the first place. 10 years ago I embarked on my second trip around the world and I suppose you could say that this is where it truly all began.
I decided to visit the Seven Wonders of the world in eight days. Firstly I had to decide what actually constituted the Seven Wonders of the World in the end came up with the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Golden Gate Bridge, The Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House and the Pyramids of Egypt. This would notch up a staggering 42,000 miles in 8 just days. The airlines and a chain of leading world-wide hotels thought that it would be a great promotional stunt and sponsored the whole trip so all of the flights and accommodation was free. Sounds like a brilliant blag eh? However nothing was guaranteed and my fate was entirely in the hands of the airlines.
So on the first leg of the trip (18th February) India and the Taj Mahal, I realized that I was on standby tickets and began to wonder if the trip would start at all. I think that once I saw the very beautiful Indian stewardess wrapped elegantly in her red and gold sari, I knew my trip had begun.
Arriving at Delhi airport and in order to continue on to the next stage of the journey I had to find out how much a taxi would cost to take me to Agra and back to see the Taj Mahal. Eventually I was ushered towards a driver willing to attempt to take me the 300 miles in about 8 ½ hours for the price of £130. I remember the name of the driver and the journey to Agra very vividly. Ashok, drove like a madman, honking his horn and driving towards oncoming traffic on dual carriageways in order to help me complete my mission.
On reaching the Taj Mahal, I was very impressed by the stunning creation of love that stood before me, definitely the stuff that fairytales are made of! I did not have too much time, 15 minutes, so I quickly set about taking photographs of the beauty before me that was intended for the publicity for the sponsors. I took enough photographs to prove that I had been there, along with a duplicate set in case the first ones did not come out and then one more lot for luck! The sun was beginning to set and it gave everything around that wonderful orange glow, a fitting end to a brief but memorable experience.Well the high speed car ride back was even more hair-raising as we did the whole thing over again but in the dark this time!
Day two of the trip was to be mostly taken up with flights. I left Bombay after 6am to arrive in Hong Kong (stopping off at Bangkok) at around 3.15pm. I then had to take another flight to Beijing to arrive at 9pm that evening.
I was fortunate enough to experience the beauty of flying into Beijing at night with the added bonus of the magnificent fireworks in celebration of their New Year.
The hotel, the Tianlun Dynasty Hotel was very grand affair with staff spoke limited making it almost impossible to try and organise for a taxi to pick me up at 4am the next morning, to take me to the Great Wall, my next destination. I then had to catch a flight from Beijing to go to Sydney at 11.30am! With the limited communications it was very difficult to get across exactly what it was that I wanted and I had to do drawings in order to communicate. To be honest I did not see much of the Great wall as it was still dark being so early in the morning!
Back to Beijing airport on to Shanghai instead of directly on to Sydney as I had expected . The Quantas crew were very lively, and I assumed that it was because there was hardly anyone else on the flight so they could let their hair down a little. I was even invited to sit in the flight deck as we came in to land at Shanghai.
I arrived at Sydney airport at about 6.30am on the 21st of February. It was all too obvious that I would not be using a hotel until the next day in San Francisco, so I decided to leave my luggage in storage at the airport. I had a whole day to kill in Sydney and the first thing that I did was to catch a bus to Sydney harbour. I took a whole bunch of photographs of the Opera House and its surroundings
To waste a bit of time I went on a cruise of the harbour. I found it very hard to stay awake, the travelling around over the last few days finally catching up with me.
I left Sydney airport about 40 minutes later than scheduled. This was a little worrying because I was supposed to be making a connecting flight in Los Angeles an hour and a half after I arrived!
There was a problem with the next part of the trip. When I had originally planned the trip, I remembered that the international dateline would be crossed, meaning that although having left Sydney on the evening of the 21st of Feb, I would be arriving in San Francisco on the afternoon of 21st of Feb! The people that had rearranged the original schedule had not taken this into account. In effect it meant that I would be arriving one day earlier than was planned, it also meant that I did not have anywhere to stay that night, as I was not booked into the hotel until the following evening! It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I had missed the connecting flight anyway. I eventually arrived in San Francisco in the early part of the evening and took a taxi to the intercontinental hotel.
Having topped up my sleep on the flight over and now feeling refreshed from the shower I felt alert enough to experience San Francisco by night. Thee streets were incredibly steep and I wondered how on earth the parked cars managed to stay in place.
After having a good night’s sleep I got up early and took a cab to the Golden Gate Bridge. I took the necessary photographs and treated myself to an ice cream. As I sat admiring the scenery I overheard someone mention that they could see Alcatraz in the distance. I had no idea until then that Alcatraz was so close and as I had a whole day to waste until my next flight, I decided that visiting Alcatraz was not the worst way to spend the day. Having just missed the afternoon departure I decided that I would take the three-hour evening tour.
I was quite excited about the prospect of actually visiting Alcatraz; it was to be an unexpected bonus to say the least! None of the so -called Wonders had given me such a rush. I had seen the Taj, Sydney Opera House, The Great Wall, The Golden Gate Bridge, but I could not believe that I was going to Alcatraz!
I was allowed to stand in the solitary confinement cells and I found it to be an extremely eerie experience. You could still feel the history that the place was seeped in. I saw the exercise yard and the dining hall and for a grand finale heard the guards slam the cell doors closed. It was dark when I left the island and San Francisco was truly magnificent by night.
I flew out of San Francisco at about 12.30am and touched down in New York at 9pm.
I got up early and traipsed the streets of New York looking for somewhere to have breakfast and then made my way to the Empire State BuildingI walked down to Battery Park and caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
Then from JFK airport New York it was back to London. The flight to London was due to arrive at 6.20am the next morning. It was 40 minutes late and arrived at 7am instead. I had to take a taxi form Heathrow to Gatwick in order to catch the 10am flight to Pisa.
It seemed very strange to be back in England, so much had happened in such a short space of time.
I arrived in Italy at 2.45pm and I had a lovely view of the Swiss Alps as I had been sitting near the window again on this flight. I left the airport and took a taxi to the hotel Granduca which was nestled in the Italian countryside and was very pleasing to the eye after New York. After a quick shower I took a cab to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa where I took the appropriate photos. It didn’t seem possible that I was now in Pisa when hours before I had been in New York. It was very difficult to take in those last few days.
I had to be up at 6am to catch a flight back to Gatwick. It was roughly 6.30pm when I dropped off to sleep. The malaria tablets that I had to take had to be taken at the right time and once a week I had to take an extra one. Can you imagine how difficult it was with all the different times I had been through to make sure when I had to take them? I had to set my alarm to make sure that I took them at the correct time. I awoke at 12pm with a start, took my tablet and I remember telling myself that I shouldn’t have gone to bed so early as I would never get back to sleep now! Next thing I knew it was 5.30am the following morning. That was definitely the most sleep I had had in one go since I had left home.
I was a bit disappointed that I had slept my time away in Italy yet I had needed the sleep to revitalise myself.
When I arrived at Gatwick I took the speed bus back to Heathrow, the place where for me the trip had begun. It became apparent that I had got a four and a half-hour wait until the flight to Cairo. It was the longest four hours of the trip.
Finally the gate number came up and I rushed up to where I expected I would be leaving from for the most exciting part of the trip, the only bit that I was really looking forward to. I discovered that I was on standby tickets and that the flight had been oversold by 50 tickets. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to go another step further.
There was only a handful of people left to board the plane and about ten more minutes to go until the plane was due to leave. I had been waiting for over four hours and was not even sure if there was anything to wait for! I even wondered if I should ring someone to come and collect me to take me home.
I touched down at the scheduled time of 11.15am on the 26th February. I wouldn’t get a proper look at Egypt until the following day. Once booked in to our hotel it proved very difficult for me to sleep that evening as it was like being a kid on Christmas eve, trying to force myself to go to sleep but being too excited to achieve it. The young hotel porter had asked if I had stayed at this particular hotel before. When I answered no, he pulled open the long curtains in the manner of a minor star unveiling a plaque. The modern city of Cairo stood beyond in all of its glory as beautiful as any city by nightfall. The opened curtains exposed a long balcony onto which I was offered to step. The young man seemed proud to show me the magnificent view of the river Nile. I could have enjoyed the stunning view for the entire night but knew that if I didn’t get a good nights sleep I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my time in Egypt to the full the following day. I felt saddened to see the advertisement for coke lighting up the evening sky of a country steeped in so much magical history. It seemed too commercial and somehow disrespectful.
I photographed the stunning sphinx.
The pyramids were absolutely breathtaking. I could not believe that I was only a few feet away from them. I had imagined of this moment so many times in the past. It was everything that I ever dreamed of and more.
I wanted to go to the museum to see Tutankhamen’s mask and after entering the museum, I was totally blown away by the exhibits that up until then I had only seen in reference books.
As I lay my eyes on the mask I found it was more breathtaking than I could ever have imagined.
In the evening I went back to the pyramids to see the sound and light show and I have to say it was the perfect ending to an amazing trip. A dream come true.
I had to be up early to catch the 8.45am flight back to London.
And there you have it. I had caught the travel bug good and proper and I wanted other people to share it too!
Hi-tech Checks in
The information-intensive hotel industry has discovered IT is critical at all points of the business chain
Back then, making travel plans involves many processes. You call up your travel agent and she supplies you with a list of possible hotels, room availability, rates and special offers. You pick the date for the trip and confirm your hotel preference. She then makes the booking through the computer system and off you go. Behind the scenes, she sends a confirmation fax to the hotel with your details. At the receiving end, the hotel will enter your details into their computer system. When you arrive at your destination and you check-in at the front desk, the hotel staff verifies your reservations, assigns you the room and hands you the keys.
Fast forward to today. Technology has caught up with the industry. As the travel agent issues a confirmation to your hotel about your reservation, the global travel distribution system (Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre or Worldspan) will connect to the hotel’s back office and make the appropriate entry, minimizing error and ensuring accuracy of customer’s details.
Hotels have also adopted a more sophisticated system for tracking customer information. Hotels now use data warehouses and data mining tools to better understand their customers’ individual preferences.
The Internet is used to communicate to their business partners — travel agencies, airlines, government tourism boards, cruise liners, car rentals and global distribution channels — and provide updates on room availability, rates and special offers.
Competition for a growing class of travel- and tech-savvy customers has forced hotels to adopt the latest technologies to ensure that partners are updated on the current hotel developments. The Internet has spawned a new segment of customers who use the Web to scout for hotel rooms and seek weekend bargains.
Key component
Chris Hartmann of global hospitality consulting firm, HVS International, said the technology used in the hotel industry has evolved. “To look at the state of technology in hotels and resorts today, it’s important to understand that ‘technology’ today is not simply a network infrastructure, computers and the IT department. Technology is a key component of every aspect of hotel ownership. Management of, and a comfort with, today and tomorrow’s technology is necessary in every department,” said Hartmann, who leads technology strategies for HVS.
Technology investments require well-defined objectives aligned with overall business strategy. Whether it is a hotel redevelopment, acquiring or repositioning hotel assets, scores of decisions require technology insight and operational understanding. Failure to take into account the importance of technology at the onset will result in substantial costs associated with retro-fitting, last-minute implementations, and ongoing operational challenges resulting from poorly selected systems.
CIOs believe that the business of running an IT organization has changed significantly from what it was ten or 15 years ago. Shane Izaks, general manager, information technology at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited (best known as Peninsula Hotels) said to be an effective CIO today, you need to understand the business you are in to get business units to buy into your ideas.
High expectations
“You not only need to understand hardware and software from a systems point of view but from also from a business point of view. This is how IT is able to drive the business. Technology and processes have matured in complexity to the point that understanding the business is paramount to ensuring the successful integration of IT into the business. The CEO, CFO and COO have high expectations of the role that technology plays in the business of running a hotel,” Izaks said.
Today’s business unit manager, CEO, and his management team – CFO and COO – understand the importance of IT and expect the CIO to understand the business so that there is a tighter integration of technology into the business. The technologies today are much more complex and the resulting integration makes for a more successful alignment of technology to business.
Izaks says the question is not whether technology is sophisticated enough to match the business process “The real challenge lies in the IT team’s ability to understand the interdependence of IT and business, and to build processes that would allow for the symbiotic co-existing of two different but interdependent systems,” he adds.
Years ago, hotels had isolated islands of systems that didn’t talk to each other. No one had a single view of the business; financial systems, CRM and bookings were on different systems that didn’t talk to each other, and data was often rekeyed in to spreadsheets to make sense of it. This was the only way for hotel chains with properties located in many parts of the world to have some picture of what the overall business was like.
At that time, no-one was able to know in real-time precisely what was happening in properties within the hotel chain, how the business performed during particular periods, or was able to view and share customers’ profile and service preferences.
Today, technology advances give us the ability to connect the different islands of information and enable us to understand what works, what doesn’t, who customers are and what their buying patterns are. The Internet has become an accelerator for the adoption of sophisticated technology that will enable the delivery of greater customer service and higher productivity.
The Internet and VPN have allowed the connection of different systems, bringing the data back into a central repository and be able to understand what it all means, in real-time.
Lifecycles and priorities
“Those hoteliers who view technology as a cost center and afterthought to the successful operation of any property risk becoming out of touch with their customers. More dangerous, however, is that those who don’t recognize and exploit today and tomorrow’s technologies for their competitive advantage will quickly be overtaken by those who do,” added Hartmann.
But just as Hartmann is right in his assessment of how business managers look at technology, CIOs like Izaks must continue to grapple with the issue of technology lifecycles and priorities. In good times and bad, budgets remain a constant in the life of a CIO.
Identifying the business priorities, evaluating and recommending one standard for the organization, and sticking to what’s been given budget approval are part of the challenge. Advances in technology offer numerous temptations to throw out what’s been approved. But most hoteliers will agree that changing the strategy mid-stream is not easily undertaken.
Technology is changing very rapidly. Things get replaced faster with each refresh and the rate of will even be faster in the future. Just as technology is an enabler of new business, it is also becoming an inhibitor. Izaks laments that the inhibitor then becomes getting the right technology into the business, even as that technology cycles through faster than our ability to integrate it in.
“This presents a challenge for the CIO: being able to identify the technology we need, as opposed to what we’d like to have, and allocating budget for it. We have a five-year budget cycle where we look at the technology we purchased last year and track its depreciation on our books. At the same time, we look at our business needs today and start preparing for technologies we might need three or four years into the future. To keep this picture top-of-mind as we work our annual budgets makes for challenging budget planning cycles.”
The hotel industry, like others in the hospitality business, is in a constant state of battle readiness. The two gulf wars, SARS, avian flu, and the Asian financial crisis have forever changed the way the industry looks at its future.
The industry is accelerating the adoption of technology to reap the benefits it has to offer in the shortest possible time. The challenge for managers like Izaks is to stay abreast of the changes, keep an open mind to the future, and be prepared to lead every day, 7×24.
Convergence in a hotel suite
Thanks to the mobile phone, guests today avoid using the hotel’s phone system to place international calls, causing a fall in hotel communication revenues. Because of this hoteliers have come to regard their voice communication infrastructure as a cost center rather than a profit center. In addition, with more business travelers demanding for Internet connection in the room, hotels have invested in data networking. But for how long will hotels keep spending on two different networks?
Shane Izaks believes that convergence is inevitable. “The Internet presents opportunities to introduce new ways to enhance customer experience and thus differentiate ourselves from the rest of the industry.”
Communication technologies allow a certain yet needed differentiation, by offering more and more personalized services to this new wave of guests coming from China, Korea or Russia. Therefore, hoteliers are looking at building up their competitiveness by improving guest services, increase staff efficiency and maximize their return on investment.
Marc-Alexis Remond, director of marketing and business development at Alcatel, points to three beneficiaries of a converging network.
“Hotel guests want personalized services, fast answers, first call resolution and access to advanced communications and entertainment applications. Hotel staff and executives need mobility and collaborative solutions that keep them connected and available, with access to information, in real time and easy interactions with guests and colleagues.
“Everyone wants a highly reliable data and telephony solution that provides consistent user services across the enterprise while benefiting from the maximum operational cost savings for the minimum investment.”
The trick is to identify the right technologies and applications and find vendor-suppliers with a strategy for deploying enterprise IP telephony solutions over any data network (LAN switches, routers, etc), whether provided by themselves or a third party. Staying with standards-based solutions will mitigate the risks of vendor lock-in.
