Conflict of Interest in AAA Hawaii Report?

Honolulu has just made the list of Travelocity’s Top Booked Domestic Destinations. So we too were left gasping when we read yesterday’s AAA report spreadsheet:

Hawaii meals and lodging for two adults: $792 per day!

Beat of Hawaii asks: Could AAA’s financial interests associated with automotive travel have had anything to do with the way in which Hawaii travel expenses were portrayed? Could AAA itself be better served by your taking a domestic motor trip rather than a trip to Hawaii?

I started thinking about AAA and what could have been behind their article and the perception it gave readers. Certainly it could not have been an accident.

1. Is any publicity good publicity? My first thought. The article got a good buzz going on the Internet about AAA. There were articles in The L.A. Times, Houston Chronicle and a total of 27 other sites that I found, and in each, the focus was on Hawaii. So in terms of a marketing effort, perhaps that is just what was intended. The article also contained enough mentions about contacting your local AAA for help.

2. Potential conflict of interest? AAA is a venerable, not-for-profit federation of 60 motor clubs with over 50 million members in the United States and Canada. Being non-profit in no way relates to ethics, nor does it mean that there isn’t a great deal of money and influence at stake.

So exactly what does AAA do and why might they care?

AAA offers a wide range of travel services. Their primary business, however, would appear to be their AAA automobile association memberships, car loans, automobile (and other) insurance, and a car repair network. This speaks to my opening question of whether AAA is somehow biased.

3. Ignorance? Basing their article on rack rates makes no sense. Instead it should have been based on average rates paid. Hawai’i state tourism liaison, Marsha Weinert, said that daily expenditures this year have averaged $358, or less than half of AAA’s estimated cost. AAA spokesperson, Heather Hunter, said that the estimates were “budgeting guidelines” to be used as a travel planning tool. If I followed Heather’s advice, I’d stop planning right away and just stay home!

Recommendation: The deals in Hawaii are many. We continue to point to those that we find, and I have every reason to believe that with the industry trends developing right now, deals will likely even get better as the year goes on.