For many people, Airbnb has some advantages over hotels. Users of the service often end up with nicer accommodations that are more central to their destination. Oh, and there is that nice advantage that they are usually less expensive than nearby hotels, in part because they haven’t been charging guests the typically 10-18% taxes that…
Hotel Living
Category Archives for Hotel Living.
U.S. News Top Hotels vs. TripAdvisor Top Hotels
I recently posted the TripAdvisor list of Top 25 hotels. Now comes a similar list from U.S. News & World Report. Actually the latter is much more detailed, breaking down the best of the top hotels in North American countries and many international cities. They even include a list of best hotel brands. Many people…
Update on Hotel Rate Predictions for 2015
This is going to be a painful year for hotel room rate increases. A few weeks ago I said… “The average daily rate for hotels increased over 4% each of the past three years. Freitag expects the increase in 2015 to be higher, about 5%. My projection is this will be a bit property-specific but I…
Are Your Favs in This List? TripAdvisor Top 25 Hotels
As they do every year, TripAdvisor presented their list of the Top 25 hotels in the world. With such outstanding competition, it shouldn’t be a surprise that only a couple Four Seasons properties made the list, none of them in the U.S. Indeed, the only American property to make the list is The Langham in…
Marriott Blocks Wi-Fi – FCC Says Never Again!
Seems this subject about Marriott blocking Wi-Fi at a Nashville hotel has been beaten to death but Marriott chose to drag it out. Instead of admitting it was a mistake and wouldn’t let it happen again, the hotel chain went on the offensive asking the FCC for guidance. Well, really more like protection for their…
Higher Education –> More Likely to Steal from Hotel Rooms
In a very strange survey from Germany, they found that those with higher education were actually more likely to steal items from hotel rooms. The devil, however, was in the details. Of these ‘stolen’ items, 69% were actually bathroom amenities like soap, shampoo, and other hygiene products. More surprising was that 1.3 million towels were…
New York City Sues Apt Building Operating as a Hotel
Last week the city of New York filed a lawsuit against a Manhattan apartment building claiming it was operating as a hotel. The city filed this against Metro Apartments for a few reasons. First, they claimed there were safety code violations. Second, they noted that the building was not up to hotel safety standards. Third,…
Marriott Offering Complimentary GoPro Cameras for Guests
Today there are a number of upscale hotels that offer their guests use of iPads. This idea, however, is more unique and a stroke of brilliance at Marriott. Not sure who gets the credit for this but Marriott is offering GoPro cameras to their guests. For free. Before you pack your bags and head out…
Thanks for the Email, Hyatt!
A couple weeks ago, I did a wrap up of Wi-Fi services from the major hotel chains. The easiest and best program is offered by Hyatt while the worst – bringing up a very distant and lonely rear – is Hilton. Hyatt was kind enough (well, actually smart) to
Marriott Does a U-Turn on Personal Hotspots
Last year wasn’t the easiest for Marriott. First they received a lot of negative feedback after they placed tip envelopes in guest rooms. Things only got worse for the hotel giant when they were hit with a $600,000 fine from the FCC for blocking outside internet in their meeting room areas. This meant that the…
