Regardless of how much time you spend outside in the sun, sand, and surf when you’re on vacation, you still want to be able to end your day in a bed that is nice and clean. Yet some guests at a popular Bahamas resort say they were attacked by a colony of bed bugs living in their hotel room. [More]
hotels
How To Check Your Hotel Room For Bed Bugs Before You Start Itching
By 12.27.16
Bed bugs aren’t in the news on a daily basis like they were a few years ago, but they’re still with us, ready to travel from infested areas back to your home. You can avoid them in part by not bedding down or stashing your luggage anywhere that’s infested. [More]
Don’t Want Alexa Listening In Your Wynn Las Vegas Hotel Room? Unplug That Echo
By 12.14.16
At first, it might sound pretty cool that the Wynn Las Vegas will be adding Amazon Echo speakers to every hotel room. hotel room. In fact, the idea of a voice-controlled assistant in your room may be something you see as a positive — but it could also be a bit creepy to think that the always-listening device is sitting by your bedside, hearing everything you do while alone (or not) in your room. [More]
Why You Might Not Find A Bible In Your Hotel Room Nightstand
By 12.5.16
There are several things a traveler expects when staying in a hotel: that room service is available, the beds won’t be as comfy as your own, and there will be a Bible in the nightstand. Guests of Marriott’s latest hotel chains — Moxy and Edison — can remove the latter expectation from their list: the chain won’t include the holy book in rooms. [More]
Travelers Can Now Earn Delta Miles When They Book An Airbnb Stay
By 11.2.16
Following in the footsteps of fellow carriers Qantas and Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines says it’s also teaming up with Airbnb to reward travelers who book stays through the home-sharing service. [More]
West Elm Launching A Hotel Chain Where Guests Can Test Drive Furnishings, Buy Online
By 9.26.16
Ever looking inside a West Elm catalogue and just wanted to curl up on the masterfully made bed or read a book on stylish chaise? Soon you can, as the home furnishing company plans to launch a chain a boutique hotels instead of more bricks-and-mortar stores. [More]
Trump Hotel Group Settles With NY Attorney General Over Credit Card Data Breaches
By 9.23.16
In the wake of two data breaches at hotels operating under the Trump Hotel Collection umbrella, the attorney general for the state of New York has reached a settlement with the company that involves a small financial penalty and promises of improved data security. [More]
Marriott Preparing To Battle Expedia, Priceline With New Starwood Assets
By 9.22.16
With online travel agency options whittled down following the $1.6 billion Orbitz-Expedia merger in 2015, and hotels already offering customers perks for ditching the third-party travel sites, it might be hard to imagine the rivalry between the likes of Expedia, Priceline, and major hotels could get more contentious. But it apparently can, and is about be thanks, in part, to the completion of a mega-hotel merger between Marriott and Starwood Resorts. [More]
Historic Inn Offering Amnesty For Guests Who Pilfered Items In The Past
By 9.19.16
If you’re the kind of person who may, ahem, “accidentally” walk off with more than a few free bottles of lotion when you check out of a hotel, this message could be for you: a historic inn in Massachusetts is asking that guests (or their descendants) return any property they may have taken in the past, no questions asked. [More]
Google Debuts Personalized Travel Planner Dubbed “Google Trips”
By 9.19.16
As anyone who’s ever found themselves standing around a police station in Spain at 3 a.m. calling mom back in the U.S. for their own hotel info can attest, it can be really tough when you’re lost in a foreign country or city without an Internet-connected device. Google wants to make those kinds of experiences easier and help travelers coordinate their activities with a new travel planning app called “Google Trips.” [More]
Kimpton Confirms Credit Card Info Stolen From More Than 60 Hotels
By 9.1.16
In July, boutique hotel chain Kimpton revealed it was investigating indications that its credit card payment system had possibly been the latest to fall victim to a data breach. Now the company has confirmed the bad news, announcing that the payment terminals at dozens of Kimpton hotels, restaurants and bars were compromised for nearly six months. [More]
Netflix Is Coming To More Hotels Near You
By 8.18.16 — Updated: 10.6.16
Who wouldn’t want to catch up on a few episodes of House of Cards or Stranger Things while biding time in your hotel room waiting out your latest business trip? A new partnership between Netflix and in-room entertainment platform Enseo means chances are better that you’ll be able to do just that. [More]
Data Breach At 20 Hotels In 10 States May Have Exposed Guests’ Payment Card Data
By 8.15.16
The operator of several hotels across 10 states and Washington, D.C. — including Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt and Intercontinental locations — says guests may have had their payment data exposed by hackers who targeted the businesses with malware starting last year. [More]
Homeowner Says Airbnb Guest Did $25K In Water Damage, May Have Shot Porn In Her House
By 8.10.16
We’re not saying this is the way things should be, but it’s the way things are: If you’re going to use Airbnb or some other service to rent out your house like a hotel, you need to know there’s a chance that the people you let stay in your home while you’re away might also see it as nothing more than a hotel room they can mess up and leave behind. [More]
Kimpton Hotels Investigating Possible Credit Card Breach
By 7.26.16
You might not be familiar with the Kimpton chain of boutique hotels, but we can guarantee that a lot of business travelers (and the folks in their companies’ accounting departments) are now keeping an eye out for odd activity on their credit cards after news of a possible payment card data breach affecting multiple Kimpton locations. [More]
Dept. Of Justice Claims ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’ Was Financed With Stolen Money
By 7.21.16
It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood movie starring, perhaps, Leonardo DiCaprio, and yet it’s real life: the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit this week claiming that fraudsters stole $3.5 billion from the Malaysian people, and moved some of that money through U.S. banks to buy luxury hotels, yachts, a jet, and to produce the movie The Wolf Of Wall Street. [More]
If You’re Booking A Hotel Room At Prepaid Rate, Be Sure To Read The Fine Print
By 7.13.16
If you’ve booked a room directly through a hotel chain’s website, you’ve more than likely seen lower-cost options for visitors who agree to prepay for at least some of their stay. Before you choose that cheaper room, make sure you know what you’re agreeing to so that you don’t end up on the hook for hundreds of dollars later if you have to make a change. [More]
Report: New Owners Closing Waldorf Astoria Hotel For 3 Years To Turn 1,100 Rooms Into Condos
By 6.27.16
A New York City landmark will be shutting down for three years before re-emerging with a new look under its new(ish) ownership: the Waldorf Astoria Hotel will close in spring 2017 for renovations, and will emerge with about three-quarters of its rooms turned into luxury condominiums. [More]
