Your Survival Guy witnessed firsthand on my recent fact-gathering trip to Paris just how taxes can impact the labor force. Obviously, the business world is wiping the Covid crust from its eyes, but there’s a fine line between government assistance that creates value, and that which does not. When taxes are high, and assistance discourages work, there's much less incentive to rejoin the labor market. When speaking with locals in Paris, they told me some workers will never come back to the workforce if they can help it. Do they feel their taxes are allocated well? It’s a simple question. It’s … [Read more...]

When you go to Paris, and I hope you will soon, you want to hit the ground running. Our planning begins months before we depart, gathering intelligence on places we want to eat and of course stay. One of the key reasons to stay at a palace hotel is for the concierge desk. You know how much we love Le Bristol Hotel and that’s one of the reasons why—the service. In our planning stages stateside, we work with Tara Hyland , ASA, MCC, at Independent Luxury Travel Advisor, an affiliate of Travel Edge, to help get us to where we want to go. Well before we land, we have a pretty long list of … [Read more...]

You know, it's the little things in life that matter. At Le Bristol Hotel, it's the ornate China used for your morning cappuccino. Or it’s the place setting that's perfectly adjusted to make room for a late arrival to your party, whose alarm apparently never went off, making it "no inconvenience at all monsieur/madame." A visit by Madame Marshall inquiring about your dinner the night before and plans for the day makes one feel as special as the most beautiful café setting in all of Paris. Talking with Jean Marie in the lobby before heading out to the rough and tumble St. Honoré gives you … [Read more...]

I just want to get this bit of intelligence out to you from my recent three-week research trip to Paris. As I wrote to you yesterday, Paris is open for business, but it feels more like a soft open, with staffing shortages being the main reason. In my conversations with locals, they tell me that in France, the government takes care of you when you’re not working. One even explained how Covid gave him the “opportunity” to spend more time with family, and he didn’t miss work one bit. Swell. He’s back to work now, but there are plenty of workers who aren’t and who may never return to their “old” … [Read more...]

OK, Your Survival Guy just got back from a two- and half-week research trip in Paris. The six-hour head start in Paris-time compared to the east coast gave me plenty of time to gather my thoughts over a café crème and croissant. In a word, Paris is busy. But it’s not too crazy yet with the demanding Chinese customer still in lockdown. It feels like a soft open. Staffing shortages are rampant while customer demands are as high as ever, understandably acting like they’ve been locked up for a couple of years. But it’s all relative. Because when you spend nine of your nights on the right bank, … [Read more...]

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Originally posted on July 3, 2019. UPDATE: Travel is obviously a harrowing option at this stage in the COVID-19 scare, with France especially hard hit by lockdowns and mandates. Once this is over, Your Survival Guy is looking forward to digging into one of these beauties as soon as possible.  When you land in Charles de Gaulle airport, taxiing to the gate can feel longer than the flight. It’s big. And if it’s not a long taxi, it means you might be closer to home than the gate. That was us on this trip. And unfortunately, before deplaning we had to wait until the wheelchairs were … [Read more...]

In Paris recently, I saw the sad but determined looks on the faces of the Yellow Vest protesters. They are angry about France's decreasing competitiveness, and that their jobs are being threatened or eliminated. Every Saturday for months now they have assembled in France's cities to mark their discontent, and they have received little in the way of a response from the Macron administration. The influence of the Yellow Vests and other unhappy Frenchmen was apparent in the recent EU parliamentary elections, in which President Emmanuel Macron's party was trounced by that of nationalist … [Read more...]

Does it make sense to take your children to Paris? In their teenage years, communication is a barrier—never mind the language—and keeping everyone happy can be a challenge. On day two of our recent trip for example, after his breakfast of waffles and chocolate croissants, my son Owen asked about our plan for the day. Our plan? Really? I told him his Mom and I were going to lunch at Joel Robuchon’s, and he and his sister would be going to Café Bonaparte with Nanna and Grandpa. “Let’s rent scooters,” he suggested. I looked up and shook my head no. “Dad,” he said, in a … [Read more...]