What would you be willing to do in order to cut your next hotel bill in half? How about sharing the space with a stranger? That’s the idea behind a new startup that aims to bring people together and lighten the strain on their wallets. [More]
hotels
Actual Hotels Are Also Listing Rooms For Rent On AirBNB
By 12.14.15
Most people think of AirBNB as a listing service for individuals who want to rent out a space, ranging from a spare room to an entire vacation homes. It’s an important “sharing economy” site, but people searching the site might notice some alternative offerings from… hotels. [More]
Starwood Hotels Reports Payment Systems At 54 Locations Infected With Malware
By 11.20.15
Just days after Starwood Hotels and Resorts made headlines for combining with Marriott to make the world’s largest hotelier, the company is back in the news for a decidedly less exciting issue: it’s the latest victim of a hack attack. [More]
Marriott To Buy Starwood Hotels For $12.2B
By 11.16.15
Less than a month after Hyatt Hotels was reported to be in talks to buy rival Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, it was a different lodging industry giant that popped the $12.2 billion question. [More]
Company Faces $718K Fine For Blocking WiFi Hotspots At Baltimore Convention Center
By 11.2.15
Another company is learning about the fine points of Section 333 of the Communications Act, which prohibits willful interference with any licensed or authorized radio communications. This time, it’s the folks who provided the Baltimore Convention Center’s in-house WiFi service who were caught by the FCC trying to block individual WiFi hotspot users from going online. Meanwhile, Hilton is also being slapped with a proposed fine for its failure to comply with an investigation into its alleged hotspot blocking. [More]
Hyatt In Talks To Buy Rival Starwood Hotels Brand
By 10.28.15
A merger craze seems to be taking hold this month: first there was the mega beer merger between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, then news this morning that pharmacy giants Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid were headed down the aisle. Now, it looks as if the need to grow by expanding one’s portfolio has trickled into the lodging industry. [More]
Hyatt Ditching On-Demand Porn In Hotel Rooms
By 10.15.15
Consumers looking to sneak in an adult film or two while on their next business trip might want to make sure their room isn’t reserved at a Hyatt property: the hotel company says it will no longer offer on-demand adult entrainment in its rooms. [More]
Amazon Gets Out Of The Hotel Booking Business After Only 6 Months
By 10.14.15
Amazon Destinations, we barely knew you. The dedicated hotel booking site from the e-commerce giant closed its doors this week, just six months after opening them. [More]
Hilton Looking Into Possible Hack Attack Affecting Guests Using Credit Cards At Its Restaurants, Gift Shops
By 9.28.15
Hilton Hotels says it’s looking into a possible hack attack connected to point-of-sale registers and a variety of Hilton properties. If you bought something at a restaurant, gift shop or other store at a Hilton property recently, you should take a closer look at your credit card statements for any fraudulent activity. [More]
Completion Of $1.6B Orbitz, Expedia Merger Further Whittles Down Online Travel Agency Options
By 9.17.15
Despite the protests from the leading hotel industry group that a merger between Expedia and Orbitz would concentrate too much of the travel-booking market in one company’s hands – leading to fewer choices for consumers – the two companies have received regulatory approval and completed their $1.6 billion marriage today. [More]
Marriott, Samsung Partner To Offer Hotel Guests Virtual Reality Headsets, Because Why Not?
By 9.9.15
Have you ever walked into a hotel and thought, ‘Man, this isn’t how I pictured things when I booked the room.’ While you can’t exactly change the layout or furnishings of the room – unless you switch hotels – a new partnership between Marriott and Samsung could let you escape the reality of your humdrum lodgings for a bit. [More]
N.Y. Bill Seeks To Outlaw Smoking In Hotel Rooms
By 9.3.15
Although it’s illegal to smoke in most indoor spaces in New York — office buildings, bars, restaurants, retail establishments, etc. — those looking to light up a cigarette can still do so in hotel and motel rooms that are specified as smoking rooms. That could change soon, if a new bill in the state legislature succeeds. [More]
Federal Advisory Panel Recommends Clearer Disclosure Of Airline, Hotel Resort Fees
By 9.1.15
It’s no secret that airlines have increased their fees and shrunk the size of their seats over the years in an attempt to maximize revenue. While those extra costs and seat sizes are generally available through the carrier’s website, a federal panel thinks that information would better serve passengers if it were readily available during the ticket purchasing process. [More]
Hilton’s Partnership With Uber Allows Guests To Grab A Ride Through Hotel’s App
By 9.1.15
Once upon a time, the hotel front desk was the go-to spot for guests who wanted something, whether it’s more towels or advice on the best spots in town to visit (and a cab to get there). You’ll still have to call for more towels at Hilton Hotels, but in a new partnership with Uber, hotel guests will now be able to schedule alerts through the HHonors app to remind them when they need to arrange a ride to check out the sights they’ve planned to see during their stay. [More]
Wyndham Hotels Loses Legal Battle With Feds Over Lax Security Practices
By 8.24.15
If a consumer-facing company, like say a massive hotel chain, touts its dedication to the security of customer information and then does something to repeatedly put that information at risk — like storing unencrypted credit card data on barely secure networks — can they be forced to share some of the blame when hundreds of thousands of credit card numbers are stolen? The hotel chain says that would be blaming the victim, but a federal appeals court has affirmed the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to go after businesses that fail to live up to their security promises. [More]
Company Fined $750K For Blocking WiFi Hotspots At Convention Centers
By 8.18.15
In Section 333 of the Communications Act, it states that “No person shall willfully or maliciously interfere with or cause interference” with any licensed or authorized radio communications. But a company that provides Internet service for hotels and convention centers around the country has admitted to deliberately preventing people from using their own, legal hotspots to go online. [More]
Hotel Industry Comes Out Against Merger Of Expedia & Orbitz
By 8.6.15
You might think of Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Travelocity, and Trivago as competitors in the online travel-booking business, but most people probably don’t know that all of these brands fall under the Expedia Inc. ownership umbrella. And so will Orbitz if the pending $1.6 billion merger of the two companies is approved. The leading hotel industry trade group says that this consolidation has gone too far. [More]
Don’t Expect An End To Sketchy Hotel Resort Fees Anytime Soon
By 8.4.15
In 2012, it looked like the Federal Trade Commission might finally be cracking down on hotel “resort fees,” mandatory surcharges added above the listed price of some hotel rooms. At the time, the agency sent warnings to 22 different hotel operators warning them that they weren’t doing enough to disclose these fees, but no legal actions have been taken since, in spite of the fact that some popular tourist destinations are hiding their resort fees until the final payment screen. And judging by the FTC’s latest response to these concerns, you probably shouldn’t expect this to change in the near future. [More]
