New York hotels: Just a year ago you were "lucky" if you got a $200 rate for decent digs in Midtown. Now, it's not hard to find $150 rooms at budget-friendly lodgings. Now, Hilton hotels, which certainly aren't in the...

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Found in my in-box: a missive touting the BOKA bar at Hotel 1000 in Seattle and its special drink, the "Spontaneitini." According to press materials, the mix of Jean-Marc XO vodka and Taittinger Champagne served in a crystal glass with...

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It's Friday the 13th, which brings to mind the fact that many hotels don't have an official 13th floor. (If you're in one, check the elevator buttons and see whether they go from 12 to 14, with nothing in between)....

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Here's an update e-mailed by Brian Ek of Priceline. I found it useful, and so might you. "Cities likely to bear the brunt of the corporate travel dropoff are the big convention cities -- Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, New York,...

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If your honey is on the road this Valentine's Day, you can text to say "i luv u," or send flowers to the hotel. Nice, but not creative. Nothin' says lovin' like something from the oven, one famous ad slogan...

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The bad news keeps rolling in, like a pair of dice loaded to lose instead of win. Just in from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority: December 2008 visitors were down 10.9% from the same month in 2007, hotel...

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The bad news keeps rolling in, like a pair of dice loaded to lose instead of win. Just in from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority: December 2008 visitors were down 10.9% from the same month in 2007, hotel...

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Original art is a trend at high-end hotels. And in these troubled times, even travelers without unlimited budgets now can eyeball some interesting works on the road. Homewood Suites by Hilton announced a “Homewood Is Where the Art Is” program...

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Peter Shaindlin, chief operating officer of the Halekulani in Honolulu, got on the phone with me to talk about what he calls the depressing "group-think" in the hotel industry. "It's basically reactive rather than proactive," he says of folk pulling...

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That's a story we're working on right now. One source told me of a man who wanted "spa" taken off his totel bill, feeling that it looked too frivolous. Anyone know of people who have scaled back on luxury travel...

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Starting today, more than 1,200 Best Westerns in the U.S. and Canada go on sale, in an Internet sweepstakes with a limited booking window. Here's how low rates can go: *New York City from $69 per night *Orlando from $53...

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Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort on Florida's Gulf Coast is touting its "Woof Weekend." Highlight is a Mardi Gras parade for dogs Sunday March 22. They've done this before: Here's a cute photo of a pooch "pirate." Awwww. The pet-friendly...

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Here's a possible happy ending in the saga of of about 300 Hotwire customers who thought they were nesting at Wynn Las Vegas over Valentine's Day weekend, but were later told it was oversold and they'd be staying at Donald...

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According to preliminary January numbers from Smith Travel Research, U.S. hotel occupancy was down 10%-12% from January 2008 and revenue per available room slid 15%-17%. Worst performers in this psycho economy were (no surprise) luxury lodgings, where January occupancy was...

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That's a list that caught my eye. According to readers of Karen Brown travel guides, here are best values in the USA. I confess I have never heard of any, but when I cruised the web sites, they looked pretty...

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On Valentine's Day weekend, no less. Here's the tale, which is causing quite a stir in a TripAdvisor forum. Hotwire Group president Clem Bason told me today via phone that it had booked "a big number of rooms," about 300,...

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It would if some Nevada owners of brothels in areas outside Las Vegas where prostitution is legal get their druthers. According to an article in Travel Weekly, owners would like to come into the Strip, which they see as a...

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Starting this week, Marriott's Courtyard brand is giving guests an extra for staying on a Friday or Saturday night. Participating Courtyard by Marriotts in the USA are gifting weekend check-ins with $20 Target gift cards good at stores and at...

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My colleagues and I were just saying we have NEVER received info about so many Valentine's specials at hotels. Our in-boxes runneth over. I don't think folks are feeling more romantic this year -- I think it's because hotels are...

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That's what front deskers say they hear a lot, particularly when it involves business travelers and porn. But what if a hotel does charge you for a service you didn't order? This post from travel writer Chris Elliott's Elliott.org blog...

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Savvy hoteliers know that an unhappy guest will cost them far more (by complaining to friends and others) than a satisfied one given a few perks (they tell more people, studies show). This concept was illustrated this week in Singapore...

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After years of fears the famous Mississippi icon would be permanently retired, fans of the Delta Queen can breathe easier. According to The Cincinnati Enquirer and an item from USA TODAY cruise blogger Gene Sloan, the financially troubled historic vessel...

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Well, not exactly. But it's a creative promotion at the Four Seasons Singapore. Stay in a one-bedroom suite, get breakfast, and then get the mattress to take home. Cost: about $2,800 in U.S. dollars. Shipping not included. OK, this package...

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Changes in latitude for Jimmy Buffett. In what's billed as his first venture in Hawaii, Margaritaville maven Jimmy Buffett launches a restaurant and bar with an island theme. Jimmy Buffett's at the Beachcomber on Oahu is due to drop anchor...

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Courtesy of Staybridge Suites. Here's the deal: In honor of its 10th anniversary the extended-stay brand is offering a $10,000 family room makeover, since the recession has put many home renovations on hold. How do you win: Tell the best...

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Since my post on sticker shock in Singapore due to the $18 price of a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel, I've heard from a colleague that the wonderful blog World Hum has picked up the subject, and I've found another...

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Sorry to have to keep mentioning doom and gloom. But I just read a Hotel News Now article about how to lay off employees (one of the points actually was to do everything you can NOT to have to get...

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I am in Singapore and still reeling from paying $18 for a Singapore Sling at the legendary Raffles Hotel here. That's one drink -- gin, lime juice, pineapple juice, grenadine, cherry brandy and Cointreau are what the bartender said were...

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Hotels head off petty thievery and increase income by selling robes, sheets -- even mattresses. But faithful Hotsheet reader Loren Balazs just sent me a list of what the Best Western Hot Springs resort in Xiamen, China, is selling. Just...

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We often have discussions here about how to pick and book hotels. Some are Priceline fans (great deals, only not for control freaks who want to know exactly where they'll be before booking). Some are TripAdvisor touters, believing that if...

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More Hard Rock news: If you're in Vegas Feb. 6 and 7, you might want to watch Motley Crue close down the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's The Joint. It's being renovated into a larger venue due in April. For...

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Washington is humming, with hotels jammed as a new prez is about to be sworn in Tuesday. One of the highest-profile of all the celeb visitors, Oprah Winfrey, was spotted at the Four Seasons over the weekend. Meanwhile, Barack Obama's...

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Washington is humming, with hotels jammed as a new prez is about to be sworn in Tuesday. One of the highest-profile of all the celeb visitors, Oprah Winfrey, was spotted at the Four Seasons over the weekend. Meanwhile, Barack Obama's...

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His name is Earl Stafford, and he is the son of a Baptist minister and an Air Force vet who just sold his D.C.-area company, Unitech. He told me that when he heard the Washington JW Marriott Hotel by the...

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I don't understand it. The word was that most Washington-area hotels were sold out for the inauguration period, commanding rates double or triple the usual with a minimum stay and nonrefundable prepayment required. Then today came word that 15,000 rooms...

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Brad Carmony, director of communications for Hilton's Homewood Suites, writes me to say: "Great news! We just opened our first combo Homewood Suites/Hampton in Silver Spring, Maryland, last Friday. ... They have SUBSTANTIAL availability for inauguration week. It's a beautiful,...

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Once there weren't many. but today the number of women GMs is rising. Atlanta is a hot city for female GMs, according to this article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It says GMs once were a mainly male group that women...

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Well, sort of. The popular Atlantis resort in the Bahamas has signed the cute pop trio for three concert weekends in 2009 in advance of their world tour. Concert dates are March 14, April 18 and May 9. The two-night...

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As a past guest at the Trump Hotel Las Vegas, I just got word of an amazing deal via mass e-mail. I can't believe it. The hotel's condo suites are luxurious to the max and include fully stocked kitchens with...

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That's what Hotsheet reader Barbara Cosio says happened to her daughter Nicole and future son-in-law on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. here's what she wrote me: "My soon-to-be son-in-law (Sam) and daughter checked into the Stratosphere Hotel/Casino on December...

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