In some cities, it’s much less expensive to find a room on Airbnb than it would be to rent out a hotel room. Yet most business travelers still choose to stay in traditional hotels, partly because their employer won’t allow them to or because they think they will have difficulty expensing the rental. After a year of seeing growth in this area, Airbnb is launching an improved experience for business travelers in the hopes of getting some of that sweet expense account money. [More]
hotels
Should Hotels Be Required To Include Mandatory “Resort Fees” In Published Room Rates?
By 7.6.15
In order to minimize surprise when it comes time to pay, airlines in the U.S. now need to include all mandatory fees in their published airfares, but the same isn’t true for hotels. Many destinations now tack on so-called “resort fees” that claim to cover things like access to in-hotel gyms and pools, but which are mandatory for all guests whether you use those amenities or not. Even though these required add-on charges can significantly increase a guest’s total bill, hotels do not have to include the fee in their listed rates. [More]
Supreme Court: L.A. Hotel Owners Can’t Be Forced To Turn Over Guest Info Without A Warrant
By 6.22.15
Should the police, without a warrant, be able to walk into a hotel and get the names, addresses, license plate numbers, and other information about any guest who stayed there in the last three months? And should hotel owners face criminal charges if they fail to comply? The City of Los Angeles thinks so, but this morning the Supreme Court disagreed. [More]
Some Marriott Hotels Will Offer Guests Access To Netflix On Room TVs
By 6.10.15
Because not everyone wants to watch programming on a laptop or tablet while they’re away from home, Marriott Hotels has partnered with Netflix to offer access to the streaming service on room TVs to guests staying at certain Marriott locations. [More]
NYC Hotel Bar: Dress Code Should Not Have Been Enforced Against Navy Officer In Uniform
By 5.27.15
It’s understandable that some establishments use a dress code to maintain a certain atmosphere, but one New York City hotel is now apologizing after an employee enforced a strict set of clothing rules for the hotel’s popular rooftop bar, reportedly refusing to allow a Navy officer in because she was in uniform. [More]
Police: Hard Rock Hotel Guest Used Ice Machine As Toilet
By 4.23.15
The thing about hotel rooms? They contain all the facilities people have at home — a bed for sleeping, a closet for your clothes, a bathroom with a sink, shower and toilet for hygiene maintenance — meaning you don’t need to go looking elsewhere when nature calls. Unfortunately for fellow guests at one Hard Rock Hotel, someone allegedly went rogue in that last area. [More]
Amazon Launches Hotel Booking Business With Local Getaways In Mind
By 4.21.15
For those looking to escape the daily grind but perhaps still stick close to home, Amazon is launching a new hotel booking service called Destinations, which seeks to pair locals up with a getaway nearby at select hotels. [More]
Could A JetBlue Hotel Be Part Of Your Future Travel Plans?
By 4.17.15
Forget about the Marriott, Hilton or any other number of hotel chains scattered around U.S. airports, the next big name in lodging could be an airline. JetBlue Airways is reportedly in advanced negations to turn a landmark terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport into a hotel. [More]
The Boutique Hotel You Stayed At Was Probably Owned By A Mega-Hotel Chain
By 4.13.15
At one time, booking a hotel room for the night meant picking between one of about two dozen or so brands: Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Best Western, Comfort Inn, just to name a few. Today, consumers have more than 113 brands owned by the 10 largest hotel chains in the U.S. to choose from, and the long list of options doesn’t appear to be shrinking anytime soon. [More]
Someone’s Actually Doing Something Good With Leftover Hotel Soaps
By 4.10.15
Because no one wants to arrive in their hotel room and find used soap awaiting them in the shower, guests are always given a fresh bar upon checking in. While many of those partially used bars surely end up wasted in the trash, one non-profit group is collecting a bunch of leftover hotel soaps to help people in need. [More]
Florida Hotel Wakes Up Spring Breakers By Blasting ‘Lion King’ Theme Every Morning
By 3.26.15
There’s more than one way to wake a slumbering college student after a night spent drinking Jell-O shots and vigorously grinding all up on each other in the sweaty ritual booze mess that is known as Spring Break, but blasting loud music from an animated Disney movie is much nicer than getting a firehose involved, I suppose. [More]
EPA: Vacationing Family “Seriously Exposed” To Toxic Pesticide While Staying In Luxury Condo
By 3.24.15
When you’re staying in a fancy, luxurious vacation condominium at a Caribbean resort, there’s a certain expectation that your health won’t be seriously threatened. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says members of a Delaware family have become seriously ill after their $800-per-night condo at a resort in the U.S Virgin Islands was possibly fumigated using toxic pesticides normally found in industrial farming. [More]
Hilton HHonors Site Flaw Exposed All Accounts To Potential Hijacking
By 3.23.15
Following a report of a spike in hijacked accounts, Hilton recently asked its HHonors Awards members to change their passwords — offering them 1,000 bonus points if they did so before April 1. But cybersecurity experts say that hackers didn’t actually need passwords to take control of other folks’ HHonors accounts. [More]
Ritz-Carlton Investigated For Adding Surcharge During Basketball Tournament
By 3.16.15
In late February, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the oldest African-American athletic conference in the U.S., held its annual basketball tournament in Charlotte, where visitors to the Ritz-Carlton found that they were being subject to an automatic 15% “CIAA Service” surcharge on their bills at the lobby bar. [More]
“Stressed Out” Badger Prevents Staff And Guests From Entering, Leaving Luxury Hotel
By 3.6.15
Guests and staff at a luxury hotel in Stockholm found themselves at the whim of one erratic badger, whose aggressive stance kept anyone from either entering or leaving the place for some time this morning. Want to pick up your bags or go through those revolving doors? Nope. Much like his honey-loving cousin, hotel badger does not care what you want. [More]
High-End Mandarin Oriental Hotels Confirm Data Breach
By 3.5.15
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group – operators of more than two dozen upscale hotels from Atlanta to Jakarta – confirmed late Wednesday that its properties are the latest victims of a credit card breach. [More]
Uber Passengers Can Now Earn Starwood Hotels Points With Each Trip
By 2.25.15
Uber and Starwood Hotels are teaming up in an effort to get more passengers to choose Uber over regular taxis, with a new partnership that gives riders Starwood rewards points every time they take a ride using the car-hailing mobile app. [More]
Looking To Untie That Knot? Hotel Offers $5K Divorce Weekend Getaway Package
By 2.12.15
Falling into love and get married can be so much fun, but often, the reverse isn’t quite a blast. That is, unless you and your formerly beloved decide to untie the knot with a nice, relaxing weekend getaway, so you can celebrate permanently getting away from each other. [More]
