Tag: Hotels
Update: Starwood Closing Virtual Aloft Hotel in Second Life
by Michael Yessis | 08.02.07 | 11:21 AM ET
That was fast. Last year, Starwood created some buzz for its new Aloft hotel brand by debuting an outpost in the virtual world Second Life. Now, according to the Los Angeles Times, the experiment is over. “There’s not a compelling reason to stay,” said Brian McGuinness, vice president of Aloft, a part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. McGuinness says the virtual property did serve a purpose—the idea for radios in the showers at real-world Alofts, among other things, came from suggestions by Second Life users.
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Yahoo! BuzzTabloid Travel Headline of the Day: ‘My 5-Star, High-Tech Hotel Hell’
by Michael Yessis | 07.24.07 | 2:54 PM ET
Egad! What could the problem possibly be? Bed bugs? An unearthly scent not masked by the sweet scent of ‘unattended service’? No HBO on the tube? Nope. New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams just cannot handle the universal light switch in her plush hotel room. “Activate it and everything goes off,” she writes. “Everything. Ev-er-y-thingggg!”
The Ikea Hostel: Norway’s New Take on Sleepover Tourism
by Julia Ross | 07.16.07 | 2:45 PM ET
Though Ikea has reliably provided me with inexpensive towels and silverware over the years, I’ve never looked forward to spending a Saturday trekking to one of its warehouses. So I was surprised to read in The Guardian that Norwegians consider the stores a destination, a must-see on the summer travel circuit. Now Ikea is capitalizing on this interest by turning hotelier, at least temporarily. This month the company will open a one-week overnight hostel at one of its Oslo locations, where up to 30 shoppers will have the chance to bunk down in-store each night, sample the cafeteria’s Swedish meatballs and wrap themselves in bargain-basement Ikea bathrobes, all free of charge.
Leo Hickman: In Search of the True Cost of Travel
by Frank Bures | 07.13.07 | 8:44 AM ET
Are travelers destroying cultures, economies and the planet? Are they making the world a better place? Frank Bures chats with the author of "The Final Call" about the ethics and consequences of world travel.
Seville Hotels Offer Siesta Rates for ‘Iberian Yoga’
by Terry Ward | 07.12.07 | 11:13 AM ET
Hotels in the southern Spanish city of Seville are looking to lure beach tourists to their scorching inland city this summer by offering “siesta rates,” with rooms discounted 30 percent during the hottest hours of the day—between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. “The siesta is making a comeback, recycled for the modern world as ‘Iberian yoga,’” Elizabeth Nash writes in The Independent. “Far from the afternoon snooze that consumes valuable working time, Spain’s siesta is being rebranded as essential for spiritual wellbeing and a balanced life.”
Sledgehammer-Wielding Spaniards Destroy Hotel Rooms
by Jim Benning | 07.03.07 | 1:26 PM ET
The few dozen Spaniards weren’t revolting against high-priced rooms at the Madrid hotel. They were the winners of a contest sponsored by NH Hotels, which is planning to renovate the property. About 200 people entered the contest and psychologists selected the winners—if you can call them that. Apparently they were particularly in need of stress relief. Reports the BBC: “The winners included top executives and a working mother who said she simply wanted to hit something.” So how was it? Ignacio, a demolisher worked up about the high cost of living, told El Pais: “Ha sido una experiencia muy buena.”
Has Paris Hilton Tarnished the Hilton Hotel Brand?
by Jim Benning | 06.28.07 | 1:07 PM ET
Last weekend I found myself on the poolside lawn of a Hilton hotel in Carlsbad, California, visiting out-of-town friends staying there. We were watching “Happy Feet” under the stars—their young boy was munching all-you-can-eat popcorn, riveted by the talking penguins on the hotel wall—and I was thinking about Paris Hilton. Her imprisonment was winding down, and I wondered whether her transgressions were having any impact on business at Hilton hotels. Did anyone who’d made a reservation associate the hotel chain with the infamous heiress? Were there any empty spots on the lawn that night because some anti-Paris families had opted instead for a Hyatt?
Motel Nostalgia: In Florida, Searching For a ‘Glimpse of Paradise’
by Michael Yessis | 06.11.07 | 1:23 PM ET
Photo by cdale via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
The average cost of a hotel room in the United States has risen to more than $100 a night, but places around the country remain where you can find a room with a little character and prime location for less than that. Among them: Treasure Island, Florida. At least for a little while. Wayne Curtis ventured to the small town near St. Petersburg—and elsewhere in Florida—to search for and chronicle the endangered “towering landmarks” of the ‘40s and ‘50s. His story appears behind a subscription wall on The Atlantic’s Web site, but a terrific audio slideshow is available to all.
Average U.S. Hotel Room Price Tops $100
by Terry Ward | 06.08.07 | 11:01 AM ET
I’m toying with the idea of heading west on an American road trip this summer, but a short piece in today’s USA Today gives me pause. Gene Sloan writes that a milestone has been reached: According to Smith Travel Research, the average U.S. hotel room price now tops $100 per night. To be exact, it’s $102.79. Granted, that figure can vary drastically, depending on the market—from an average of $84 in Detroit to, gulp, $254 in New York City, Sloan writes.
Hollywood’s Latest Hostile Take on Foreign Travel: ‘Hostel: Part II’
by Jim Benning | 06.06.07 | 5:01 PM ET
Don’t you hate it when you check in to a perfectly nice hostel in Slovakia only to find a group of men waiting to murder you? That’s the plot of Hostel: Part II, opening Friday. It sounds downright Turistas-esque. We trust no backpackers were harmed in the making of the film. The shot in the movie poster: boar meat.
Out: Bad Hotel-Room Coffee. In: Gourmet Joe.
by Terry Ward | 06.05.07 | 4:37 PM ET
When checking in to my room at the Jury’s Inn in Limerick, Ireland recently, I noticed a coffee trolley labeled “Il Barista” in the lobby. It was adjacent to the reception desk and had a sleek espresso machine and mini-pastries. Mind you, there was no warm-blooded barista in sight. But my hotel, it seems, was latching on to an emerging trend. USA Today’s Roger Yu reports that access to quality coffee both inside guest rooms and in public hotel spaces is increasingly common.
What’s That Hotel Odor? It’s the Sweet Scent of ‘Unattended Service.’
by Jim Benning | 06.05.07 | 12:40 PM ET
Rudyard Kipling famously remarked, “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” Branding experts hope the same can be applied to hotels—and, more importantly, guests’ memories of their stays in hotels. Early last year, we noted Westin’s efforts to establish a memorable scent reflecting its brand, highlighted by its advertising campaign: “White tea. The calming new scent of Westin.” Now the publication Hotel & Motel Management, which I always start my day with, reports that other hotel chains, from Marriott to Park Hyatt, are spritzing their own branded scents. Sadly, there’s no indication that their approach includes the handy Vend-A-Scent machine pictured here.
Tips on Using TripAdvisor, or How to Not Get the Room Next to the Jackhammering at 5 a.m.
by Jim Benning | 06.01.07 | 6:39 PM ET
Most experienced travelers are well aware of the potential pitfalls of making hotel decisions based on TripAdvisor reviews. Which reviews to trust? Is a negative review legit? Or is the writer simply out to help a competing business? The Wall Street Journal has published a helpful look at the many ways that experienced TripAdvisor users sort through reviews to find ones they can trust. The article’s author, Nancy Keates, quickly moves beyond the obvious tactic of looking for patterns and discarding opinions at odds with the bulk of a hotel’s reviews. What other strategies do readers use?
The Case of the Disappearing $1 Million Hotel Bathtub
by Jim Benning | 05.30.07 | 10:09 AM ET
We like travel-related mysteries, and this is a good one. An 18-carat-gold bathtub that weighs nearly 175 pounds has vanished from an oceanfront Japanese hotel, baffling police. The tub resided in the shared men’s bathroom on the 10th floor of the Kominato Hotel Mikazuki, east of Tokyo. Guests were allowed to use it for free each afternoon, but it was reported missing Wednesday. “We really don’t know how this happened at this stage,” a police official told Reuters. “But what we can assume now is that more than one person was involved in this incident.” Our advice: Even though it’s not exactly their area of expertise, call in the sushi police.
The Roadside Motel: ‘Reinventing an American Icon’
by Michael Yessis | 05.24.07 | 2:41 PM ET
While Route 66 sees the sad decline of countless roadside motels, elsewhere in the U.S. they’re on the rise. “The credit goes to a growing number of ‘boutique motels,’ properties dating back to the 1940’s, 1950’s, and early 1960’s that have been bought and completely reimagined by energetic young moteliers with a clear vision of what makes for not merely comfortable but also memorable accommodations,” writes Charles Gandee in the introduction to a roundup of chic motels in Travel + Leisure.
Route 66 Hotels Face ‘Four-Lane, Divided Highway Called Progress’
by Michael Yessis | 05.21.07 | 4:40 PM ET
More hard evidence of the sad demise of Route 66: The AP reports that “at least 3,000 motels along the route are in various states of repair or disrepair.” They’re now “historical footnotes,” with little or no hope of revival. “Today, many structures that made the road what it was—the diners, family-owned service stations, barbecue joints—have fallen apart,” writes Justin Juozapavicius. “With efforts to fix up these architectural landmarks scarce, time has become the road’s worst enemy.”
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: From Chocolate to Kaiseki
by Michael Yessis | 05.18.07 | 5:09 PM ET
Or, in other words, travelers’ interests this week range from Hershey, Pennsylvania to the streets of Japan. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Magnificient Trees of the World
* The Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, California (pictured) makes the list.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
A Tour of Japanese Cuisine With Spago Chef Lee Hefter
* From the same writers: A look at kaiseki
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Japan’s Latest Budget Accommodation: Internet Cafes
* The nation that brought us the capsule hotel has done it again.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Hershey Honors its Past, Looks to the Future
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
Amsterdam: Telegraph Travel Guides
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Farecast
Most Read Feature Story
World Hum (this week)
Mark Ellingham: Rough Guides and the Ethics of Travel
“Hot This Week” Destination
Yahoo! (this week)
Playa del Carmen
R.I.P. William Becker, Co-Founder of Motel 6
by Michael Yessis | 05.14.07 | 9:23 AM ET
Photo by independentman via Flickr (Creative Commons).
The “6” in Motel 6 famously represents the $6 William Becker and his co-founder, Paul Greene, charged travelers per night when the budget chain opened its first property in Santa Barbara, California in 1962. According to an obituary in the Los Angeles Times, Becker “had been inspired by a monthlong, cross-country car trip from Santa Barbara to his family’s farm in Greenwich, N.Y., in the summer of 1960.” The two founders leveraged their background in building low-cost tract homes, and turned out rooms with no-iron sheets, coin-operated televisions and “shower stalls with rounded edges rather than corners to reduce cleaning time.”
The Dollar-Euro Exchange Rate Blues
by Jim Benning | 05.01.07 | 1:49 PM ET
Travelers are starting to sing it. With such a weak U.S. dollar in Europe—it’s at roughly $1.367 per euro—U.S. travel bookings for summer trips to Western Europe are down 2 to 3 percent, according to USA Today. But interestingly, some European hotels are finding inventive ways to lure exchange-wary Americans. “Luxury hotels such as the Merrion in Dublin, The Capital in London and the Esprit Saint-Germain in Paris offer specials that guarantee room rates in U.S. dollars, shifting the currency exchange risk to the hotel,” the paper reports. “And the Four Seasons hotels in Dublin, Lisbon and Geneva are offering a fourth night free during the peak summer season through Sept. 3.”
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Bestsellers, Bargains and Tiny Bubbles
by Michael Yessis | 04.20.07 | 8:07 AM ET
This week travelers prowled for bargains, studied French culture, got left behind for hours and mourned the passing of Hawaii’s cultural ambassador, Don Ho. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
R.I.P. (and Aloha) Don Ho
Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Online Fares: If It’s Good, Is It Too Good to Be True?
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
airfarewatchdog
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Business Owner’s Guide to Cutting Travel Costs
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* This Week: “French culture 201 for the American traveler”
Top Rated “Your Pick” Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
Istanbul Guerilla Guide
* Lonely Planet TV is still getting up to speed. This video gets the top spot with, as of Friday morning, two votes.