The wrong sort of customer...

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At the Travel Convention a few weeks ago the very likeable Micky Arison, Chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation and one of the most powerful men in the Cruise Industry looked befuddled as the interviewer persisted with an unusual line of questioning:


The Global Credit crunch means that Cruise companies are struggling to fill their cabins so prices have been lowered to stimulate demand.  A few weeks ago there was a fight involving some of Carnival's customers.  This fight was clearly caused by someone who shouldn't be able to afford a cruise.  Will the economic downturn inevitably lead to the ruination of our holidays as the riff raff sweep in, get drunk, fight and generally spoil it for the rest of us?


I confess I'm paraphrasing a bit but those that witnessed this sparkling debate will confirm that this was not the end of the discussion.  We were then presented with further cast iron proof that only the affluent can be trusted not to sort out their differences with their fists.  The Dorchester Hotel we were told would never reduce its rates to fill its rooms and guess what -  there's never been a fight at the Dorchester.  Poor Micky tried his best to go with flow but it was clear from his expression that this was not the precise line of intelligent questioning he had anticipated.  So, on his behalf, I decided to put this nonsense to the test.


A quick shimmy through Google immediately revealed that in May this year at a Select Committee hearing into the effects of alcohol on behaviour, the Government appointed Professor Touquet (no less), reported a fight that he had witnessed at - wait for it - the Dorchester Hotel.   Continue to the Dorchester web site and you'll find that discounted rooms are indeed available - book to stay during the first two weeks of January and you'll save £110 per night on a standard room. 


And the fight on the cruise ship?  I've checked that out too and it wasn't actually on the cruise ship, it was on the Island of Antigua.  A family from Brooklyn had a disagreement with a taxi driver over the fare.  He decided to take them all to the local police station where tempers flared.


Wrong on all counts then…  There was no fight on the ship; people who can afford to stay at the Dorchester do occasionally fight in the bar; and just like anyone else with perishable goods to sell, the Dorchester will offer up a discount to stimulate demand.


It was left to Micky to bring the debate to a close, 'Fighting isn’t just something that happens to people on low incomes,' he said.  'Whether you earn 10p or £100,000 a week, it often comes down to how much beer you’ve drunk or the circumstances you’re in.  It’s like road rage, it doesn’t matter if you’re driving a Mercedes or a Fiat.'

Well said Mr Arison.

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