Whether You're Rocking Kicks or Stilettos, Make Sure You Get Our Memo

Yes. We just referenced "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus.

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Best of In-Room Coffee Makers

Inside The Bardessono Resort

Five Best Hotels in DC for Under $150

ALSO: Tips for Using Your Credit Card Points to Book Hotel Stays

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The Space Hotel

The Ultimate Swine Flu Hotel

Lindsay Lohan Brings Drama to Morocco Hotel Opening

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Starwood Offers Up to 50% Off Regular Rates—But You Have to Book Soon

Put this on your weekend “to do” list: think about where you might like to spend the holidays or a winter getaway. If your answer is a Starwood property, and you’re ready to charge what will be a non-refundable rate now, you could save yourself some serious holiday cocktail cash. Until November 10—next Tuesday—you can score up to 50% off the regular rates at a slew of Starwood properties. And while there are blackout dates, there are still some hotels with availability for the holidays. Even better, when you use one of the Starwood property’s online booking pages for this promotion, it will tell you which holidays are still available under the deal at most hotels,

U.S. Occupancy Rates To Climb In 2010, PwC Says

While occupancy and ADR in the last quarter are expected to remain below levels from a year ago, PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that hotel occupancy rates will increase in 2010. However, 2010 ADR is expected to remain below 2009 room rates.

Cernobbio, Lombardy: This Week In Hotel Lust: Villa D'Este, Lake Como

Views of the lake and villa

If comments made in recent months by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are to be believed, then "the recession is very likely over." Most of us continue to scoff in disbelief, and inversely, there are others that may have missed the memo that the economy was in upheaval at all. We're talking about the well-monied types that have continued to swipe their Black AmEx cards with reckless abandon—on Michelin-rated dinners, sports cars, and certainly pricey vacations and hotel suites.

Even for those of us sans trust funds or Swiss bank accounts, reading about what's luxe in the hotel world proves to be endlessly entertaining. It could inspire fantasies about staying

Ritz-Carlton Destination Club Partners With Marquis Jet

The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, an equity-based, luxury destination club, and Marquis Jet, the leader in private jet cards, have forged a new partnership.

New York: Taking The Bad With The Good: Reviews of The Surrey So Far

When we had the chance to check out The Surrey Hotel’s $60-million “re-creation,” we were impressed by the sheer prettiness of the new guest rooms. But not everyone shares our take. Over at the UK site, Globalista Travel Journal, this week The Surrey copped a dressing down for what the nameless reviewer called “a pointless refurbishment.” In the nature of being “fair and balanced,” we decided to compare Globalista’s opinion to recent reviews on TripAdvisor.

Let’s start with those Gloablista grumbles, shall we? The things that ticked them off included: a huge discrepancy in the size of the lowest category Deluxe Salon rooms (some box-like and others spacious, but the same price); the

Hilton Gets In On the Paris Hotel Package Bonanza—With Wine

OK, if it weren’t already obvious that we should be taking a winter jaunt to Paris, here we have yet another Paris hotel package deal that sounds, well, délicieuse. And that's not because of its sexy hotel name.

This time the package revolves around something we find it very hard to resist: French wine. This month is all about Beaujolais Nouveau. And even though it’s the time when your local wine store starts accepting its shipments of Beaujolais, surely a glass or three of the stuff would taste better in the mother land. That’s what Hilton is banking on with its new Wine Lovers package.

Hotel of the Week: The Levante Parliament

The polls are closed, the votes are in (and have been checked by an independent adjudicator), and this week’s elected hotel of choice is Vienna’s parliamentary neighbour, The Levante Parliament… Style: Streamlined chrome cool Setting: Oh, Vienna Why this week? Austria’s opulence seduces with every passing season but this time of year is especially spectacular, because Christmas and [...]

Using MeetingsBooker to increase revenue (Interview with Founder Ciaran Delaney)

From time to time I like to profile startups in the travel industry – to help you see who could be the big players of tomorrow. I’ve known Ciaran through our blogs and Twitter for some time, and when I heard he was traveling from Dublin to San Francisco I jumped at the chance to meetup [...]

CityCenter licensing gets own hearings

The casino licensing for CityCenter has warranted its own separate hearing from Nevada gaming regulators.

STR reports US performance for week ending 31 October

The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 25-31 October 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 7.2 percent to end the week at 51.8 percent. Average daily rate dropped 7.2 percent to finish the week at US$98.99. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 13.8 percent to finish at US$51.28.

STR reports Canada performance for week ending 31 October

In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy decreased 6.7 percent to 55.7 percent, ADR dropped 6.4 percent to CAD$122.77, and RevPAR decreased 12.6 percent to CAD$68.40.

How OTAs boost bookings on your own Web site | By Patrick Mayock

The Choice Hotels-Expedia brouhaha of recent weeks has shined a scorching spotlight on the fickle relationship between hotel companies and online travel agencies. Call it the industry’s version of a celebrity breakup scandal. But while the focus of debate has centered on last-room availability and other contractual terms surrounding room bookings, there’s a fundamental component of this precarious affiliation that’s gone largely ignored: visibility.

ValueClick Shares Went Down

According to a press release from the Associate Press, the ValueClick Inc.’s shares went down last week. The company reported less than expected for this quarter. The A.P. published the following in its report:”On Tuesday, the Westlake Village, Calif.-based company said its third-quarter profit jumped as it cut costs, helping it overcome a 12 percent [...]

Exclusive: AAA's five-diamond restaurant list for 2010

Foodies, do you like to scan lists of the "best" hotels and restaurants to see which one you'll hit next? Here's AAA's 2010 list of best restaurants...

Exclusive: AAA gives more hotels top status - five diamonds - than last year

Today, AAA will announce that it's given its top honor - five-diamond status - to 113 hotels for 2010, AAA told Hotel Check-In exclusively. (See the story I wrote for USA TODAY's print edition.)

U.S. Travel Industry to Add 90,000 American Jobs in 2010

The U.S. Travel Association today announced that projected modest 2010 increases in leisure, business and international inbound travel will enable the industry to add nearly 90,000 American jobs. Leisure travel is expected to rise 2.0 percent, business travel is projected to increase by 2.5 percent and international inbound travel will increase by nearly 3.0 percent. These job gains come on the heels of 400,000 combined travel industry job losses in 2008 and 2009.

Consultants Predict 13 Restaurant and Hotel Food and Dining Trends for 2010

Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. creates high-profile restaurants around the world for hotels, restaurant companies, major museums and other consumer destinations. Based in New York, their projects include the late Windows on the World and the magical Rainbow Room, Equinox in Singapore, the world’s first food courts, and five three-star restaurants in New York, and numerous first-class hotels. Their predictions follow …

Orbitz Q3 revenue fell 22%, blames removal of booking fees

Orbitz posted a quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by lower expenses and more bookings, and said it had received equity investments amounting to $100 million. The company said fee cuts and promotions offset weak demand during the economic recession but that travel demand is starting to recover on its own.

Expedia eliminates booking fees for phone orders

The company eliminated online air booking fees and change fees and cancel fees on all hotel and car rental reservations in May 2009. Cruise change and cancel fees were also eliminated in May 2009 and cruise booking fees were eliminated in October 2009.

Despite Q3 decline, Travelport sees continued strengthening

Travel technology and global distribution firm Travelport reported that global segments were down nearly 5 percent for the third quarter, but said it reached positive territory in the past month.

Priceline, Travelocity and Expedia compete with iPhone apps

Travelocity and Expedia launched their applications earlier this year so Priceline looks like it’s coming late to the game. Not so, said Priceline.com spokesman Brian Ek, who said most of online travel agency competitors are supplying ”reskins” of their websites.

The new rules of international link building

Fundamentally, link building is the same everywhere - which means it’s important to consider the quality of the links, check they’re not no-followed and take a view of the quality of the site from which they come. But there are some new factors to be considered—which Search Engine Land calls the “new rules of international link building.

Analysts call Hyatt shares risky; price climbs after IPO anyway

In separate interviews, Todd Jordan, managing director at Research Edge, and David Menlow, president of IPOfinancial.com, des -More-

Grand Hyatt San Francisco workers walk out after strike authorization

Union members at San Francisco's Grand Hyatt hotel walked off the job on Thursday, representing the first hotel walkout since -More-

$140M Rhode Island resort to replicate historic hotel

A group of investors is pouring $140 million into the construction of a luxurious Rhode Island resort that will be a replica -More-

Yankees' World Series win scores a home run for Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton New York hotel, located in Manhattan near Battery Park, nearly sold out within 12 hours of the end of Wednes -More-

The only event specifically for HR hospitality professionals

Get valuable tips straight from the CEOs of Loews Hotels and Travelport plus updates on new developments in employment law an -More-

113 hotels get AAA's top award

Despite how hard luxury hotels have been hit in the past year by both the economy and travelers' reluctance to appear ostentatious, ...

Memorial Service for Stefan Brecht

Stefan Brecht, who wrote about and performed in the new and revolutionary theatre that erupted in New York in the 1960’s and early ‘70’s, will be remembered at a memorial to be held Sunday, Nov. 8 at 6 PM, at...

SEO tips for new websites

This is a guest article from Ran, an SEO specialist and Hotel Marketing Strategies reader in the UK. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your site to increase the volume of traffic from search engines such as Google, Yahoo, AOL and Bing via natural search results. Fundamentally, the higher your site is ranking [...]

Analysis Is the Key to Making Good Decisions

I recently read a book about General George Custer, famous for being annihilated in Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn before the turn of the 19th century. Custer was a somewhat impetuous, but brilliant, officer. At the age of 23, he was made a Brigadier General in the United States Army and was an important contributor to the Union victory at . . .

Winding down from 2009 WordCampNL – My Heroes – Part 1 The Organization

A rare photo of this photographer in action at WordCampNL. Thank you Henk-Jan Winkeldermaat of PunkMedia.nl, of Flickr | Eventbranche and @Punkmedia ! General I attended the first ever WordCampNL. It stands for a Dutch WordCamp or a WordCamp in the Netherlands. At first I had decided not to go, because I was very very busy. I do have [...]

Post from: Happy Hotelier

Boulud Opening At Mandarin In London

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, will introduce the award-winning cuisine of Lyon-born chef Daniel Boulud to the UK when Bar Boulud opens in the hotel in Spring 2010.

Who reviewed for our Australia/New Zealand guidebook?

Our reviewers for our new guidebook were, as ever, a panel of people we admire and respect, all of whom have impeccable taste, and who we trusted to report back to us on Smith hotels with total honesty. The only thing we asked of them? That they visited each hotel anonymously with a partner and, [...]

Casino operator MGM Mirage loses three-quarters of $1 billion in third quarter

With the economy dragging down real estate values and gambler visits, the Associated Press reports that MGM Mirage lost $750.4 million in the July-September quarter.

Interval Profiles Future Timeshare Buyers

Among those familiar with the concept, approximately 2.3 million households state they are interested in purchasing some form of vacation time during the next two years.

MGM Mirage loses $750M as Vegas' CityCenter suffers

MGM Mirage's latest casino project isn't open yet, but a drop in the $8.5 billion complex's value combined with falling revenue ...

Decomposing body stinks up NYC hotel floor for days (yes - days), blogger writes

Thanks to my colleague Kitty Bean Yancey, I'm here to share with you one traveler's account of what certainly must be the most bizarre hotel experience that we've ever encountered... A blogger-musician who goes by the name of Cloudy wrote...

Here's an article detailing and giving access to the Google dashboard. Nice and easy way to navigate all things Google - http://ping.fm/ulu8Y

Cross-dressing man sentenced for threats e-mailed from hotels

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that a man from Hamilton, Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in prison yesterday for threatening to blow up local landmarks, including the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. He often used hotel internet connections to send his...

“A Hidden Gem” or “LAME!!!”? Online Travel Reviewers to Watch out for

In 2007, a traveler wrote the following review of Opus Hotel Vancouver on TripAdvisor: “The GM who thought he was Ian Fleming was a real detriment to a great trip. Shame – let’s hope the hotel sees sense and releases Daniel to make another movie.” Ouch. The comment was a reference to my James Bond namesake [...] Related posts:

Online Reviews: The Bane of Hotels’ Existence or an Unprecedented Opportunity to Engage Travelers?

WP Meetup in Rotterdam

Shortly after the first WordCampNL some WordPress die hards found Lorelle prepared to privately give dome tips and tricks in Rotterdam in what was believed to be the first WP MeetUp of The Netherlands. It was Cool. Again first the photos. The first photo shows the Unilever headoffice in Rotterdam. Behind that was the place of [...]

Post from: Happy Hotelier

Last-Room Availability Not The Norm... Yet

Providing online travel agents with last-room availability is hardly standard operating procedure in the hotel industry, a survey of hoteliers concludes, but the controversial practice is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Refrigerated and Frozen Food Retailer

Refrigerated and Frozen Foods Retailer contains informative, fact-based coverage on all areas of low-temperature foods, from sales tips to display ideas. This publication is key for today's food retail executive. Its recipients are general management, merchandising, purchasing and warehouse professionals.

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Beverage Industry

Each month, it provides an analytical look at marketing distribution, technology, production and other current news issues facing the industry. In depth statistical reports are compiled annually on each beverage market. Other key areas of coverage include packaging/recycling, beverage fleets, merchandising, quality control, computers, fountain/food service, vending and ingredients.

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Partnership Between Mobclix ,Advertising.com & Traffic Marketplace

The mobile ad exchange Mobclix has recently announced its partnership with Advertising.com and Traffic Marketplace. This partnership will bring to these online advertising companies direct access to mobile audiences. Krishna Subramanian, Mobclix co-founder said:“For the first time, online ad networks have instant access to mobile inventory and can provide a one-stop shop for digital media [...]

Priceline substitution spurs star-rating spat

Priceline assigns its "Name Your Own Price" hotel rooms star ratings on a scale of one to five stars, plus an additional resort ...

Occupancy tax update on internet hotel booking: More lawsuits against Expedia and online travel companies (OTCs) over "lost" bed taxes -- Why hotels should care about the transient occupancy tax (TOT) battle

By Jim Butler and Jim Abrams | JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
3 November 2009

Hotel Lawyer: The transient occupancy tax litigation by cities and local governments continues to mushroom.

On November 3, Florida filed one of the first lawsuits against Expedia and Orbitz for lost bed taxes, but using the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Although October was a big month in the OTC battles, November may be even bigger. Today, we are going to look at the latest litigation filings and what they mean.

F&B Trends, Buzzwords For 2010

Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co., creators of high-profile restaurants around the world, offer 12 food and beverage trends and the buzzwords for 2010.

Bathtime at the Baglioni Hotel

It can be tough sometimes, working for boutique travel experts, whose daily tasks include jetting around the world, seeking out glamour-soaked hotels in wow-factor destinations. No really, it can. Especially when said work involves testing out our luxurious hotels’ facilities, just to check they are still as top-notch as ever - the spa for instance, [...]

Making sense of mobile distribution options for hotels

Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with product managers at all the major travel industry mobile players. Interestingly, their preference for distribution options ranges from “it doesn’t really matter” to “it really DOES matter”. Without naming names, there seems to be agreement on the advantages to both platforms: Mobile websites: Updates are instantly [...]

Extended Stay Stays Hot

By most measures that matter, it seems as though extended stay is still the best segment in which to own a hotel. According to new research from The Highland Group, while the segment endured a 7.2-percent increase in supply in the third quarter, it posted a modest (1.7 percent) increase in demand, a milestone the [...]

Hotel Managers have to be Critical and see Everything

A proud hotel manager showed a couple of fellow hoteliers an me the finest rooms of the hotel. I noticed this curtain hanging loose and took this picture. I was utmost amazed that the hotel manager didn’t notice it and didn’t apologize with a: “Oops I’ll have to put maintenance on notice…” which I would [...]

Post from: Happy Hotelier

FoodPacific Health & Nutrition Technology

Special focus on Nutraceuticals and Cosmeceuticals, two of the fastest developing segments, provides a forum to introduce the latest developments and trends in functional ingredients, products and business practices to the industry and the market.

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Brewing in China

Published 3x a year in Chinese and English, Brewing in China reaches manufacturing decision makers who plan the purchase of machinery, materials and execute manufacturing strategies, and plant managers who evaluate and make recommendations, as well as R&D staffs, scientists who create, test and evaluate products.

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Winter vacation homes: Tips for renters and owners

Winter is a traditionally slow season for vacation home rentals. But if you're a would-be renter, you can score terrific bargains.

10th Annual Dux in Tux

On October 28th, Hilton Anaheim hosted the 10th annual “Dux n Tux” gala, benefiting the Anaheim Ducks Foundation. The mission of the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, is to facilitate and support programs that support positive change for children and families throughout Southern California, by providing educational opportunities , broadening access to the sport of hockey and [...]

FoodPacific Manufacturing Journal

FoodPacific Manufacturing Journal facilitates faster communication between buyers and sellers through its comprehensive range of reader services. Their editorial team includes International Food & Beverage Ingredients News for China, China Food Manufacturing Journal and Modern Food Processing, and industry professionals throughout S.E. Asia.

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Qype Explains How To Build a Positive Online Reputation

Qype is a local review website especially popular in Europe, but with reviews in cities around the world. While TripAdvisor may have more worldwide reviews at the moment, it’s important not to underestimate networks like these. While living in Europe, I found Qype more useful and informative for my own travels. In this interview, I talk [...]

New for November: fabulous French finds, and Firmdale do New York

The French may be busy fermenting grapes and bringing out the Beaujolais, but while they’re up to their elbows in viticulture, we’ve brought in a harvest of our own: the cream of France’s boutique-hotel crop… Washed up on the shores of southern Brittany, we found Le Lodge Kerisper, a cosy portside cabin in the sailing [...]

Nashville Concert: Everybody knows that Leonard Cohen is your man

Just in case you think that all I listen to is country music and honky tonk, I’m here to tell you that my tastes are far broader than that. That’s right; Dora and I are going to see one of the old masters at Andrew Jackson Hall (a great venue, BTW) on the fifth of [...]

Technology Companies Launch Big Advertising Campaigns

The Wall Street Journal has recently published and article in which it reveals how the big search engines have been investing more money in online advertising to overcome the global crisis. The article said:”Companies such as Google Inc. have recently embarked on major ad pushes. This month, Google rolled out globally an ad campaign to [...]

Guest Comes Clean on Ghostly Sighting at Chelsea Hotel

hi, this is Matt, the guy who wrote about this experience. I'm sure that it's hard for people to imagine something like this happening, but I have no reason to fabricate a story such as this. FWIW, I've been completely...

Hotel Packages – How Can They Be Successful?

Creating a hotel package is one thing, selling them successfully via the various channels is another thing. Approximately 99% of all hotels worldwide offer hotel packages to their guests, starting from basic packages like accommodation, breakfast and including a variable item like a drink at the hotel bar, a VIP-set-up, a bottle of champagne in the hotel room, a dinner or lunch or a spa treatment to extra-ordinary themed packages or destination packages where tourism products and items within a

Hotel Occupancy Tax Alert: online travel company suits over transient occupancy taxes raise - 5 things every hotel owner and operator needs to know

By Jim Butler and Jim Abrams | JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
1 November 2009

How Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and other online travel companies (OTCs) create huge headaches for owners and operators on their suits over hotel occupancy taxes.

Billions of dollars of hotel rooms have been sold through the online travel companies or OTCs. Generally speaking, no transient occupancy taxes (TOT) or bed taxes, have been paid on the portion of these sales kept by the OTCs when they resell the rooms to hotel guests. The exposure on these unpaid hotel bed taxes easily exceeds $100 million -- before interest and penalties.

Until now, most of the press has focused on the lawsuits brought by more than 200 local governments against Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and the other third party internet hotel booking companies. As many of these lawsuits now reach final resolution, some cities have announced that if they don't win against the OTCs, they will take aggressive action to collect these lost bed taxes from the hotels themselves. And OTCs have said that if they lose, they may come back against the hotels.

Who will be the biggest loser in this high-stakes poker game, and how did we get here? If you think you already know that, then skip to end of this article to see if you also have a firm grip on the "5 things every hotel owner and operator needs to know."

2009 WordCampNL Photos

I’ve finalized the uploading to Flickr of the photos I took at WordCampNL. I will devote one or two posts to the camp later. For the moment I leave it with posting this slideshow. The reason I link to my own stream and not the entire pool is that it is chronologically organized from the [...]

Post from: Happy Hotelier

More Evidence of the Paranormal at the Chelsea Hotel

During a recent trip to the Big Apple, my friend and I decided to call the Chelsea Hotel home for 4 days. It has always been a secret fantasy of mine to stay here and my friend was just content...

Miss Outrigger on the Lagoon – Fiji Moreen Sharma Crowned Digicel Coral Coast 2009 Queen

By Una Murray The annual Digicel Coral Coast Carnival was held from 17 to 24 October, and included a float parade and various performances throughout the day. The event finale was the much anticipated crowning of the Miss Digicel Coral Coast Queen. The competition for the crown was strong this year, with six Queens vying for [...]

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The Canoe Analogy

By Ka‘ipo Ho I am attending Kapi‘olani Community College’s Ho‘okipa Me Ke Aloha Hawaiian cultural immersion program, and we recently completed a segment on the wa‘a, or Hawaiian canoe, that was both refreshing and a timely reinforcement of what the canoe symbolizes in Outrigger Enterprises’ culture. First of all, Outrigger’s namesake is the original Outrigger Canoe Club [...]

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Honoring Those Who Serve

By Dr. Richard Kelley At Outrigger and OHANA hotels, we have a long tradition of supporting the men and women who serve our country in the U.S. armed services – Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard – and, as we approach Veterans Day, November 11, it is appropriate to review that [...]

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Outrigger Reef Lauded by Waikiki Improvement Association

By Nancy Daniels On October 22, more than 300 visitor industry professionals, government officials, and other invited guests gathered at the Royal Hawaiian Theater for the Waikiki Improvement Association’s (WIA) annual meeting, during which winners of the Ho‘owehiwehi Awards were announced. Walking away with one of three Ho‘owehiwehi Lihi Awards presented that afternoon was Outrigger Hotels [...]

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Employees of the Quarter Honored - Third Quarter 2009

By The Human Resources Service Center The Outrigger ‘ohana gathered at the OHANA Waikiki East on Tuesday, October 27, to honor and recognize Employees of the Quarter for the Third Quarter of 2009. David Carey, Barry Wallace, Dr. Chuck Kelley, and Department Heads extended their congratulations and offered words of praise to all of the distinguished [...]

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Hotel of the week: The Hazelton Hotel

This week, we’re donning our snoods* and heading to Canada, home to mountie, moose and maple. Toronto is a shimmeringly clean city of towering high-rises, and, in winter, has that kind of fresh chilly air that makes you glad to be alive (and wearing a coat). It’s a also a great place to do your [...]

Two Sides To the Battle With OTAs

It’s encouraging to see the hotel industry take the offensive in its latest battle with the online travel agencies. Special kudos to Choice Hotels President Steve Joyce, who refused to blink in face of Expedia’s extortionist demands during negotiations for a new contract to represent the brand’s properties on the OTA site. According to recent [...]

Online Ad Spending in Europe

Western Europe is relative new in the online advertising world, however, 2009 seems to be a promising year for this region. The two countries that are relative mature in this market are Germany and France, while Spain and Italy have been slowly getting into the market. Nicolas Bmbourg, in his report from Reportlinker, he [...]

Nashville Attraction: Take a stroll down the Music City Walk of Fame

When I was just a tyke, my parents took us out to California. I don’t know if I’ve been as excited for a trip in my entire life. We went to Disneyland, the La Brea Tar Pits (how that ever got to be a popular tourist destination, I’ll never know). But, for some reason, the [...]

How Radian6 Monitors Social Media (Tom Hasselman explains)

With so many social media options available, it can be very hard to keep track of your hotel’s online presence. A software tool can make the process simpler and more effective, and Radian6 is among the industry leaders. I recently met some of their team at Blog World Expo, and asked Tom Hasselman a few questions: Can [...]

Mysterious Skeleton Haunts the Chelsea Hotel

Dear Ed, My mom, sister, and I stayed at the Chelsea hotel a few weeks ago. The three of us decided to take a spur of the moment trip to New York before I had to go back to teaching...

I have Greenland followers on @hotelblogs

Just checked where my followers on my Twitter account @hotelblogs are coming from - thanks to @RobertKCole for sharing this nice application, Twitter Analyser - and just discovered that I have 83 followers from Greenland !!! More than in France....

“Punch the Monkey” Ads

According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, the annoying “punch the monkey” ads will disappear for ever. The “punch the monkey” ads are a “class of flashy, shaky, maddening advertising collectively” online ads. Nicole Jordan, spokeswoman for the Rubicon Project said: “Premium publishers are becoming a lot more discriminating about the quality [...]

Woman Haunted by Mysterious Disemboddied Head In Mirror at Chelsea Hotel

Hi, I am writing to share a recent experience I had at the Chelsea Hotel. I was hoping to post my story and get some feedback to see if anybody has experienced the same: ______________________________________________________________________________ My boyfriend and I decided...

The Hotel Show - Season 3, Episode 5 (Travel startups, WTM, TBC)

This week episode covers the competition between 10 travel startups last week on HB, World Travel Market with GetFunded Show and Travel Blog Camp. Thank you for our partner HotelsCombined for supporting The Hotel Show. If you would like to...

Last Look at the LBHDC

In case you missed any of the past week’s worth of stories on our Lifestyle/Boutique Hotel Development Conference, here’s a quick summary with links. The event was a great success and I hope if you didn’t get a chance to check it out in person, these stories will help give you an idea of what [...]

Caribbean resorts toss in a bouquet of wedding freebies

Couples who book a high-level room at Sandals and Beaches get a complimentary wedding designed by Martha Stewart.

Exceeding Expectations – Every day, Every time – by Fritz Gubler

We kick off a new series of articles (an e-column!) by veteran hotelier and educator Fritz Gubler. Here is the first installment of the series, called “Exceeding Expectations – Every stay, Every day”. Hope you enjoy it – we look forward to your comments and feedback! Exceeding Expectations: Every Stay, Every Day As a long-time hospitality professional, [...]

Welcome to the USA

Twitter cost London firms £325M a year but you can still have a cigarette break

On my way to a meeting this afternoon, I was reading the free newspaper Evening Standard and noticed this article on why Twitter seems to cost millions of pounds to London firms because of lost productivity with their staff. Apparently...

The Total Package Chef: Schedule Like a Consultant

As a result of the recession, most business staffing models were quickly revised. New efficiencies were discovered and all expenses were scrutinized. Things were happening, productivity was rising, and most staff members were willing to do whatever it took to help employers keep the doors open. Unfortunately, this intensity has stopped at some operations. What [...]

Being a Part of D.C.'s Heritage

As many of you know, our company started out as a small, nine-stool A&W root beer stand in Washington, D.C, more than 80 years ago. We quickly evolved into the restaurant business, opening a chain called Hot Shoppes.

One of our very first Hot Shoppes was in the Columbia Heights neighborhood on 14th Street. The last Hot Shoppe closed its doors years ago, but the memory of that one on 14th Street is being commemorated . . .

Concierge Night!

On Wednesday October 14, Hilton Anaheim played host to over 50 Concierge, from the Orange County Hospitality Industry, as part of Where Magazine’s Concierge Night. According to Heather Howard of Where Magazine, “Your staff did an amazing job. I can’t even tell you how impressed the concierges were–Mix really hit it out of the park. Like [...]

Congratulations to Vipe - Ask the CEO

It has been an intense end of the week last week in terms of traffic and interaction with your votes and comments on the latest Ask the CEO competition to elect your favourite travel startups I have interviewed on Hotel...

Colombia: The Newest Stamp on My Passport

For as many years as I've been traveling, there is nothing like visiting a new country. My passport has stamps and visas for China, India, the UK, France, Spain, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and now, Colombia since we just opened our first hotel in Bogota. I had never been to Colombia before, but the political and economic climate is much improved for travel and tourism.

Our new Marriott near the Bogota airport is owned by Ricardo Poma, who runs a family business a lot like ours. They hold many . . .

Hot Hoteliers Doha – A Fresh Breeze

Doha, Qatar – October 2009: We made it! This time we crossed the 70-mark with 75 hotel professionals attending the 4th Hot Hoteliers networking event at Dunes Bar at the Grand Hyatt Doha. The Grand Hyatt team wowed everyone as they prepared several surprises. The event kicked off at the hotel’s terrace with a nice [...]

NTA Has Some 'Splainin' to Do

In an article published on the NTA website entitled "NTA Takes Message of Opening Cuba to NY Media," the National Tour Association has announced that they are promoting "the freedom to travel to Cuba."Are you kidding me? I have some questions regarding the motives here, especially at a time when so many of us in the U.S. travel and tourism industries are looking for new ways to promote inbound

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Benchmark Hospitality Appoints Robb A. Rybicki Director of Catering for Eaglewood Resort & Spa

Pre-Cuts Are A Good Alternative

On the Call: MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren

Starwood Prices $250 Million Debt Offering

Moxie

Whether You're Rocking Kicks or Stilettos, Make Sure You Get Our Memo

Starwood Offers Up to 50% Off Regular Rates—But You Have to Book Soon

U.S. Occupancy Rates To Climb In 2010, PwC Says

Cernobbio, Lombardy: This Week In Hotel Lust: Villa D'Este, Lake Como

Ritz-Carlton Destination Club Partners With Marquis Jet

New York: Taking The Bad With The Good: Reviews of The Surrey So Far

Hilton Gets In On the Paris Hotel Package Bonanza—With Wine

Hotel of the Week: The Levante Parliament

Using MeetingsBooker to increase revenue (Interview with Founder Ciaran Delaney)

CityCenter licensing gets own hearings

STR reports US performance for week ending 31 October

STR reports Canada performance for week ending 31 October

How OTAs boost bookings on your own Web site | By Patrick Mayock

ValueClick Shares Went Down

Exclusive: AAA's five-diamond restaurant list for 2010

Exclusive: AAA gives more hotels top status - five diamonds - than last year

U.S. Travel Industry to Add 90,000 American Jobs in 2010

Consultants Predict 13 Restaurant and Hotel Food and Dining Trends for 2010

Orbitz Q3 revenue fell 22%, blames removal of booking fees

Expedia eliminates booking fees for phone orders

Despite Q3 decline, Travelport sees continued strengthening

Priceline, Travelocity and Expedia compete with iPhone apps

The new rules of international link building

Analysts call Hyatt shares risky; price climbs after IPO anyway

Grand Hyatt San Francisco workers walk out after strike authorization

$140M Rhode Island resort to replicate historic hotel

Yankees' World Series win scores a home run for Ritz-Carlton

The only event specifically for HR hospitality professionals

113 hotels get AAA's top award

Memorial Service for Stefan Brecht

SEO tips for new websites

Analysis Is the Key to Making Good Decisions

Winding down from 2009 WordCampNL – My Heroes – Part 1 The Organization

Boulud Opening At Mandarin In London

Who reviewed for our Australia/New Zealand guidebook?

Casino operator MGM Mirage loses three-quarters of $1 billion in third quarter

Interval Profiles Future Timeshare Buyers

MGM Mirage loses $750M as Vegas' CityCenter suffers

Decomposing body stinks up NYC hotel floor for days (yes - days), blogger writes

Cross-dressing man sentenced for threats e-mailed from hotels

“A Hidden Gem” or “LAME!!!”? Online Travel Reviewers to Watch out for

WP Meetup in Rotterdam

Last-Room Availability Not The Norm... Yet

Refrigerated and Frozen Food Retailer

Beverage Industry

Partnership Between Mobclix ,Advertising.com & Traffic Marketplace

Priceline substitution spurs star-rating spat

Occupancy tax update on internet hotel booking: More lawsuits against Expedia and online travel companies (OTCs) over "lost" bed taxes -- Why hotels should care about the transient occupancy tax (TOT) battle

F&B Trends, Buzzwords For 2010

Bathtime at the Baglioni Hotel

Making sense of mobile distribution options for hotels

Extended Stay Stays Hot

Hotel Managers have to be Critical and see Everything

FoodPacific Health & Nutrition Technology

Brewing in China

Winter vacation homes: Tips for renters and owners

10th Annual Dux in Tux

FoodPacific Manufacturing Journal

Qype Explains How To Build a Positive Online Reputation

New for November: fabulous French finds, and Firmdale do New York

Nashville Concert: Everybody knows that Leonard Cohen is your man

Technology Companies Launch Big Advertising Campaigns

Guest Comes Clean on Ghostly Sighting at Chelsea Hotel

Hotel Packages – How Can They Be Successful?

Hotel Occupancy Tax Alert: online travel company suits over transient occupancy taxes raise - 5 things every hotel owner and operator needs to know

2009 WordCampNL Photos

More Evidence of the Paranormal at the Chelsea Hotel

Miss Outrigger on the Lagoon – Fiji Moreen Sharma Crowned Digicel Coral Coast 2009 Queen

The Canoe Analogy

Honoring Those Who Serve

Outrigger Reef Lauded by Waikiki Improvement Association

Employees of the Quarter Honored - Third Quarter 2009

Hotel of the week: The Hazelton Hotel

Two Sides To the Battle With OTAs