'Morgue drawers' back in style as Hotel pods catch on

The idea originated in Japan, to provide a cheap place for hard-working businessmen to get a night’s sleep at a reasonable price if they missed their last train home. But bunking down in a box was a tough experience to sell to the masses, so the concept has been reworked – bigged up, even – to become a bone-fide hotel sector of its own.


It meant making pod hotel rooms a little bigger – but not by much: just under five square metres is the average size, which is just enough for a wide single bed, a shower and a television.

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Former Holiday Inn manager accused of stealing more than $45,000 from hotel

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (WKTV) - The former accounting manager for the New Hartford Holiday Inn is now facing a charge of grand larceny after police said he stole more than $45,000 from the hotel.


According to Utica Police, an investigation began in March 2010 to the theft of funds from the Holiday Inn located on 1777 Burrstone Road in New Hartford. Police said Marnee Card, 29, of Vernon, who was the accounting manager there, was stealing funds from daily deposits from September 8, 2008 through December 18, 2009. Police said a total of $45,000 was taken during the 15 month period. Now, Card faces one count of third-degree grand larceny.

CHI Hotels to operate Wyndham hotel in Cardiff

CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI), together with Wyndham International Hotels and Bayscape Ltd, a development company based in Cardiff, Wales, have announced the signing of a 25-year hotel management agreement for the new ‘Wyndham Cardiff’ – a £60 million upscale hotel project that will be built on the waterfront of Cardiff Bay. The hotel location is on the prestigious site of the International Sports Village and overlooks the newly completed, 350 berth Cardiff Marina

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European hotel prices rise for fifth consecutive month

The average price of a hotel room in Europe is €120 this month, a climb of two per cent from April.


The figures, compiled by online travel firm Trivago, show significant price hikes in Nuremberg, which rose 35 percent; Barcelona, which climbed 22 percent and Oslo, which experienced a 15 percent increase to an average of €175 a night.

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Hotel Loans, Fraud, Contribute to Alpharetta Bank Failure

A fraud scheme orchestrated by a "dirty insider" and a Florida hotel developer contributed to the collapse of an Alpharetta bank that had assets totaling more than $1 billion, federal authorities said.

An indictment unsealed Friday alleges bribery, insider trading and enough money in fraudulent loans that the developer could buy his own private island in the Bahamas. It says Integrity Bank, in one of Georgia's largest bank failures, suffered $80 million in losses because of the scheme.

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Banquet Sales Person Accused of Embezzling $70,000 from Radisson Hotel

Lexington County, SC (WLTX) - Lexington County deputies have arrested a woman they say embezzled $70,000 from the Radisson Hotel on Bush River Road.


Denise McCray, 33, turned herself over to deputies Friday on a charge of breach of trust with fradulent intent.

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Nudist Hotel a "Turkey"?

A hotel in Turkey, billed as the Muslim world's first nudist hotel, was forced to close six days after it opened.


The BBC reported the 64-room resort on the Turkish Riviera shut after an inspection found that one of its balconies did not conform to the architect's drawings.

The hotel owner hopes to modify the balcony in order to re-open by Wednesday.

The resort offers guests the opportunity to strip off around the pool, or to take a special shuttle bus to a private beach where nudity is tolerated.

It's Time to Check Out of Hotel Stocks

GROWING OPTIMISM ABOUT A REVIVAL OF business and leisure travel has made Wall Street crazy for hotel stocks that investors abandoned in late 2008 and early 2009. Really crazy, based on the shares' valuation.

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Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. Revises First Quarter 2010 Financial Results

HEATHROW, Fla., May 07, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RUTH) today reported a revision to its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 28, 2010. The Company updated its earnings release dated April 30, 2010 to include a pre-tax $0.6 million reduction to interest expense which increased net income available to preferred and common shareholders to $6.5 million for the period. This change is related to the treatment of deferred financing costs associated with the Company's recent debt amendment.

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20 questions: Sol Kerzner, Kerzner International

The son of Jewish immigrants, Sol Kerzner, 74, grew up in a poor Johannesburg suburb. In 1979, after building a number of successful resorts, he embarked on his most ambitious - Sun City. It became a popular destination, attracting musicians such as Queen, Elton John and Ray Charles. In 1985, it sparked controversy when it became the focus of Artists United Against Apartheid, a music-industry activist group. He sold it at the end of the 1980s. He has since developed resorts in the Bahamas, Mexico, the Maldives and Mauritius. In 2008, he opened Atlantis, a 1,500-room resort on the Palm in Dubai.


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Choice could buy, develop brands and assets

LAS VEGAS—Choice Hotels International remains on the hunt for an upscale full-service brand to complement its existing 10-brand lineup while also trying to launch a funding program to jump-start a slow development pipeline hampered by the economy.


Steve Joyce, Choice’s president and CEO, said during a media briefing held in conjunction with the company’s 56th annual convention that the company is aggressively trying to increase its portfolio, which already numbers more than 6,000 hotels worldwide.

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Lawsuit: Bedbugs at Dubuque hotel

A Black Hawk County, Iowa, woman said she was seriously, painfully and permanently injured in a bedbug attack while staying at a Dubuque hotel.


Cassandra Cory filed suit Monday at the Dubuque County Courthouse against Dubuque Extended Stay Hotel, LLC, which operates the hotel in question -- MainStay Suites Hotel, 1275 Associates Drive.

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Nationalise pubs? Well, why not

All three major parties have pledged to "save the pub", two parties have come out with separate pub manifestos. As the election neared the Labour government even thought it would be a good idea to create the first minister for pubs.


The cynic might dismiss this as pre-election flimflam, meant to impress voters that politicians really do care about what ordinary people care about.

The pub is a safe, sexy topic. Everyone loves pubs, even if they don’t use them, so politicians must love pubs too. Even if they haven’t the faintest clue about how the industry works.

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Hospitality Technology Announces 2010 Hotel Visionary Award Winners:

(Market Wire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) RANDOLPH, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/22/10 -- Each year, Hospitality Technology (HT) magazine presents a select group of lodging companies with its Hotel Visionary Awards. These awards honor hotel companies for their outstanding vision and achievement in technology and service innovation. Winning companies are chosen based on their vision and execution; consideration is given to size, resources and individual market segment benchmarks to ensure that companies from across the lodging industry are recognized for their efforts. The 2010 Hotel Visionary Awards go to: Courtyard by Marriott, JHM Hotels, and CityCenter.

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Mandarin Owners See A Recovery

Istithmar World has no shortage of issues: It lost a Times Square office building to foreclosure and is trying to regain the foreclosed W Union Square hotel. Its embattled chief executive departed in January. And its parent, Dubai investment arm Dubai World, is trying to restructure $22 billion of debt.


Amid that upheaval, there's one trophy property that Istithmar refuses to part with despite the hefty costs of keeping it: the ritzy, 248-room Mandarin Oriental hotel in Manhattan's Time Warner Center.

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