On a scheduled day trip to some ruins including Moray and Tambomachyu, both vast and inspiring places in their own right, we were told of flooding in the valleys of the Andes. We saw the devastation first hand in Urubamba in Cuzco region (not the same as Cuzco city where we were staying) earlier that day. In fact, the hotel where we were scheduled to stay that night was effected by the flooding. What we didn’t know was how bad it was.

The massive rainfall, which we assumed to be normal but turned out to be the worst the country had experienced in over 15 years, had swelled the river to the point that it was wiping out crops, local homes, businesses, roads, the train track through the Sacred Valley and bridges. The damage had caused mudslides and trapped over 3000 people at Macchu Picchu, where we were scheduled to visit the next day.

The news hit us like a gut punch. Not only was our trip ruined, but we immediately felt the weight of how worse this situation could become. As a group, we thought about fellow travelers and local guides we had met along the way that were likely trapped in at Macchu Picchu. We worried for our safety, not knowing exactly where we were to go the next day and how we were going to get there. It’s at this time we were more focused on the leadership of our GAP guide, Simon Myburgh, than ever before.

In the lobby of the San Augustine hotel back in Cuzco, we carefully listened to the news, contacted loved ones and decided together that we didn’t have much options at this point other than waiting out the night and attempting to continue on with the tour, if possible.

The next day proved to be worse. Our bus driver, unwilling to take us to our next scheduled stop due to heavy rains and washed our roads in Puno, was the canary in the mine that we needed. The tour in our eyes was over. We needed more than ever to get safe passage back to Lima to ensure we got adequate time to get to our international flights home.

At this time, GAP Adventures, our tour operator had little to report. Checking their website and Twitter account at that time, we had no info from them or through our guide about what to do. Later we discovered they assumed we would just continue on to Puno as scheduled – despite the news coverage of damage and road closures that they now state wouldn’t have effected us. Emails to GAP’s Toronto headquarters were answered with the standard company terms and conditions that basically stated GAP isn’t responsible for a re-scheduled itinerary in the face of a natural disaster. We were told to contact our insurance company and begin the process of a trip interruption claim. This was not the news we wanted.

Acting swiftly, our guide told us that if we wanted to leave Cusco for Lima, we needed to get to the local LAN Airlines office. From there we’d be able to purchase one way tickets to Lima for the next day. (Side note: LAN is a wonderful airline that deserves praise for their efficiency and professionalism in an industry that is sorely lacking it.) Feeling we were being left out in the cold if we didn’t take that option, we agreed.

What happens following that will vary depending on who you talk to. Accusing our guide essentially going rogue, all of our correspondence with GAP Lima to date has amounted only to frustration in trying to lodge a complaint for what we felt was poor treatment given our options. It should be noted that the office was expending considerable resources helping aforementioned travelers who were trapped and needed shelter, food and water. However, the inability for the company to have an immediate and consistent communication with its groups, many of whom were savvy enough to use various channels like Twitter, email and the website to seek out information, was astonishing. During the crisis, wherever we turned we couldn’t get a response on how we should have handled the situation until messages from my Twitter account were finally answered by GAP’s chief, Bruce Poon Tip.

After the CEO got involved things moved much quickly. Reps from the local office were in touch and a series of meetings and assurances of refunds, make-up activities and coverage for our hotel in Lima were promised. Though fulfilling that promise resulted in even more back and forth between offices, with all parties blaming one another, from the head office to the regional office to our trusted guide, who remained the only one who appeared to working in earnest for our best interest.

Safe back home now, it may sound that we were overall dissatisfied with our trip but that couldn’t be further from the truth. GAP is an acronym for Great Adventure People, and that’s who we got to be in a beautiful country with a rich history and a strong people. The tour company’s efforts to aid those most effected by the disaster continue to be a success and our group all reached our destinations safe and sound. GAP’s head of operations has even agreed to meet with me to understand how they can improve their communication strategy to avoid the type of situation our group faced.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be booking my trip from a different brochure the next time around. But I’ll know that no matter what’s in the pages, nothing is guaranteed. Which is fine by me.

More proof that low-budget, high-design makes for big profits. Motel 6 is projecting a 100% increase in bookings next year thanks to a down economy and a great redesign from the creator of Virgin Airline’s airplane cabins.

Read more at Dwell

As of today’s keynote address at Macworld, iTunes is now DRM Free. This means Apple and music labels no longer care what you do with your purchased music: Share it with friends, listen to other iTunes libraries without being prompted to login with someone else’s credentials, put it on your Zune, put the entire library in a suitcase and take off for Mexico. About 2 millions songs are still not DRM free, but Apple is promising the entire catalog will be before April.

What this also means is that deejays, like myself, can finally purchase and manage a music library that will work with Serato’s Scratch Live system. American deejays (and consumers in general) have had this luck with Amazon over the last year already but finally now Canadian (and international folks I’m assuming) have the luxury of moving over into the digital age without any strings attached.

iTunes music will still be in AAC format (although encoded at a higher bit rate than before). It may not be as ubiquitous as MP3s, but the file size is a lot smaller for a similar quality MP3 (if you care about any of that).

For the masses this means the world’s largest music store just became more relevant. It’s about time too.

For me, it’s one more weapon when arguing about what the the best mobile phone is at dinner parties.

JetBlue is unveiling their brand new Terminal 5 at JFK International Airport today. This is the latest step by the airline to get back to being what I call the H&M of the sky; a discount brand that focuses on innovation, style and service.

After suffering a setback last year, JetBlue seems to be back on track when it comes to delivering a premier customer experience, evidenced by the new terminal’s focus on wayfinding and convenience.

And keep in mind, customer experience isn’t all about the customer. To paraphrase Senator Obama, having CX at the heart of your corporate strategy helps both Main St. and Wall St. Check out JBLU since I last blogged about them.

Check the T508 Live blog here for the full play-by-play of today’s events.

Update: Official Flickr set here.

Update: MarketWatch has a great article about the innovative new terminal, including it’s successes in creating a friendlier travel experience.

Guided by JetBlue’s identity as a high-value carrier known for thoughtful details such as leather seats and extra legroom on board its jets, T5 incorporates customer-friendly elements such as splashes of bold color, abundant natural light, both lounge-like and traditional seating at gates, free Wi-Fi throughout, customer service zones in every concourse, food ordering capability at the gates, and a visual paging system for a quieter terminal less reliant on constant audio paging.

Great article here about how Altec Lansing is banking on design to help improve the bottom line.

Normally, I write off these stories as desperate last ditch attempts from stuffed-shirted CEOs who see Apple making “pretty” products and want to capitalize on it by doing an aesthetic redesign vs a true re-thinking of their product line. Dell, I’m looking your way. (Side note: ALA can enlighten you on what a true redesign is all about using web as the example platform.)

However, Altec’s parent holding company Plantronics has engaged their VP of Corporate Design, Darrin Caddes, to oversee the makeover. Caddes is the creative force behind the redesign of Plantronics Bluetooth headsets which are now hailed as some of the best on the market, not just for their looks but their attention to ergonomics and sound quality. (Though I still think I’d look like a douche wearing one.)

I’m eager to see if a new, design-driven corporate strategy can turn things around for Altec Lansing and put them on top of their game.