Continued from page 10
Boston hotels turn to
promotions to fill rooms
Boston hotels, still
recovering from the post-Sept. 11, 2001, downturn, are coming up with a
variety of packages designed to attract guests in the same manner
accessories make cars more desirable. The city's Onyx Hotel has been
offering an "Emerging Artist" package, complete with a mini-Etch A Sketch,
instant camera and drawing supplies, and at the Colonnade Hotel, a "Summer
Meltdown" promotion charges guests $1 for every degree of the 5 p.m.
temperature for the first night of a two-night stay.
The
Boston Globe
Hyatt to team with
Porsche
The two companies
plan to work on a global marketing campaign, starting this year in the U.S.
and Germany. As part of the three-year partnership, Hyatt becomes a
sponsor of Porsche's racing efforts, including its team in the American
LeMans Series, and the two companies will also take part in other joint
marketing programs.
hotelbusiness.com
Hotels offer worthwhile
airport parking alternatives
Hotels are proving
to be practical alternatives for long-term airport parking -- especially
when early flights require arrival at the crack of dawn. Many airport hotels
offer special parking deals and arrangements for travelers, and the
discounts can make the cost of the hotel stay worthwhile.
The
Wall Street Journal
"Real" luxury bests
"fake" at hotels
The differences
between "real" luxury and "fake" luxury, according to one travel writer,
include hotels that offer "cheapskate concoctions" such as combination
shampoo-conditioners, versus real luxury -- those that offer high quality
soap, strong hair dryers and lots of cable channels.
Chicago Tribune
San Jose hotel union
protest escalates
A labor stand-off
involving a hotel union in San Jose escalated on April 15 as more than 200
workers protested outside the Wyndham Hotel and Hyatt San Jose. The union is
seeking a 4% wage increase and wants to retain its health care program, and
hotel owners are hoping the protest won't become a bigger labor stand-off
like the one that has been taking place in San Francisco.
American City Business Journals/San Jose
36.READ ALSO: HOSPITALITY NEWS: LAST 24 HOURS
Local culture won't be overlooked at Hong Kong Disneyland
The new Hong Kong Disneyland, due to open later this year, will feature some subtle shifts in design reflecting the advice of a Chinese feng shui master. The inclusion of local cultural customs also reflects Disney's learning lessons from the past -- the company's Disneyland Paris was sharply criticized when it opened in 1992 for being culturally insensitive to its European locale. International Herald Tribune/The New York Times
Disney event could spark travel boom, analysts say: Disney's Happiest Celebration on Earth, an 18-month event which marks the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, could spark a resurgence of interest in the company's theme parks, analysts say. Disney has increasingly pushed travel packages enabling visitors to stay longer and center their vacations around the parks, and the celebration may raise traveler awareness of those packages. Florida Today (Melbourne)
Analysis:
CNG-AgentWare deal a boon to travel agents
A new deal between
CNG Travel Group and AgentWare will allow the latter's
agency clients to access CNG's hotel inventory by this summer. An analyst
says the agreement will help travel agencies offer their customers more
options.
Information Week
Travel guides take
different paths in reaching hotel ratings
Hotel guidebooks
use various methods for rating hotels, each with different criteria and
some basing the ratings on readers' opinions. A review of the guidebooks
themselves details how each reaches their conclusions.
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)/Chicago Tribune
Developer moves ahead with Atlanta mixed-use project
Barry Real
Estate is moving forward with an April 26 groundbreaking on its 55
Allen Plaza office project in Atlanta, which is part of a planned $300
million, 1.8-acre downtown office, retail, condominium and hotel complex.
Project approval was based on a condition to first clean up chemically
hazardous portions of the site, which is four blocks from Centennial
Olympic Park.
GlobeSt.com