Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach|"London's Top Hotels"

Source              : telegraph.co.uk

Category        :  Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach

By                  :   telegraph

Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach

Our London experts have reviewed almost 100 hotels across the capital, from luxury hotels to budget hotels. Book our expert-recommended hotels here at the lowest prices.Our experts are Telegraph Travel writers who live in London and know it well. They have rated every aspect of the hotels they have visited, from service to rooms and value for money. The hotels selected are all recommended by our experts and so are the best hotels available in each district of the capital. The majority of our expert-rated hotels can be booked here at the lowest rate, guaranteed. We also have compiled comprehensive guides to each area of the city.hotels across the capital, from luxury hotels to budget hotels. Book our expert-recommended hotels here at the lowest prices.Our experts are Telegraph Travel writers who live in London and know it well. They have rated every aspect of the hotels they have visited, from service to rooms and value for money. The hotels selected are all recommended by our experts and so are the best hotels available in each district of the capital. The majority of our expert-rated hotels can be booked here at the lowest rate, guaranteed. We also have compiled comprehensive guides to each area of the city.

Source : telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotel/68826/Londons-top-hotels.html

Top Hotels In South Virginia|"London's Top Hotels"

Source              : telegraph.co.uk
Category        :  Top Hotels In South Virginia
By                  :   KAREN ROBINSON
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Top Hotels In South Virginia

Our London experts have reviewed almost 100 hotels across the capital, from luxury hotels to budget hotels. Book our expert-recommended hotels here at the lowest prices.Our experts are Telegraph Travel writers who live in London and know it well. They have rated every aspect of the hotels they have visited, from service to rooms and value for money. The hotels selected are all recommended by our experts and so are the best hotels available in each district of the capital. The majority of our expert-rated hotels can be booked here at the lowest rate, guaranteed. We also have compiled comprehensive guides to each area of the city.

Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotel/68826/Londons-top-hotels.html

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Hotel, Park & Housing Planned For State Farm Project"

Source              : dallasnews.com
Category        :  Virginia Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :   KAREN ROBINSON
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

Dallas-based developer KDC announced plans Thursday to add a hotel, housing, a medical facility and a park to the mammoth development that will house a regional office for State Farm Insurance in Richardson. The project, to be called CityLine, will be on roughly 36 acres near the Bush Turnpike and Central Expressway. “CityLine will be an instant city with a true urban environment,” said Walt Mountford, KDC’s executive vice president. “It’s adjacent to DART’s existing light-rail station and is also surrounded by key highways and two major thoroughfares.” The $600 million, 2.3 million-square-foot initial phase of CityLine is slated for completion in early 2015. The project will include more than 92,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space; a contemporary 150-room select service hotel; and 520 apartments. Mountford said he expects to announce the operator of the hotel within 60 days and anchor tenant of the “eatertainment” area in the first quarter of 2014. Shops and restaurants will begin opening in late 2014, he said.Phase one also will include an 18,000-square-foot wellness and fitness facility; a 41,000-square-foot medical office building; and a 3.5-acre park with trails. “I can’t think of another development that, upon opening, will completely integrate over 1.5 million square feet of office with retail, restaurant, entertainment, multifamily, medical, fitness and hospitality uses into an exciting experience for all who live in D-FW,” said Steve Van Amburgh, KDC’s chief executive.

A focal point of the initial phase will be CityLinePlaza, a centrally located plaza designed by Office of James Burnett, the landscape architect of Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park. KDC has selected Dallas-based Retail Street Advisors to start pre-leasing and marketing.The plaza and project streets “are oriented and scaled specifically for pedestrians to encourage sidewalk and patio activity and to promote community interaction and gathering throughout the day,” said Aaron Stephenson of Retail Street Advisors. The restaurant, retail and entertainment spaces will be integrated into the base of the office towers, the multifamily residential and the hotel.The master plan also includes 7,700 parking spaces in CityLine garages. In July, KDC broke ground on the project and announced that State Farm would lease 1.5 million square feet in a 13-story tower, a 15-story tower and a 21-story tower. Each rests on a five-level parking structure along with ground-floor retail space. KDC acquired the land for the project in December. The $600 million price includes the cost of the land. The project, adjacent to Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Bush Turnpike Station on its Red Line, will be a transit-oriented development on the east and west sides of Plano Road. The east side includes 147.5 acres on the north side of Renner Road between Plano Road and Wyndham Lane. The west side includes 38.5 acres south of the Bush Turnpike between Plano Road and the DART light-rail tracks.

Dallas-based developer KDC announced plans Thursday to add a hotel, housing, a medical facility and a park to the mammoth development that will house a regional office for State Farm Insurance in Richardson. The project, to be called CityLine, will be on roughly 36 acres near the Bush Turnpike and Central Expressway. “CityLine will be an instant city with a true urban environment,” said Walt Mountford, KDC’s executive vice president. “It’s adjacent to DART’s existing light-rail station and is also surrounded by key highways and two major thoroughfares.” The $600 million, 2.3 million-square-foot initial phase of CityLine is slated for completion in early 2015. The project will include more than 92,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space; a contemporary 150-room select service hotel; and 520 apartments. Mountford said he expects to announce the operator of the hotel within 60 days and anchor tenant of the “eatertainment” area in the first quarter of 2014. Shops and restaurants will begin opening in late 2014, he said.Phase one also will include an 18,000-square-foot wellness and fitness facility; a 41,000-square-foot medical office building; and a 3.5-acre park with trails. “I can’t think of another development that, upon opening, will completely integrate over 1.5 million square feet of office with retail, restaurant, entertainment, multifamily, medical, fitness and hospitality uses into an exciting experience for all who live in D-FW,” said Steve Van Amburgh, KDC’s chief executive. A focal point of the initial phase will be CityLinePlaza, a centrally located plaza designed by Office of James Burnett, the landscape architect of Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park.

KDC has selected Dallas-based Retail Street Advisors to start pre-leasing and marketing.The plaza and project streets “are oriented and scaled specifically for pedestrians to encourage sidewalk and patio activity and to promote community interaction and gathering throughout the day,” said Aaron Stephenson of Retail Street Advisors. The restaurant, retail and entertainment spaces will be integrated into the base of the office towers, the multifamily residential and the hotel.The master plan also includes 7,700 parking spaces in CityLine garages. In July, KDC broke ground on the project and announced that State Farm would lease 1.5 million square feet in a 13-story tower, a 15-story tower and a 21-story tower. Each rests on a five-level parking structure along with ground-floor retail space. KDC acquired the land for the project in December. The $600 million price includes the cost of the land. The project, adjacent to Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Bush Turnpike Station on its Red Line, will be a transit-oriented development on the east and west sides of Plano Road. The east side includes 147.5 acres on the north side of Renner Road between Plano Road and Wyndham Lane. The west side includes 38.5 acres south of the Bush Turnpike between Plano Road and the DART light-rail tracks.

Source:dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/headlines/20131024-hotel-park-housing-planned-for-state-farm-project-in-richardson.ece

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Touring Koreatown's Refreshed & Reopened Hotel Normandie"

Source              : la.curbed.com
Category        :  Virginia Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :   Adrian Glick Kudler
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

Koreatown, with is prime location, great restaurant scene, and crucial transit access, is on the cusp of a big-time boom. The Vermont towers are on their way up, trendy hotel The Line is moving toward an opening, but nothing says "rebirth" like a boutiquey historic hotel saved from a trashy, stucco-y fate. In 2010, the 1928 Hotel Normandie at Sixth and Normandie was set to become a weed-friendly "pot-tel," which sounds fun but also stupid. Instead, the hotel was bought by a group of architects who peeled away years of insensitive updates (that lovely fireplace was totally obscured!) and rehabbed the property into what you see above. BroughtonHOTELS is now managing the 94-room hotel and several restaurants will be moving in on the ground floor soon (so far only Cassell's, a Ktown burger institution formerly down the street, has been announced). The Hotel Normandie was designed by Walker & Eisen, the same guys behind Downtown's United Artists Theatre building, aka the forthcoming Ace Hotel, and the new owners kept as many original details as possible--the neon sign and brick facade; the tile floors, fountain, and fireplace in the lobby; tile, tubs, and toilets in many of the hotel room bathrooms; and hardwood floors throughout.Koreatown, with is prime location, great restaurant scene, and crucial transit access, is on the cusp of a big-time boom. The Vermont towers are on their way up, trendy hotel The Line is moving toward an opening, but nothing says "rebirth" like a boutiquey historic hotel saved from a trashy, stucco-y fate. In 2010, the 1928 Hotel Normandie at Sixth and Normandie was set to become a weed-friendly "pot-tel," which sounds fun but also stupid. Instead, the hotel was bought by a group of architects who peeled away years of insensitive updates (that lovely fireplace was totally obscured!) and rehabbed the property into what you see above. BroughtonHOTELS is now managing the 94-room hotel and several restaurants will be moving in on the ground floor soon (so far only Cassell's, a Ktown burger institution formerly down the street, has been announced). The Hotel Normandie was designed by Walker & Eisen, the same guys behind Downtown's United Artists Theatre building, aka the forthcoming Ace Hotel, and the new owners kept as many original details as possible--the neon sign and brick facade; the tile floors, fountain, and fireplace in the lobby; tile, tubs, and toilets in many of the hotel room bathrooms; and hardwood floors throughout.

Source:la.curbed.com/archives/2013/10/touring_koreatowns_refreshed_and_reopened_hotel_normandie_1.php

Top Hotels In South Virginia|"Haunted Hotels Of America"

Source              : weather.com
Category        :  Top Hotels In South Virginia
By                  :   Lorraine Boissoneault
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Top Hotels In South Virginia

With Halloween quickly approaching, it's the perfect time of year to explore some of the local creepy offerings around the country. Every city and town has its notorious graveyards, its urban legends of murderers and ghosts that cling to the physical world to haunt us. If you're on the road this Halloween, or even looking for a unique night out in your city, check out some of the scariest hotels in America. Constructed by coal broker Joseph Stickney from 1900 to 1902, the Mount Washington Hotel is one of the last grand hotels in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The luxurious hotel lured wealthy guests away from the country's historic cities, like Boston, Philadelphia and New York. It also hosted delegates from 44 different countries in 1944 who established the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and set the gold standard, says the Mount Washington Hotel website. With such a storied history, it's no surprise the hotel is rumored to have a few guests who have lingered even beyond their deaths. The most famous ghost story is that of Carolyn Stickney, the widowed wife of the hotel's founder. Known as "the Princess," the ghostly figure of a Victorian woman is rumored to be seen in Room 314, according to Departures Magazine. 

If you're hoping to catch a glimpse of the elegant ghost of Carolyn Stickney, check out the availability at the Omni Mount Washington Resort, with rooms starting from $305. Of all the famous guests to visit Colorado-based Stanley hotel -- from Theodore Roosevelt to the emperor and empress of Japan -- writer Stephen King has done the most to cement its reputation as a site of paranormal activity. King was inspired to write the novel "The Shining" during his stay at the Stanley Hotel. According to the hotel's website, guests have reported seeing items move from place to place, hearing the sound of children laughing on the fourth floor, and hearing music and revelers in the Music Room. The hotel even hosted Travel Channel's team of paranormal investigators for an episode of Ghost Adventures, who said they detected voices and the presence of ghosts. The hotel's website, however, assures guests that all the spirits are friendly because the hotel is such a happy place. Whether you visit the hotel to have prime access to the surrounding ski slopes, or to check out what kind of ghosts are lurking around the corridors and closets of the building, the Stanley Hotel can provide an experience to please everyone. Check out their website for more information and to learn about the upcoming Murder Mystery Dinner and Masquerade Ball in honor of Halloween. 

Source : weather.com/travel/8-haunted-hotels-america-20131017?pageno=3

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Orbitz Launches Rewards Program To Push Hotels"

Source              : mashable.com
Category        :  Virginia Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :   DENNIS SCHAAL
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

Orbitz.com launched a rewards program geared at reducing its reliance on air bookings by providing incentives to book hotels, especially through its mobile apps. Under the new Orbitz Rewards program, which launched Monday, users earn Orbucks in the following amounts: 5% when booking a hotel through Orbitz’s mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android; 3% when purchasing a hotel stay through other channels, including the desktop; and 1% on standalone flights and vacation packages. Users who register for free for Orbitz Rewards earn these Orbucks almost immediately after booking, and can “burn them and earn them” on subsequent hotel bookings. In other words, they can redeem Orbucks when booking their next hotel room, and they will earn more Orbucks for that booking.

Chris Orton, president of Orbitz.com, tells Skift that the vast majority of bookings on Orbitz.com are for flights, and Orbitz Rewards is geared to boost hotel bookings, which is more lucrative. Rather than accruing points over an extended period of time, Orbitz Rewards members can use the Orbucks they earn on their next booking.But, will earning just three Orbucks on a $300 flight booked on Orbitz convince users to return to the site or Orbitz’s apps to book a hotel? “The velocity tradeoff is profound,” Orton says, adding that saving a few bucks does alter consumer purchase patterns. Orbitz piloted the rewards program, a form of which originated with its HotelClub business, for six months, and found that users would make a new booking after 29 days, which was a big improvement.

The company has high hopes of getting some traction with the new program, which comes with lots of visual clues, including showing on search results pages how much a booking would cost an individual user if he or she redeemed Orbucks. Orbitz Rewards is also slated to be part of Google Wallet, which will enable users to readily keep track of their Orbucks amounts.

Source : mashable.com/2013/10/21/orbitz-rewards-program/

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Manhunt Continues After Children Snatched From Hanley Hotel"

Source              : thisisstaffordshire.co.uk
Category        :  Virginia Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :   HANNAH HULME
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

TWO missing toddlers at the centre of a major police search were snatched by their dad from one of Stoke-on-Trent's biggest hotels. Wanted Saleem Tahir is thought to have waited for his ex-partner to go out shopping before 'barging' his way into their room at the Quality Hotel, in Hanley, and grabbing his two children.It is understood two-year-old Na'llah Khan and her 10-month-old brother Sulailman Khan were being looked after by their maternal grandmother at the time. Now Staffordshire Police are examining CCTV and forensic evidence from the hotel to help find 40-year-old Mr Tahir, pictured top right, and the children. Officers took their final statements from hotel staff yesterday. Quality Hotel general manager, Patrick Fitzgerald, told The Sentinel: "The police were called in and took forensic evidence and downloaded the CCTV images from the time that the mother, father and children were present in the hotel.

"The police have taken statements from the staff, including the receptionist who was on duty at the time. "They are going through the CCTV images, which are very clear. "They have now taken their final statements and will use this information in their search for the father. "This is a terrible thing to have taken place." It is understood the children and their mother, who has not been named, had been in hiding in Stoke-on-Trent when they were snatched at 5pm on Friday. Mr Tahir and the children, who are originally from Nottingham, are believed to be with his 67-year-old mother Denise Smith-Sellers. They were last seen in Birmingham at about 8pm on Friday. In 2003, Mr Tahir was jailed for 10 years for torturing his wife and mistress. Police are increasingly concerned for the welfare of the children. Chief Inspector Jane Hewitt said: "Our priority is the safe return of the children. At the time, the children were in a room with an elderly relative. We are continuing to pursue a number of lines of inquiry, including CCTV and talking to witnesses."

Source:thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/DAD-SNATCHES-KIDS-HOTEL/story-19963632-detail/story.html#axzz2iKn8rC8F

Top Hotels In South Virginia|"One Third Of Chinese Travellers Admit Stealing Hotel Furniture"

Source              : scmp.com
Category        :  Top Hotels In South Virginia
By                  :   Anna Healy Fenton
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Top Hotels In South Virginia

A hefty 35 per cent of global travellers admit to pocketing hotel property when they check out. Most popular pilfered items are towels; linen, books and magazines, but mainland Chinese guests take it a step further, often removing furniture, such as lamps, clocks and even the pictures off the walls, according to a survey by hotel booking site hotels.com.So, own up. Do you remove things from hotel rooms?  It seems not just slippers and toiletries are fair game – they can’t be given to the next guest once used anyway – but it seems almost anything not nailed down frequently walks out with guests, even furniture and art work. So what, precisely, is included in the room price and what remains hotel property? Perception of this varies according to nationality. Last year, while involved with a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel catering chiefly to mainland visitors, I realised guest attitudes to hotel property is a moveable feast. We had some who literally stripped the room and removed everything that wasn’t nailed down. When challenged, they claimed that they had rented and “owned” the room for the night, so everything inside belonged to them. There was a similar problem with breakages – some took the view that if they cracked the TV screen, the hotel should pay to fix it, not them.Invariably these arguments ended in the police being called and much unpleasantness. Most hotels deal with this by making guests sign a disclaimer regarding damage and payment for items removed from rooms when they check in.  Read the small print, it’s usually there.

But hotels in China and some in Hong Kong now go one step further, and have a price list displayed on the back of the guestroom door. This itemises everything from a towel to a pillow case. That way there is no doubt: remove the hairdryer or bathrobe and your credit card will be charged. Nevertheless, the hotels.com survey found that Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Singaporeans were among the least light-fingered hotel guests. Hong Kong travellers top Asia Pacific as the most honest, sharing fourth place globally with Brazil and Quebec in Canada. Only 19 per cent of surveyed guests from these three countries admitted nicking stuff from hotels and in the case of Hong Kong guests, they fessed up to pinching linen and towels, as did the Canadians. Brazilians preferred books and magazines.

Taiwanese guests came ninth for global hotel honesty with 78 per cent saying they have never pilfered anything, and Singaporeans joint eleventh with Argentinians and the Irish, at 75 per cent. When they did nick hotel property, it was books and magazines. Most honest were the Danes – with 88 per cent claiming never to have pocketed hotel property. Second place came the Dutch: 85 per cent, and third the Norwegians, 84 per cent.  Worst of all, in 29th place, were the Colombians, with only 43 per cent claiming to check out empty handed, though they only seemed to remove books and magazines.In fact most guests globally who admitted to removing things only took linen and towels or books and magazines, except the mainland Chinese. They are in a category of their own, with 34 per cent, a third, departing with furniture, such as chunky items like lamps, clocks and artwork. Americans shared 23rd place for global hotel honesty with the Chinese, but Americans opted to remove linen and towels, rather than the furniture.    

Mexicans come second from bottom. In their case, 60 per cent claim to leave hotel rooms intact, which means 40 per cent are removing stuff – but they only go for  magazines and books, not the furniture. Surprisingly, after Danes and Norwegians scored so highly, (88 and 84 per cent), only 65 per cent of Swedes said they never nick hotel stuff.“While we all love that holiday feeling, it seems travellers in some countries are taking this a bit too far by removing a whole variety of items from their hotel room to take home with them as a memento of their stay,” said a hotel.com spokesman. I’m surprised that anyone can check out of a hotel with a lamp or a clock in their bag. Staff always inspect and sign off on a room before guests check out. They are quick enough to notice mini-bar items, so it takes a pretty dozy housekeeper not to spot that pictures are missing from the walls.  

Source:scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1333515/one-third-chinese-travellers-admit-stealing-hotel-furniture

Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotels|"UAE Hotels Anticipate High Occupancy Levels"

Source              : gulfnews.com
Category        :  Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :   Sarah Algethami
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotels

Hotels in the Emirates are gearing up for one of the busiest Eid holidays, thanks to a large number of events and exhibitions that fall in October. The first day of Eid Al Adha is expected to fall on October 15. “Our hotels in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain are looking to achieve from 95 to 100 per cent occupancy during this coming Eid,” said Olivier Hick, vice president of operations for the Gulf and Levant countries at Accor. The French hotel operator features Novotel, Pullman and Sofitel in its portfolio. According to Christopher Hewett, senior consultant at TRI Hospitality Consulting, hotels in Abu Dhabi are expected to record an occupancy rate in excess of 80 per cent, while in Dubai, they could record well over the 90 per cent mark. Hotels that are close to shopping malls will benefit from their location, as they are likely to achieve an occupancy rate close to 100 per cent. Hick said guests at hotels located near malls stay up to five nights. Mohamad Abdo, director of sales — MICE and corporate at The Rezidor Hotel Group, said occupancy for its Dubai properties will be between “90 per cent to 100 per cent”, while in Abu Dhabi, it expects to record occupancy rates “in the high 80s.” The group operates the brands Radisson Blu Hotels and Resorts and Park Inn by Radisson, among others.Hotels expect to post higher room rates this coming Eid. Hewett expects rates to be between “five and ten per cent” higher than the average rate last year, which stood at $347.

For Accor’s mid-market brand Ibis, room rates will start from Dh400, and for Pullman, from Dh900, according to Hick. Hotels in the country expect to achieve higher revenues during the week of Eid, too. “As per our forecast, we shall achieve an increase in revenue by 8 to 10 per cent compared to last year,” Hick said. Also, The Rezidor Hotel Group will see “an increase on revenue of 30 per cent,” Abdo said.A large number of visitors from the GCC countries, especially those from Saudi Arabia, are expected to visit the UAE during Eid, according to industry experts. This will be driven by events and shopping. “This October, with Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment’s increased emphasis on family-focused events to celebrate “Eid in Dubai – Eid Al Adha” across Dubai, we believe there is even more on offer for families visiting Dubai over this Eid holiday from nearby GCC countries,” said Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of strategy and tourism sector development at Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in an emailed statement.

Also, the 48-hour shopping offered by seven major malls in Dubai, including Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, is likely to reel in Saudi visitors, according to Hewett. “This experience was extremely popular with Saudi visitors and it will likely help with attracting in excess of a million visitors this year,” he said. Chiheb Ben Mahmoud, head of hotel advisory for the Middle East and Africa at Jones Lang LaSalle, said he expects that Saudi guests “would not be far from off the 100,000 hotel guests mark [this coming Eid].” Exhibitions, such as Gitex Shopper and Cityscape are expected to play a role in attracting more visitors, according to Ben Mahmoud. He expects that this year, Eid “will establish a new record.” “Eid will fall this year between high-profile trade events and exhibitions and, therefore, hotels will be under pressure and could be expected to manage their revenue and optimise their rates to the fullest,” he said. The GCC contributed over 42,000 travellers toward the total number of visitors over the Eid Al Fitr period, according to data by DTCM. In addition, Saudi hotel guests reached 1.13 million last year.

Source:gulfnews.com/business/tourism/uae-hotels-anticipate-high-occupancy-levels-for-eid-1.1240809

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Hawaii Sets Aug. Record With $339M Hotel Revenue"

Source              : abcnews.go.com
Category        :  Virginia Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :  OSKAR GARCIA
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

Hotels in Hawaii set another all-time single-month record in August, bringing in $339 million in revenue to cap off the best summer ever for the state's tourism industry. The August revenue was $3 million better than July — a record at the time. It was also a 9.1 percent increase compared with August of last year, when hotel room revenue was $311 million. A survey released Tuesday by Hospitality Advisors LLC says total hotel revenue hit $1.42 billion in the summer months of June, July and August, with $965 million spent on rooms. The rest was spent at restaurants and bars, parking, retail and other hotel offerings. Total summer revenue was up 8.5 percent over $1.31 billion in total summer hotel revenue in 2012. It's the fourth straight summer of big jumps in hotel revenue since 2009, when the Great Recession battered Hawaii tourism and sent summer hotel revenues down more than 20 percent to about $880 million.

Hospitality Advisors CEO Joseph Toy says the boost in revenue was helped by a 7.7 percent summer increase in capacity for air travelers. Airlines are using planes with more seats and running several new routes from U.S. states and Asia. "Not only has Hawaii's U.S. market been strong, but we have also enjoyed a significant expansion in international arrivals, particularly from Asia, including Japan, China and Korea," Toy said. Higher nightly room rates in August more than offset a slight drop in occupancy. Hotel rooms cost an average $240 per night, up 11.2 percent compared with August last year. Occupancy dropped 1 percentage point to 80.2 percent, the survey said. Kauai was the only island that increased its occupancy at all in August, a slight increase of less than 1 percentage point thanks to travelers spending slightly more time there than during the same month last year. The survey conducted by the Honolulu hospitality firm and Smith Travel Research includes 162 hotels, accounting for more than 48,000 rooms and 85 percent of all hotels with 20 rooms or more in the state.

Source : abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/hawaii-sets-aug-record-339m-hotel-revenue-20510507

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Marriott Hotels Sold To Raleigh Investors"

Source              : bizjournals.com
Category        :  Virginia Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :  Amanda Jones Hoyle
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

It’s looking like hotel properties across the Triangle are starting to become a hot item again for real estate investors. In addition to the recent $26 million sale of the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree on Glenwood Avenue, two more Raleigh hotel owners and operators, Summit Hospitality Group and Concord Hospitality Enterprises, have each added another Triangle property to their portfolios in the past couple of weeks. A subsidiary of Summit Hospitality, led by President Doyle Parrish, has paid $7.25 million for the Four Points by Sheraton Durham hotel near The Streets at Southpoint mall in south Durham, according to Durham County deed records. The Four Points by Sheraton property opened in 2005 with 98 guest rooms. In north Raleigh, Concord Hospitality Enterprises, led by President and CEO Mark Laport, has paid $14.8 million for the 109-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel that opened near Triangle Town Center mall in 2010. Concord Hospitality’s hotel management arm has also been hired to take over management of the Raleigh Crabtree Marriott in Raleigh that is also under new ownership.

Source : bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2013/10/07/hotels-hot-again-sheraton-marriott.html

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels|"Hotel Data Tax Infuriates Industry Lawyers"

Source              : orlandosentinel.com
Category        :  Virginia Oceanfront Hotels
By                  :  Jim Stratton
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Virginia Oceanfront Hotels

It looks like Gov. Rick Scott, an advocate of low taxes and pro-business policies, has an issue bubbling up at the Department of Revenue. Sometime within the last 18 months, the DOR began collecting a tax on hotels and restaurants across the state. Normally, that wouldn't be news because that's what Revenue-ers do – they collect taxes. But in this case, no one saw it coming.Industry officials claim DOR has created a new tax, based on a sketchy reading of the gloriously mis-named Communications Services Tax Simplification Law. That legislation was supposed to streamline the law creating a tax on communication services – things such as internet service providers or satellite television service.Industry officials claim DOR has created a new tax, based on a sketchy reading of the gloriously mis-named Communications Services Tax Simplification Law.

That legislation was supposed to streamline the law creating a tax on communication services – things such as internet service providers or satellite television service.Well, hotels routinely transmit information about things such as occupancy levels and room rates back to the parent organization. It travels through something called a virtual private network. DOR appears to be taxing the hotels as service providers, even though the lines are owned and controlled by companies like Comcast and AT&T. This has puzzled, frustrated and/or infuriated industry officials. Here's what Richard Turner, the general counsel of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, wrote in a recent memo to association members. "I challenge anyone to tell me the last time they sought out a national hotel or restaurant chain to obtain their communication services. The question is what type of 'provider' was the Legislature referring to when they wrote the law? I am going to step out on a limb and suggest they were probably thinking in terms of companies that actually provide communications services and networks, not hotels or restaurants."

As much as folks like to complain about government, I've found truly absurd behavior is fairly rare. When you peel back the layers of an action that seems silly, there's often a reasonable explanation. So I asked a Department of Revenue spokesman about how the law is being applied. The response was less than illuminating: "We administer the law according to the definitions for communications services that have been established in law. This is done on a case-by-case basis depending on the facts of the specific taxpayer." If I didn't find that satisfying, consider how Debbie Knight must feel. Knight is the chief financial officer for a Radisson at Port Canaveral and a Four Points by Sheraton in Cocoa Beach. She's been trying for months to understand why, after a routine tax audit, the state said her company owed $138,000 in communications services taxes. Other properties have been hit with similar amounts. "We've been back and forth to Tallahassee since March on this," said Knight. "But we've gotten nowhere." 

A few weeks ago, Gov. Scott was in Orlando as part of his "It's Your Money" statewide tour – that's the trip the governor took to ask voters where he should roll back taxes. Tom Williamson, who heads up the Cocoa Beach Hotel & Lodging Association, said the communications tax – which he said is being applied "creatively, and we feel illegally" – was the perfect place to start. Williamson, in fact, said the very thing the DOR was taxing – the information moving through lines – was specifically exempted by Florida law. "We've all been struggling with this," he said. "We just don't see how it makes sense, and we haven't been able to get anyone to explain how it does." I sent the Governor's Office an email about the issue Friday. The response? The governor is aware of the industry's concerns and is looking into it.

Source:orlandosentinel.com/business/os-cfb-jim-stratton-col-100713-20131006,0,2729342.column

Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach|"Hotels On The Cutting Edge"

Source              : latimes.com
Category        :  Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach
By                  :  Mary Forgione
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach

With electronic frills being the draw of the day, which hotels are the most high-tech? Online travel site Hotel.info points to gadgets and amenities like responsive lighting and TVs embedded in bathroom mirrors that rank these trendsetters ahead of the curve. Forget peepholes: Four Seasons Silicon Valley in East Palo Alto, Calif., has replaced door peepholes with in-room LCD displays of whomever is knocking at your door. Oh, and they offer printers in each room along with Wi-Fi options too.

Forget room keys: Blow Up Hall 5050 in Poznan, Poland, issues iPhones to guests that guide them to their rooms. But not everyone may feel comfortable at this hotel: "The place is half interactive art project, half high-design boutique hotel -- guests in its stylish public spaces are monitored on video, and their images are incorporated into a real-time video installation," according to TabletHotels.com. Good to know. Forget your laptop: Leave your computer home if you stay at the Nymphe Strandhotel & Apartments in Binz, Germany.  Every room comes with a Mac -- along with Wi-Fi, TV, DVD, and an iPod docking station -- in what's described as an Apple Multimedia Lifestyle hotel.

Source : latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-high-tech-hotels-20131002,0,908311.story

Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach|"In Luxury Hotels The Fall Of The Bathroom Wall"

Source              : adn.com
Category        :  Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach
By                  :  Kristin Hohenadel
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach

The joys of washing up in the same room where one sleeps used to be found only in urban garrets and budget hotel rooms, a solution born of limited real estate or means. But in the last decade the open-plan bedroom/bathroom suite has become a signature feature in luxury hotels around the world. Knocking down bathroom walls completely, erecting glass-walled bathrooms (with or without modesty curtains or blinds) and installing peekaboo showers allows natural light to penetrate through the space, air to flow and guests to let it all hang out, suggesting design-forward spa-like sex appeal (and logistical awkwardness when sharing a room with people who were never meant to see you naked). New York City's Standard Hotels are known for their exhibitionist-friendly all-glass exterior walls, but the in-room tubs and glass showers add another dimension to the show. The Standard's High Line and East Village locations offer the kind of sexy special occasion suites you might rent for a casual romp a la Michael Fassbender in the 2011 film "Shame."

Located in a former World War II prison, the Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy in Amsterdam offers one- to five-star rooms. Its two-star rooms include an open-plan bathroom designed to maximize space and light. Another room type features a cleverly designed fold-out bathroom that acts as a room divider and stows away to increase floor space when not in use.The Hotel Particulier Montmartre in Paris is a romantic hideaway for a weekend affair or a honeymoon. Smack in the middle of its top-floor suite you'll find a floating painted claw-footed bathtub that looks like part of the furniture. Like many hotel trends, the open-plan bathroom layout has spread to the home. These new master bedroom/bathroom/lounge suites challenge the conventional notions that his and hers lavatories are the key to marital happiness and that preserving mystery helps keep a couple together. Isn't the bathroom a last refuge in a shared living space? A place to collect yourself before ending up in a fight? A communal space that requires tactful negotiations when doubly occupied and guarantees implicit privacy with the lock of a door? And what about those night owl/early bird couples who don't want to wake partners still sleeping?

"I think of bathrooms as living rooms," Morgane Rousseau, who designed the Hotel Particulier Montmartre, told me in an email. "The bathroom is a private place sometimes but it's also for sharing." Rousseau is currently designing an open-plan bathroom for a private apartment in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, where "the bathrooms are open and thought out like salons," with fireplaces, armchairs, tables to act as vanities or put your drink down, a pouf to put your feet up and relax. "When I made a proposal to the client to outfit a real room for the bathroom she was enchanted. She's a very elegant and beautiful woman and I thought the idea of it matched her." Is having open-plan bathrooms just the natural extension of our open kitchens and a general global modern-day tendency to open up our living spaces and live in lofts or loftlike spaces? Is it an extension of the idea that bathrooms aren't just functional necessities but spa-like focal points of our sanctuary-like homes? Or has the erosion of privacy in our public lives just made us all more comfortable being overexposed, even at home? Rousseau thinks it's a generational question. "I think with age we look for ways to seduce by modest gestures and by covering ourselves up," she says. "I don't see myself proposing an open bathroom to older people; they need much more privacy."

Source : adn.com/2013/10/02/3105899/in-luxury-hotels-the-fall-of-the.html

Top Hotels In South Virginia|"Hotels Go Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness"

Source              : abcnews.go.com
Category        :  Top Hotels In South Virginia
By                  :  JOANNA PRISCO
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Top Hotels In South Virginia

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many hotels across the country are joining the cause with pink-themed promotions and fundraising events. Here are a handful of rosy delights and destinations to consider. At the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle, customers can dine on sweet, conscientious confections, such as the pink lemon roulade cake filled with strawberry-lemon mousse. Ten percent of the price each dessert sold will go to Susan G. Komen Puget Sound, the Puget Sound area affiliate of Susan Komen for the Cure.Across the country at Four Seasons Hotel New York, the Fruitful Cause cocktail benefitting Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is made with Moët & Chandon rosé, fresh lime and grapefruit juices, Bootlegger vodka and locally distilled Greenhook Ginsmiths Beach Plum Liqueur.

Guests can also raise a glass down in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the il Lugano all-suite luxury property. Bartenders at the in-house restaurant da Campo Osteria have combined watermelon liqueur with blueberry vodka, fresh squeezed lemon and a strawberry to create the Pink Lugano, with $2 of each libation sold benefitting Susan G. Komen.The Pink Apple Spice Manicure and Pedicure at the Seagate Hotel and Spa in Delray Beach is calorie-free but just as indulgent, featuring a lower-leg apple spice rub and hot stone massage with essential oils. Ten percent of proceeds are donated toward the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign. Over at the Omni Bedford Springs resort in Bedford Springs, Pa., hotel employees have been putting their heels to the pavement at the local Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk, where last year the Omni Army group raised more than $16,300. The 3.1-mile walk concludes at the resort, where visitors can also learn about an in-house raffle to benefit breast cancer awareness and a "Pink on the Links" golf outing.

Source : abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/hotels-pink-breast-cancer-awareness/story?id=20435908

Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach|"Surprising Ways Your Hotel Room Could Make You Sick"

Source              :  news.com.au
Category        :  Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach
By                  :  MARIANNE GARVEY
Posted By     :  Hotels in Virginia Beach South Courtyard

Hotel Reservation In Virginia Beach

From the desk in a hotel room being home to 400 times more bacteria than the toilet, to 10 per cent of the pillow being made of dust mites and their poo, there are some shocking facts you may not know about the typical hotel room. The Healthy Hotels Program, which provides hotels in Australia and New Zealand with certification of their health and hygiene standards, explores the often overlooked facts to find out just how much hotels can affect health.“Health threats, germs and diseases are easiest to consider in order of how they reach our body. They are categorised by things we touch, the air we breathe and ‘auxiliary’ factors. Touch transmission remains the most common means of infection. Many viruses and bacteria are transmitted this way from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to the common cold. In the guest room, door handles, swipe keys, carpet, glasses, light switches, remotes, key board, furniture, bedding, curtains, taps and fittings, the toilet, shower, ice bucket, refrigerator, chair, bed and pillows each present a potential for transmission. The desk in a hotel room will be home to 400 times more bacteria than the toilet, the reason being that most toilets are disinfected, while furniture typically is not.

Equally one of the greatest potential threats to health in the guest room is the air we breathe. Human lungs are designed for exchange of gases and are comprised of a cellular surface area equivalent to the size of a tennis court. Oxygen passes over the membranes and directly into the bloodstream, as often do many contaminants with it. The resting adult will inhale between 10,000 to 20,000 litres of air per day including sleeping time, where the face and mouth are pressed directly onto the pillow. Air can be home to any number of micro contaminants including mould spores, fine dust, pollen and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). Some of the most dangerous air borne pollutants which are also the easiest to avoid, are air fresheners, pesticides and many conventional cleaning products. The most common VOC sources in the guest room are cleaning chemical residue and the byproduct of a process called ‘off-gassing’. Typical of newer building materials such as fresh carpets or furniture, gases from the glues, sealants and colouring agents can leech into the air for a period of time, often being mistaken for that fresh new carpet smell.

Overall, any substance which is not considered toxic to the touch must be considered completely differently if inhaled. Only 30 per cent of contaminants inhaled are ever exhaled, the remainder are broken down by the body, usually within the liver. Other auxiliary factors which have a bearing on our health and experience in the guest room include sleep habits, nutrition and electromagnetic fields (emf’s) which are often higher due to the presence of more electrical items per square metre than in a typical home. Wireless internet, mobile phones, microwaves and proximity to power outlets are just a few of the exposure points in the hotel room where we are likely to encounter emf’s. While research in many areas remains divided and is almost always controversial, the evidence points to one common theme when considering emf’s and that is, the less you are exposed to, the better. Nutrition and hydration while in the guest room are areas where common sense has the opportunity to prevail, however the subject of sleep hygiene is still largely under publicised. Exposure to bright light such as direct room lighting and device screens after sundown has been found to impact the level of melanin released within the body. This in turn can result in difficulty getting to sleep and a reduced sleep quality.

There’s no avoiding the fact that any indoor environment which is home to human activity will ultimately be contaminated with the presence of human proteins, body fluids, bacteria and most likely the presence of mould and dust mites.The Ohio State University entomology department says the weight of a two-year-old pillow can be comprised of up to 10 per cent dust mites and their excrement. In addition, carpets and beds which are not regularly or correctly sanitised have been found to contain high concentrations of mould spores and bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli). To add to the equation, when examined with black light most hotel room bed heads or head walls have been found to show evidence of human proteins. While it’s the ‘germ statistics’ that form the common rhetoric and always have, guests and hoteliers alike deserve to know the difference between the ‘gross factor’ and the elements which are more likely to cause potentially serious health concerns. It’s unrealistic for any guest room not to show evidence of human habitation, however the presence of VOC’s such as certain mould spores and chemical compounds within the air and furnishings should be taken far more seriously due to the demonstrated health implications they can represent from both short and long term exposure.

While the desk and television remote are commonly known to contain higher bacteria counts, the items which are most likely to harbour more harmful VOC’s, particularly where they can be inhaled, are the mattress and pillows. The warm, dark and moist climate is ideal for not only allergens such as dust mites, but also mould. Mould along with mould spores, is more prolific than what is commonly understood. It is almost always present and by comparison is rarely visible. Certain species of mould represent arguably the greatest and most common threat to respiratory health in any guest room. Although the number is improving, comparatively few accommodation operators sanitise their beds and carpets correctly if at all, making these areas a haven for basic allergens and bacteria, through to potentially dangerous VOC’s. For the most part, the environment is the responsibility of the operator to manage on behalf of the guest. Creating a healthy environment doesn’t need to involve expensive measures, simply educated maintenance practises.

Source : news.com.au/travel/traveladvice/surprising-ways-your-hotel-room-could-make-you-sick/story-fn6yjmti-1226728460314