America's Biggest Rip-Offs

Did you catch this article on CNN Money yesterday? It exposes nine of America's biggest rip-offs, including a couple a hotels, where, for example, upwards of a 1300% markup is slapped onto in-room mini-bars. Ouch! Scroll through each of the rip-offs here.

Historic Cathedral Hill Hotel Says Farewell

The 44-year old, 400-room, 12-story tall Cathedral Hill Hotel at the corner of Geary and Van Ness served its last guest Friday. The building will be demolished and rebuilt for California Pacific Medical Center, with a move in date of 2015. Read more from SF Gate.

Hilton To Roll Out New Lifestyle Hotel Brand in 2012

From *wood comes news that Hilton plans to launch a new brand of hotels aimed at "globally conscious and modern traveler". Denizen hotels will target both business and leisure travelers with each property featuring a spa, a lounge and individual work stations in the lobby.

This development comes after Hilton successfully recruited two former Starwood Execs who help build the companies boutique brand - W Hotels.

Although Hilton did not give specifics on where the first Denizen's will debut, negotiations are going on worldwide including Abu Dhabi, Austin, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Buenos Aires, Cancun, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Las Vegas, London, Los Cabos, Miami, Montreal, Mumbai, New York City, Panama City and Washington D.C.

Foreclosure Looms Over Bay Area Hotels

According to InsideBayArea.com, two East Bay hotels have slipped into foreclosure status, resulting from a decrease in corporate travel. Default notices have been filed on the 170-room Sheraton Pleasanton and 293-room Coliseum Suites in Oakland. According to the article, hotel occupancy rates in Pleasanton are down a whopping 28% as Tri-Valley businesses such as E-Loan, Safeway, JPMorgan Chase and WaMu layoff workers and cut corporate travel budgets.

The Sheraton Pleasanton continues to operate business as usual and owners are reportedly in daily negotiations with lenders. Meanwhile, lenders on the Oakland hotel are attempting to seize the closed, fenced-off property.

Want A Creepy Kick? Check Into A Deadly Hotel

(From Concierge.com)
Rickety old haunted houses are for lightweights. Want to really feel the fear? (You sicko.) For seekers of creepy kicks, there's nothing quite like a bona fide gruesome death site. Hotels are primo spots for dubious deeds—including big-time murders, overdoses, and suicides, as well as run-of-the-mill accidental biotoxin poisonings.

So in the spirit of a forensics-leaning Halloween, here's our list of 12 inns that hosted famous passings. They range from rock 'n' rollers' expiration sites off L.A.'s Sunset Strip to a sumptuous boutique hotel on Paris's Left Bank. Most have successfully scrubbed themselves of their dubious reputation, while a few happily trade on the notoriety. But one thing is shared by every place listed: You don't need a ghost-busting team to get a genuine shudder from their bloodstained histories. Read more
-Slideshow of Deadly Hotels

Dubai Takes Construction Sky High; World's Largest Tower

Despite being incomplete, the Burj Dubai or Dubai Tower, is now the tallest man made structure in the world standing currently at 2,257 ft with 160 floors. Budgeted at US$4.1billion, the tower is part of an overall revitalization of downtown Dubai.

With an interior designed by Giorgio Armani, the Burj Dubai will also have the first of four Armani Hotels which will occupy 37 floors of the structure.

Holiday Inn Relaunches Brand

One of the most recognizable hotel names, with more than 3000 properties worldwide, has some grand changes in the works.

Holiday Inn is relaunching their brand, shining a new logo, freshening up their guest rooms, redesigning their welcome experience and committing to a new service promise.

Highlights of the changes:

Redesigned Brand Signage – Holiday Inn is making dramatic changes to its signage (see photo), including energizing the signature green color and eliminating the current shield shape. The new brand signage will also be incorporated into design elements in each of the more than 3,100 hotel lobbies and more than 400,000 guest rooms worldwide.

Refreshed Guest Room – Guests will be able to enjoy a new bedding experience with fresh, white duvets and pillows that come in two comfort levels: soft and firm. Bathrooms will feature a showerhead that offers superior pressure while conserving water as well as enhanced amenities, to deliver an invigorating and up-to-date bath experience.

Warm Welcome – A new signature arrival, including new lighting, landscaping and design features will create an energised and a sense of welcome that is universally recognisable and unique to the brand. Guests can expect a more interactive and efficient check-in process, while customised music and scent selections will also engage them in a complete sensory experience.

New Service Promise – Holiday Inn is committing to provide the best-in-class service. As part of the relaunch, the brand will initiate a new service culture – “Stay Real”. The service culture will enhance staff behaviour and skills to best serve guests, treating them as real people and consistently delivering the real, genuine service for which Holiday Inn is known.

The relaunch is currently rolling out to hotels around the world at the rate of 150 properties a month. Holiday Inn expects the new branding to be completed by 2010.

The original Holiday Inn was founded in 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee. Holiday Inn, and Holiday Inn Express are part of the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG).

Westin Hotels Pilots Wii Gaming System

Westin Hotels and Nintendo announced they would launch a pilot program to install the popular Wii game system to some of its hotel fitness centers. The specially designed for hotels game console will be pre-loaded with several games, including Wii Sports and Wii Fit, and work as part of Westin's existing WestinWORKOUT program.

On Thursday the systems were installed at Westin hotels in Bellevue, Washington and in New York City's Time Square. The system will be added to select Westin properties during May in Houston-Galleria, Kansas City, Mo., Hilton Head Island, S.C., St. Louis, San Francisco, Toronto, Hollywood, Calif. and Savannah, Ga.

Aloha Airlines Ends Six Decades of Island Spirit

Aloha Airlines halts all passenger service today. Meanwhile, the travel industry rushes to help passengers affected.

Since 2000, Aloha Airlines flew Bay Area travelers to the islands of Hawai'i, and reunited island residents with family and friends here on the mainland. But Aloha Airlines history, mixed with ups and downs, runs much deeper to the people of Hawai'i.

"When its first flight took off from Honolulu in 1946, the interisland carrier that would become Aloha Airlines was an underdog created by minorities determined to succeed in post-war Hawai'i...and being a passenger was like flying with a local-style party. Flight attendants served pineapple juice, sang Hawaiian songs, danced the hula and even played the 'ukulele." -Mike Gordon (Honolulu Advertiser)

"Across the Islands yesterday, Aloha Airlines employees — and their families — reacted to the news that their ailing airline was shutting down passenger service, effective today. After the initial shock, there was a range of emotions — anger, anxiety and sadness." -Mary Vosino (Honolulu Advertiser)

"This is to Hawai'i what Katrina was to Louisiana, we're very much integrated into Hawai'i." -Randall Cummings, pilot for Aloha.

"Aloha is like an 'ohana." -Coreen Dijos, customer service agent for Aloha.

"This is the one job where everybody is like a family." - Shavonn Okamura, Aloha staff

Visit the Honolulu Advertiser for special ongoing coverage including slideshows of the airlines history and video of employee reaction.

The travel industry has been quick to respond. United Airlines, and to a lesser degree Hawaiian Airlines are offering affected Aloha passengers special accommodations and/or discounts. Marriott and Aqua Hotels have invited existing guests unable to leave the island special accommodations.

Hidden Hotel-Room Dangers

Although this video from ABC News & Good Morning America initially comes on strong, showing just about everything you don't want to see of a hotel room, it concludes with some pretty good tips all of us can employ on our next hotel stay. Enjoy.

TVtrip Expands to include (a few) San Francisco hotels

Hotel video guide TVtrip.com has expanded to include U.S cities, including San Francisco to its site. The site includes over 4000 videos of hotels located in cities throughout the world. Now you can see video of a hotel your considering staying at, its common areas, and even short clips of the surrounding neighborhood. Use TVtrip videos in conjunction with user reviews websites such as tripadvisor.com, to ensure the hotel you're checking out on the video is truly the one you want to check into.
Visit http://www.tvtrip.com/

Boutique and Style Coming to Motel 6

By Mike Grasso

The budget, no-frills, side-of-the-road motel chain prominent on the West coast since the 1960's - Motel 6, may soon be carrying a new look and style. French-based Accor Hotels, the parent company of Motel 6, announced a 'Phoenix' prototype, which would "set a new standard for economy hotels," Olivier Poirot, chief executive for Motel 6 said in a press release.

The rooms (pictured below) would be arranged in a modern, European boutique-style design, with brightly painted guestrooms, flat-screen TV's and and hardwood floors.

Meanwhile the new, modern bathroom will feature double doors and a black granite counter top with a vessel/raised sink. The bathroom features a large vanity area with a bright decorative towel cubby on the wall that adds extra accent lighting.

“This design embodies the heart of Motel 6 – it’s no-frills, uncomplicated and efficient with a new modern edge,” said Jim Amorosia, president and COO of Motel 6 and Studio 6. “The Phoenix prototype offers the best of both worlds - an upscale feel at the lowest price of any national chain.”

The new prototype will be available to franchisees by summer 2009.

Attitude Hotels: A Collection of Gay Friendly Stays

The official launch of Attitude Hotels took place last week in Berlin during the ITB International Tourism Fair. Attitude represents unique hotels, Inn's and B&B's from around the world that identify as friendly and accommodating to gays and lesbians.

The founder of Attitude, Pedro Castro, says the Attitude brand will guarantee service and quality standards that make for a "gay natural" experience. Castro asserts a need for higher standards than simply a"gay friendly" approach used by larger hotel chains.

Attitude Hotels has 3-defined categories of hotels:
-Attitude Premium : luxurious accommodation; exceptional ambiance and unparalleled service. e.g. Royal Palms, Berns Hotel, Masia Casanova
-Attitude Comfort : superior accommodation; sophisticated ambiance and gracious service. e.g. Legends Hotel, Haus Romeo, Hotel Königshof
-Attitude Value : attractively priced; casual ambiance and practical service. e.g. Stars Guesthouse, Liberty Hotel, Connection Guesthouse

Currently 25 properties throughout Europe and one property in the United States are available. Castro has aspirations to expand to over 100 hotels worldwide by next year.

For more information visit http://www.attitudehotels.com/

Cigarette Smokers Face $250 fine At Some Hotels

Lighting up at smoke-free properties could result in a $250 hotel-accessed fine.
By Mike Grasso

As reported last week on inFLIGHTout, Sheraton & Four Points Hotels announced a new policy of going smoke free at properties throughout the United States & Canada. The change matches a move previously made by Sheraton and other hotels, and while probably not the intended purpose, aligns with a larger structural effort nationwide to get people to stop smoking. Those who must smoke at smoke-free properties are designated small areas, away from the masses, to do their thing.

But, what if you're non-compliant with hotel policy? Say, you light up on your balcony, enjoy the couple minutes of pure pleasure the cig-stick affords - without incident, then carry on the rest of your day. All seems fine; smoke detector didn't ring, sprinklers didn't flood the room, nobody saw your sinning and deviant act. Until housekeeping arrives...

Turns out, evidence of your smoking may be collected and used against you when it's time to checkout. The Denver Post recently ran a story of a Courtyard by Marriott property slapping a guest with an additional $250 on their bill for cigarette butts found in his hotel room. Walt Disney World Resort Hotels will fine up to $500. Swisshotel in Chicago even awards their housekeepers $10 bucks for each smoker they catch. Think your credit card will save you? A Quality Inn owner from the Mid-west says physical evidence is sometimes needed when upset customers unsuccessfully plea with card issuers to reverse the fees.

So as more hotels swap "designated smoking room" signs with "no smoking," it seems smokers themselves will need to abstain from lighting up, otherwise they'll pay up.

Sheraton Hotels going smoke-free by year-end

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Four Points by Sheraton will ban smoking at more than 300 properties throughout the U.S and Canada.

This policy matches that of Westin Hotels and Resorts which became smoke-free in 2006. Both Westin and Sheraton are owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Some 8,000 rooms at the hotels will be cleaned, including treatments for air conditioning, walls, rugs, upholstery and hard surfaces.Smoking will also be banned in public areas in the hotels, but there will be a designated outdoor area at each property for guests who smoke.

Both hotel brands expect to be completely free in the U.S and Canada by December 31st.