Friday, August 31, 2007

Virginian Golf Club official says the facility is not 'stealing' water from Sinking Creek and points to drought conditions

The manager of The Virginian Golf Club says it's not to blame for downstream residents' lack of water.

"It's a drought, and they're not the only ones that are experiencing a drought," said Kenny Kerr, the golf club's general manager. "We're not stealing their water. There's nothing there to steal."

But residents along Sinking Creek, who were deeded rights to the spring in 1992, say the loss of their creek and their water supply began with the construction of the golf course -- and it's been getting worse ever since.

"We used to stand right at the house with two logs with boards hammered into them and float all the way to the store [a mile and a half away] and back just pushing with sticks," said Daniel Dutton, who added he's lived on the creek since he was a child.

He said he's never seen the water low enough to walk across without getting your feet wet, like it is now.

"There used to be rainbow trout in there," Dutton said. "They went and dynamited up there, and we haven't had water since."

David Bridgeman, president of the Sinking Creek Pipeline Association, said the pipeline has been damaged twice this summer, resulting in a loss of water and water pressure.

He said he hasn't had water since July 20, and that about 20 people depend on the pipeline to provide water for their animals.

"The price of grain and trying to keep the animals going is real pressure," he said, "so when you've got to pay for water, it can get really expensive, if you're trying to feed 20 or 30 animals."

Bridgeman said he too used to float down the stream when he was young -- but now it's less than ankle-deep, and the gravel stream bottom is covered in silt.

In 1991, as the golf course development was beginning, the Bristol Tennessee Water Department -- which owned the spring -- estimated the stream's flow rate at 2.3 million gallons a day. Bridgeman said the flow was recently measured at 300,000 gallons a day.

Golf course officials told the Herald Courier in 1991 that water use by The Virginian would not have a negative effect on the spring.

Even with a Herald Courier reporter and photographer, Bridgeman was denied access Wednesday to the spring house -- although access by road across golf club property is specifically granted in the deed to the water source.

He's taking up a collection among neighbors to pay a lawyer to make the golf club fix the spring after the pipeline was damaged twice, dropping the water level and eliminating the water pressure.

"It's hard standing up to these billionaires," Bridgeman said.

Kerr said the golf club has drilled three wells within the last year to "keep the golf course alive" but they have nothing to do with the neighbors' dwindling water source.

He said a water line was broken during construction, but it was immediately repaired, and that in the past, golf club employees have been sent to help the neighbors with their water woes.

Larry Fleenor, who spoke about the issue at Tuesday's regular meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, isn't convinced The Virginian is a good neighbor.

"If there's no water now and there was before the wells, I guess that's the only thing I can come up with," Fleenor said.

More than 15 years ago, the golf club shut off the pipeline, and the Bristol Tennessee Water Department repaired it. The water department deeded the spring to the Pipeline Association in 1992.

Now residents use county water for their homes, but still rely on the pipeline for their animals.

Dutton said he thinks the golf club has tapped into the pipeline that belongs to residents -- but he can't prove it.

"They killed everything in the creek right there," said Bobby Lilly, another neighbor. "Isn't there a law against that?"

Bridgeman said he's afraid the golf club will run the pipeline dry and somehow use the lack of water to void the community's water rights.

A 1992 agreement states residents' rights to the spring "shall continue for as long as the Pipeline Association exists and uses the pipeline to draw water from the spring to serve its members."

Fleenor said he doesn't understand why, with pleas for help to more than a dozen state and federal agencies, the community is still watching its creek run dry.

"Let's put my grass next to theirs and see which is greener. It's not too hard to see where the water's at," he said.

"I just don't understand how they could completely destroy a stream that size and nobody has any responsibility."

Seattle mayor's son to admit role in cheating at Nooksack River Casino

Jacob Dyson Nickels, the son of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, has agreed to plead guilty to his involvement in a casino-cheating ring accused of stealing millions of dollars by bribing dealers in seven states.

Nickels, 25, was a pit boss at the Nooksack Indian Tribe's Nooksack River Casino in Deming in the summer of 2005 when he accepted $5,000 to introduce one of the ring's alleged conspirators to Levi Seth Mayfield and Kasey James McKillip, according to an indictment unsealed in May.

Mayfield and McKillip allegedly used fake shuffling techniques that allowed San Diego residents George Michael Lee and Tien Duc Vu to bilk the casino out of approximately $90,000. Nickels, Mayfield and McKillip took a cut of Lee and Vu's winnings, according to the indictment.

Vu and Lee are accused of being part of a larger racketeering scheme that stole millions of dollars from 18 casinos across the country.

Nickels, Mayfield and McKillip were charged with one count of conspiracy and four counts of theft of funds from a gaming establishment on Indian lands. Mayfield pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on July 31 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 7. McKillip's attorney made a motion to dismiss one of the theft charges, claiming that it happened before he joined the alleged conspiracy.

Nickels is scheduled to enter a guilty plea before a U.S. magistrate judge in Seattle today.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

British workforce risks burn out.

Many Britons are working themselves into the ground with the longest working hours in Europe, coupled with the shortest holidays1 -

Holiday Inn has identified the worrying condition of Holi'rexia which is turning some of the British workforce into exhausted, depressive, de-motivated, bad tempered, insomniacs. But while the findings make alarming reading, the cure is simple, easy and enjoyable - taking more breaks and making the most of your holidays.

British workers short changed: Close to two million workers (1.8m) report taking just half their allocated annual leave with close to a quarter of a million (241,966) pushed to breaking point, unable to take any time off in more than 12 months. Overall more than 6.1m (1 in 5) respondents report losing out at least some of their annual entitlement.

Live to work culture: Despite 48 hours being the legal limit for weekly working hours without individual consent, 3m are working more than 50 hours a week with a third of a million (324,750) clocking up 70 hours or more a week.

Office treadmill: In Great Britain, one in six (14% - 3.6m) report working more than seven months without taking a break. More worryingly, 10% (2.7m) admitted to going close to a year without time off.

Spotting the signs of Holi'rexia: Workers cite a range of symptoms resulting from excessive workload and lack of holiday, with tiredness cited as the leading impact (65%) and demotivation (43%), bad temper (40%), depression (29%) and insomnia (22%) also affecting sufferers.

Incredible shrinking vacation: When finally able to take time off, 31% (8.2m) managed just one week with two to three days being the second most popular choice (19% - 5m). The classic fortnight has been relegated to third place, with just 12% (3.2m) reporting a longer break.

British workers will be breathing a collective sigh of relief as August bank holiday approaches. The findings of research conducted by Holiday Inn are a wake up to Britain's bosses, revealing a nation in the grip of Holi'rexia brought on by a combination of long hours and lack of holiday.

Wake up call for Britain's bosses

Britain's bosses need to look again at their concept of work life balance after the research findings revealed workers suffer from symptoms of exhaustion, depression, bad temper and insomnia as a result of too much work and not enough play.

Once known as the dirty man of Europe, Britain is close to claiming the title of the continent's workhorse with more than a quarter (27%) of Britons (7m) regularly breaching the standard 40 hour week. Over 324,000 report clocking up to 70+ hours a week, the equivalent of a 14 hour day from Monday to Friday, calling into question employers' responsibility to secure the wellbeing of their staff.

The findings are compounded by the fact that workers are finding it harder to take time off as a result of the pressure to perform. In one alarming finding, close to two million admitted to losing out on more than half of their annual leave as a result of work pressure.

Even more worryingly, almost a quarter of a million could be close to burnout, by admitting to working throughout the year without a day off, prompting questions around the impact on health and wellbeing.

Tired, demotivated and bad tempered

With ever greater pressure on the bottom line, British business could be shooting itself in the foot by failing to address the impact caused by longer hours and failure to take sensible breaks. Workers report suffering from a range of symptoms associated with the impact of longer hours and lack of time off, citing tiredness (65% - 17.6m) as the primary impact.

But of perhaps greater concern for business leaders is that of the potential impact on workplace morale, with staff complaining of demotivation (43% - 11.4m), bad temper (40% - 10.8m), depression (29% - 7.7m) and insomnia (22% - 5.9m) as a result of the relentless pressure and failure to take adequate time off.

Holiday patterns confirm the picture, with a quarter (24% - 6.3m) of British workhorses admitting to going between seven to 12 months without any sort of break; of those, 42% (2.6m) report pushing through between ten to 12 months without a day off.

When workers do finally take a break, the trend is away from the classic fortnight, with the majority (68% - 18.3m) committing to just one week or less, further compounding the problem and failing to provide a true respite from the gruelling pace..

And with over 324,000 clocking up to 70 hours or more a week, it's hardly surprising that workers report impact on relaxation time once they make it out of the office. Almost two thirds (60% - 11.9m) of those surveyed complained of using holiday time to run catch up on personal errands further compounding the sense of little down time.

Alexi Hakim, Chief Operating Officer UK & Ireland, InterContinental Hotels Group said: "The findings come as we face the final bank holiday of the year and reveal a workforce at risk of burn out. As a nation we need to face the fact all work and no play leaves us stressed out, exhausted and unproductive. Workers need to take more regular breaks and pace themselves to avoid the impact of Holi'rexia".

Marriott opens first in Turkey.

Marriott Int'l has opened the first of its upscale Marriott brand in Turkey - the 238 room Istanbul Marriott Hotel Asia, under a franchise agreement with the Buyukhanli Group.

The hotel is the first of its kind to open on the Asian side of Istanbul.

The hotel is located in Kozyatagi, an emerging business district on the Asian side of Istanbul. Nearby is a large, 20-story retail multiplex, as well as the offices of several multinational companies such as Proctor & Gamble Turkey, Novartis, ABB, Bosch, Honda, Siemens and Unilever. Sabiha Gokcen Airport is about a 15-minute drive south of the hotel.

The 22-floor hotel’s 219 spacious guest rooms and 19 suites are equipped with luxury bedding, high-speed Internet access, large work desk, flat-screen television, individual climate control and mini-bar. Executive rooms and suites offer free high-speed Internet, free mini-bar and access to the hotel’s Executive Lounge.

For dining and entertainment, the Orange Southern Mediterranean Grill offers a menu featuring both southern Mediterranean and creative modern Turkish cuisine, and serves three meals daily. The Pool Bar Terrace offers lunch barbecue, salads and great frozen drinks. Guests seeking a quick coffee and fresh pastries in the morning, or salads for lunch, can visit the 49 East Lounge.

Recreational amenities include two outdoor swimming pools with a large terrace, a squash court and the 1,000-square-meter Palestra Fitness & Spa center, including a gym, Turkish and steam baths, sauna, resting rooms, lockers and a hairdresser.

Business services and amenities include an Executive Floor and Lounge and a business center. Other amenities will be centered on 24-hour room service, in-room mini-bar, on-site retail outlets, high-speed Internet access and Wi-Fi.

For social events and conferences, the Istanbul Marriott Asia has 11 meeting rooms covering a total of 13,353 square feet (1,240 square meters) of space, including an 8,156 square-foot (757 square meters) ballroom that will be easily divisible into three sections; several meeting rooms in varying configurations and two boardrooms.

Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International’s flagship hotel brand aimed towards the achievement-oriented guests who are accustomed to comfortable and dependable surroundings and who prefer hotels that offer distinctiveness in design, environments that inspire performance and caring, and consistent service that meets their needs and helps them accomplish their goals.

The Marriott International lodging portfolio in Turkey is currently represented by the 404-room Renaissance Polat hotel near the Ataturk International Airport, the 245-room Renaissance Antalya Beach Resort & Spa, and the 220-room Renaissance Polat Erzurum Hotel.

State suspends guidelines for matching tourism funds

Aug. 28--An outcry from local tourism boards has forced the state to rethink plans to send more matching dollars to the state's two biggest cities while leaving a smaller pool of money for agencies such as the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"Based on the reaction, which was significant and largely negative, [the proposal] has been suspended," said Mickey Rowley, the state's deputy secretary for tourism.

The new guidelines have been suspended until Sept. 13. "We will take comments until then and reissue new guidelines after that," Rowley said.

Under the proposed guidelines, the state was to increase Pittsburgh's share by 37 percent and Philadelphia's by 11 percent in the upcoming fiscal year, according to state Rep. Tom Tangretti, D-Westmoreland, who heads the House Tourism & Recreational Development Committee.

Meanwhile, there would be a 12 percent drop in money available to the other tourism agencies.

The proposal had many of the 49 tourism agencies on the phone with their legislators, pleading for help. Agencies apply for matching grants in October.

The outcry comes on the heels of the state's decision to trim the tourism budget by 3.75 percent this fiscal year, from $11 million to $10.5 million.

For the Lehigh Valley Visitors Bureau, a 12 percent cut would translate to a $37,000 loss, according to President Michael Stershic. The bureau received $269,000 in matching funds last year, he said.

"We're asking them to reconsider," Stershic said. "It will affect the amount of marketing we're able to do. We would look at what we could cut in administrative overhead, but the likely cuts would be from our marketing overhead."

The Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau estimated it could lose $200,000.

"It's very disturbing. Agencies across the state are up in arms about it," said Bob Uguccioni, president of the four-county bureau, which received $1.8 million in state matching funds last year.

"I don't think it will stick. There's too much turmoil," Uguccioni said about the suspended guidelines. "It has caused a firestorm around the state, and we're in the hospitality business. We don't like to fight with other tourism agencies. It's nothing against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh."

Jerry Lepping, executive director of the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau, which received $260,000 matching funds last year, said the biggest problem agencies face is that they prepared their upcoming budgets in June, none of which anticipated more than a 4 percent cut in funding.

"What we didn't know is they, in effect, are giving us a 12 percent cut. For us, that's about $20,000," he said.

On top of that, Lepping said, the state wanted to require tourism agencies to spend 15 percent of their state outlay on advertising in state-owned publications.

"We didn't like that either," he said.

Rowley said most of the reaction was over the rule about advertising in state-owned publications.

"They felt it would cut into their freedom to spend money as they see fit," Rowley said. "We thought it would help with deficits. Other states do it. But we should have involved agencies a little more in how we should go about it."

Rowley said another thing making it harder to divvy up the money is that the state provides matching grants. Rowley said 47 counties introduced hotel room taxes in recent years, nearly doubling their tourism revenue, from $24 million to $42 million. Higher revenue usually translates into higher state matching grants.

"Because of the hotel tax, more agencies are applying. Therefore, we have an obligation to look at this. We think the hotel tax is a factor in how we should administer a limited source of revenue. The state cannot continue to match it all. We couldn't keep up with it, and we haven't heard any member of our legislature say we should," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Says he feared Carbon commissioners would sue him in retaliation

By Chris Parker, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.McClatchy-Tribune Regional News

Aug. 29--The owner of a Jim Thorpe bed-and-breakfast has withdrawn his criminal complaint against Carbon County commissioners over courthouse tower carillon that rings endless repetitions of the same tunes, saying he fears a lawsuit.

Robert Handwerk withdrew the complaint against Commissioners Charles Getz, Wayne Nothstein and Chairman William O'Gurek on Monday.

He had filed the complaint, which said the recorded bell music constitutes harassment and disorderly conduct, both summary offenses, on Aug. 16 with District Judge Edward Lewis of Jim Thorpe.

But Handwerk plans to appeal again to the commissioners at their public meeting tomorrow to scale back the music.

"I found out what they had planned to do -- to hire a high-priced lawyer and if they lost, keep appealing it and then come back and sue me for legal fees," Handwerk said Wednesday. "I'm not stupid -- that's what they did to those people with the Packerton building."

Handwerk referred to a suit filed in Carbon County Court against Thomas Zimmerman IV, who repeatedly challenged the demolition of the old Packerton Yards. Zimmerman in April was ordered to pay the county $8,114 for money it spent defending its actions.

"I'm glad that he's withdrawn it. The countersuit never came up with any of the commissioners. Where he's getting that, I don't know," Getz said. "I'm not too happy with those remarks. And as for Packerton Yards, that is like comparing apples and oranges.

"I just wish he would let it go. Everybody we talk to enjoys those bells," Getz said.

Handwerk said none of the commissioners told him they would sue him, but that he had heard it from other people.

Handwerk, owner of the historic Harry Packer Mansion overlooking the downtown, has publicly complained to the commissioners for weeks that the music from the tower's computerized carillon, which plays a series of tunes five times a day, is driving him crazy.

Handwerk's home, an 1874 mansion he runs as an inn, is atop Packer Hill, a few hundred feet behind and level with the courthouse clock tower.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Plan is to clean it up, tear it down

This probably won't get printed, because editors usually cut out things like this, but here it goes:

Hardly a day goes by without someone calling Sound Off and daring the Sun Herald to print their opinion or others saying "I bet my comment" spends eternity in a dark basement with thousands of other Sound Off rejects, instead of being printed in the A-2 column.

Some callers suggest the newspaper has a personal grudge against them -- even though the calls are made anonymously -- such as in the recent call regarding the old Best Western Hotel property on the beach in Gulfport.

"I am sure this won't be printed because you never print anything I call in, but here it goes: I think everyone in Gulfport knows who owns that property downtown on the beach that was the Best Western Hotel by the power company," the caller said.

It's unclear whether the caller was hinting at the prominent Salloum family, which owns several prime pieces of Coast real estate, including, at one time, the old Best Western property.

However, the family recently sold the beachfront land to the state Department of Transportation, which is buying property along the route of a potentially elevated roadway linking the state port to Interstate 10 through downtown.

Southern District Transportation Commissioner Wayne Brown has said MDOT is "only buying property from willing sellers."

With public support for a raised connector at an all-time low and changes to the South Mississippi landscape since Katrina, MDOT officially placed the downtown project on hold earlier this year. The agency said it could be six or seven years before it even considers that part of the plan again.

"Why hasn't anybody said anything about that mess?" the Sound Offer asked. "When they have dogged everybody else about cleaning up and moving their FEMA trailers, and the people who have the money to clean up aren't. They are weighing all their many options."

Brown said MDOT has received a contract to have the building demolished, but he said, "Unfortunately, I think there are some people living in it and under the law, we have to give them time to find other arrangements."

So when will MDOT get to cleaning the land? "The sooner the better, is my answer to that question," Brown said.

City lawsuit against Mush Inn Motel is dismissed

Anchorage's lawsuit seeking to declare the Mush Inn Motel a public nuisance has been dismissed, the city said today.

The owners of the East Anchorage motel near the Merrill Field airport have improved security at the site, and the number of police calls to the business has fallen, the city said.

In March, Anchorage sued the motel and its owners in state Superior Court under the state's new nuisance laws. The downtown motel drew more police calls -- 535 -- than any other single Anchorage building last year, according to the city. A 36-year-old man was shot and killed in a room there in February.

The city and motel owners jointly petitioned the court this week to dismiss the lawsuit.

In recent weeks, Mush Inn owners have upgraded video surveillance cameras and installed new ones, removed junk vehicles, fixed broken windows, installed gates, improved door locks and modified policies for patrons. The motel also contracted with a private security firm to have a guard onsite in the evening and early morning, the city said.

Before the lawsuit was filed, police were averaging 54 visits a month to the motel, the city said. They have averaged 30 visits a month since April -- most were security checks, welfare checks, follow-ups and general disturbance calls. Sixteen were serious, the city said.

Return to adn.com for updates to this story, and see tomorrow's print edition of the Daily News for full coverage.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Brand Strategist Dennis Marzella Joins Restaurant Consulting Firm

ORLANDO, Fla. — One of the leading hospitality strategists and consumer behavior experts has accepted a position at the nation’s largest full-service restaurant consulting firm. After 18 years with Y partnership, previously YPB&R, Dennis Marzella has resigned his partnership post as executive vice president of strategic planning, branding and research to spearhead similar functions at Quantified Marketing Group, an Orlando-based restaurant marketing firm that has represented more than 3,000 restaurants around the world.

Headquartered in Orlando, Y partnership is one of the most accomplished integrated marketing firms in the U.S. specializing in the travel, leisure and entertainment industries.

Regarded as one of the foremost travel experts, Marzella was co-author and developer of the annual YPB&R/Yankelovich, Inc. National Leisure Travel Monitor and the National Business Travel Monitor, acclaimed barometers of the changing lifestyle, attitudes and travel preferences of Americans.

A periodic columnist for Travel Marketing Decisions and Hotel & Motel Management Magazine, Marzella is also a frequent speaker at travel industry symposia throughout the country, including ATME Annual Conference, Crown Luxury Collection, Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, American Express Travel Agent Partners Conference, the National Ski Area Association Conference, Hotel Design Conference in Las Vegas, Hilton International General Managers Conference, Relais & Chateaux General Managers Conference and the LA Real Estate and Investment Conference. He also served on Getty’s Hotel of Tomorrow task force in 2006 and 2007.

Marzella, who developed a story-based approach to brand strategy with a team at i.d.e.a.s. at Disney MGM Studios, cut his teeth at Leo Burnett Worldwide, one of the largest advertising companies in the world with a client portfolio that has included McDonald’s and Walt Disney. He also played a key executive role in corporate development for Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Viking Line.

Marzella was a founding faculty member and a tenured associate professor of marketing for the School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University where he also served as a consultant to hotels, cruise lines and destination promotion boards.

The foundation marketing research Marzella completed during his time at Florida International University was a prelude to the development of South Beach.

At Quantified Marketing Group Marzella will lead development of robust marketing intelligence systems, including consumer behavior tracking studies and custom research. These programs will help restaurant clients adjust to changing market conditions and identify consumer receptivity to new restaurant concepts offering innovative cuisine.

He will also help the restaurant-specific firm venture into the hotel arena by cultivating a new division focused on enhancing food and beverage operations, categories and price points within hotels around the world.

“Typically, a hotel directs great effort and financial resources into marketing the hotel, but they have outdated F&B operations and poor internal marketing,” said Aaron Allen, founder and CEO of Quantified Marketing Group and a former marketing executive with The Breakers Palm Beach. “Dennis’ deep understanding of consumer trends and the hotel industry coupled with our expertise in the restaurant consulting arena helped us identify an underserved market for hotel F&B. We intend to help hotels create destination restaurants on hotel properties - a dream many hoteliers have had unfulfilled for decades.”

Launched in 2001 by third-generation restaurateur Allen inside his two-bedroom apartment, Quantified Marketing Group in a six-year period has grown into the nation’s largest full-service strategic marketing and public relations firm specializing exclusively in the restaurant industry.

Quantified Marketing Group meets the diverse needs of high-volume independent restaurant operations and regional and national restaurant chains through a menu of services that includes public relations, concept development, design, marketing strategy, culinary development, beverage development, training, local store marketing, business planning and grand opening programs.

Race a Porsche with Hyatt

Racing at Porsche driving school and a Bang & Olufsen home stereo system are among new items available, through Hyatt Gold Passport Exclusives™ Auction.

Beginning July 9 through July 18, 2007, Hyatt Gold Passport members will have the opportunity to use their points to bid on Hyatt Gold Passport Exclusives™ auction packages featuring some of the world’s finest products and most extraordinary experiences. This is the sixth Hyatt Gold Passport Exclusives auction since the program’s inception in November 2005 and features the most elaborate and lavish packages to date.

Available packages up for bid on www.Goldpassport.com/exclusives include:

Porsche Sport Driving School at the Barber Motor Sports Park (Birmingham, AL)

Thrill-seekers can master their driving skills with instruction from racing professionals at the Porsche Sport Driving School. This two-day high performance driving experience begins with classroom training outlining vehicle dynamics and driving technique, followed by time on the track and an off-road course.

The package includes:

* A two-day high-performance driving course for one participant
* The ability for a guest to join in classroom sessions and course time as a passenger during the track sessions
* All meals for both attendees during the two-day session
* Two-night accommodations at the Hyatt Place Birmingham/Inverness in Birmingham, AL.

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts® is an official sponsor of Porsche Motorsport and the Alex Job Racing Team. Learn more about the program at www.porschedriving.com.

Bang & Olufsen Home Stereo System

Bring home the world-class sound of Bang & Olufsen. The BeoSound 9000 six-CD changer integrates an AM/FM radio and the possibility for digital music playback. The sounds of the BeoSound 9000 can also be enriched with a set of unique BeoLab 6000 speakers. Both components are designed to adapt to a variety of placement alternatives, different ways of use, as well as to physical changes in the surrounding environment.

Bang & Olufsen products are available in select Park Hyatt® Hotels worldwide and Hyatt hotels in Asia and Europe.

Southern Hemisphere Ski Vacation (Santiago, Chile)

Hit the slopes of the Andes Mountains during a getaway for two people to Santiago, Chile. The trip includes two days of skiing at two of Chile’s finest ski resorts, plus a spa treatment to soothe aching muscles at AKO, the hotel’s spa\. This package also includes continental breakfast and evening cocktails in the Grand Club lounge, featuring stunning view of the snow-capped mountain range. At the end of the evening, unwind in the luxury of your Presidential Suite at the Grand Hyatt Santiago.

This package includes:

* Two lift tickets and round-trip transportation to Valle Nevado Ski Resort
* Two lift tickets and round-trip transportation to Portillo Ski Resort
* Choice of a 60-minute spa treatment per person: Swedish Massage or Lymphatic
* Treatment at AKO Spa
* Three-night accommodations at Grand Hyatt Santiago in the Presidential Suite
* Breakfast and evening cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Grand Club lounge
* Roundtrip airport transfers

Indulge at The Barai at the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin, Thailand

Relax and unwind at one of Hyatt’s newest spas, The Barai at Hyatt Regency Hua Hin in Thailand. The spa, recently featured in Conde Nast Traveler’s 2007 Hot List, has been designed to ensure that guests enjoy the ultimate relaxation and rejuvenation of the mind and body. The Barai offers a selection of treatments based on the Thai belief of maintaining the vitality and balance of the four elements: Water, Earth, Air and Fire.

The package includes:

* Two consecutive nights accommodation in a Barai Balcony Suite for up to two guests
* One hour in-suite spa treatment per person per day: Aromatherapy or Thai Traditional
* Daily healthy breakfast at McFarland House or in-suite
* All-day tea and healthy beverages, and evening cocktails at McFarland House
* In-suite herbal steam bath
* Daily fresh tropical fruit and flowers

Barista for the Day with the Ultimate Starbucks Coffee Experience (Seattle, WA)

Unleash an inner barista with this package in Seattle, WA and enjoy a unique opportunity to get an insider look into Starbucks, coffee tasting and training as well as a chance to explore the magnificent Pacific Northwest.

This package includes:

* Three hours of coffee tasting and training with Starbucks Coffee specialists to learn how coffee is selected and tasted
* A behind-the-scenes tour of a Starbucks roasting plant with a Senior Coffee Education Specialist where guests can follow the beans from their arrival in burlap bags to the packaging of your favorite Starbucks coffee
* Starbucks Home Espresso maker complete with syrup and accessories to take home
* Two-night Executive Suite accommodation for two at the Grand Hyatt Seattle
* Full breakfast for two each day
* $100 gift certificate to a Tom Douglas restaurant

A380 world tour continues.

Airbus' A380 will embark for a series of demonstration tours starting on 30th August, key airports in South East Asia and the US will be visited -

The Asia-A380-tour will be conducted with flight-test-aircraft MSN (Manufacturer's Serial Number) 007, powered by four Rolls Royce Trend 900 engines. The world's largest and most innovative passenger jet flying today is equipped with a full passenger cabin, which can comfortably carry 520 passengers in an extra quiet and relaxing three-class cabin-environment.

The International Airports to be visited are:

* Thailand, Bangkok / Chiang Mai -- August 31 - September 2
* Vietnam, Hanoi -- September 2-3
* China, Hongkong (Asian Aerospace) -- September 3-5
* Korea, Seoul -- September 5-7.

The US-tour will take the A380 flight-test-aircraft MSN009, powered by four Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, to the United States. The visits are part of the ongoing route proving process for this aircraft/engine-combination. The aircraft, which has no passenger-cabin, is on static display at the following airports:

* Connecticut, Bradley International Airport (BDL) -- October 2-3
* Kentucky, Cincinnati/N. Kentucky Airport (CVG) -- October 3-4
* California, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) -- October 4-5.

Both demonstration tours are part of the extensive campaign to prepare the A380 for a smooth entry into service. Operating under typical airline conditions, both aircraft will undergo airport compatibility checks, ground handling and maintenance procedures to confirm its readiness to enter service. The A380 has already visited more than 45 airports and by 2011, more than 70 airports will be ready for A380 operations.

Total orders and commitments for the A380 are 173 by 14 customers. The first customer A380 will be delivered to Singapore Airlines in October. Subsequent aircraft, for delivery to Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Qantas, are also well on track.

The A380 will provide more comfort in every class and more open space for relaxation than any other aircraft. Passengers will enjoy a new way of flying while benefiting from the quietest cabin in the sky. The aircrafts‘ efficiency and advanced technologies will result in outstanding economics and higher operational flexibility as seat-mile costs are 20 percent lower and range 15 percent greater compared to today's existing large aircrafts.

Being cleaner, greener, quieter and smarter, the A380 is already setting new standards for transport and the environment. Per passenger, the A380 is as fuel efficient as a small economical family car. Requiring shorter runways for take off and landing, the A380 also provides vital extra passenger capacity without increasing the number of flights. So the aircraft is an ideal solution to today's congested airports.

Luxury hotel development may finally win approval (Santa Barbara News-Press, Calif.)

After 14 years of battles, setbacks and other delays, developer Fess Parker appears ready to get the green light to build his 150-room luxury hotel along the Santa Barbara waterfront, and construction might even start by year's end.

The visible homestretch of a long and often contentious journey, which began in 1993 when the city gave its original approval for the project, marks another victory for Mr. Parker, who admits that he enjoys engaging in epic battles to achieve his goals.

"I do love a good spat," Mr. Parker said during an exclusive interview held at the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn in Los Olivos. The Texas-born former actor, who gained fame by playing frontier heroes Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, celebrated his 84th birthday last week and expressed no desire to slip into a quiet retirement.

"People who have retired and who are not busy doing things are not long for this world," he said when asked why the new hotel was important to him and why he chose to keep working so hard. "I like what I do and I'm going to keep on doing it as long as I can."

Despite butting heads with many locals over this project during the past decade, Mr. Parker and the city actually had the same goal all along: to transform an unsightly parcel of waterfront land into an attractive, high-end hotel that would provide a boost to bed tax revenues. Santa Barbara still has room for another hotel that can command room rates above $300 a night, and Mr. Parker's new hotel will be a most welcome addition, according to several city officials and tourism experts.

"I'm very excited about it. It will be cleaning up an empty lot that attracts homeless people right now and is unsightly. So the hotel will be a vast improvement," said Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum. "It's a niche hotel that we don't have right now along the city waterfront. I think that's exciting for the city's bed taxes.

"And even more important than anything else is," she added, "it will enliven that part of the waterfront (near East Beach)."

In recent years, Santa Barbara's hotel inventory has experienced significant changes, especially in the luxury properties segment, said Shannon Brooks, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission.

"Our luxury offerings have strengthened considerably, which helps us retain market share given the competition presented by Southern California with several new coastal luxury resorts that have opened in Orange County and San Diego," Ms. Brooks explained.

The future waterfront hotel (that's just a working name as Mr. Parker has not yet given the project its formal moniker) will join an existing line of top-notch, beachside accommodations nearby, among them the Four Seasons The Biltmore Santa Barbara which recently completed a $260 million renovation, and Bacara -- both at the highest range for nightly room rates.

Not far behind in price and pampering is the remodeled and expanded Harbor View Inn near Stearns Wharf, plus Fess Parker's other hotel, the DoubleTree near East Beach.

Additional properties that are currently closed but plan to reopen in a couple of years with a big bang include El Encanto, owned by posh-property powerhouse Orient-Express, and the Miramar, with a long-awaited resurrection by developer Rick Caruso.

Regardless of the competition, Mr. Parker's waterfront hotel should do just fine, said several tourism professionals.

"All of our luxury hotels have a distinctive style of their own and cater to different clientele, so a new hotel can set itself apart and will complement other luxury offerings in our region," said Ms. Brooks.

Most important for Santa Barbara is the additional bed taxes that the waterfront hotel will contribute to city coffers. The Biltmore, Bacara and San Ysidro Ranch pay bed taxes to the county, not the city. (In Bacara's case, some of it goes to the city of Goleta.) Dave Davis -- former community development director of Santa Barbara who helped shape Chase Palm Park, Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort and the revitalization of downtown -- said the city has been waiting a long time for the waterfront hotel to open its doors.

"The city did a hotel economic study in the late '80s or so. And it found that even with the hotel that is now the DoubleTree, that didn't provide an anchor high-end hotel that the city needed. The study showed that there was still room for another four- or five-star hotel in the area," he explained.

Originally, the city envisioned the property where the DoubleTree now stands as the ideal location for the high-end hotel, Mr. Davis said.

Mr. Parker was looking for a hotel company to partner with him in the project but he insisted on keeping half of the ownership. That requirement drastically cut his chances of partnering with a well-known luxury brand, according to Mr. Davis.

Mr. Parker eventually hooked up with a big-name partner, but he ended up with the mid-level Red Lion chain. DoubleTree later purchased Red Lion, and the name was changed.

"Fess wanted a 50-50 partnership and none of the big (high-end) hotels would enter into that kind of deal," said Mr. Davis, who is now the executive director of the Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara.

"He ended up partnering with the Red Lion, but the city really wanted a Biltmore."

The Red Lion made a tremendous leap in altering the image of Cabrillo Boulevard, in the late 1980s to early 1990s, a time, according to Mr. Davis, when the majority of hotel and motel properties on the street "were the pits."

"Now we're seeing all these renovations and upgrades over there. It took a decade to make those changes," he said. "Fess' new hotel is the last cornerstone of the plan to upgrade the hotels on Cabrillo. There is no other (vacant) land available for a new hotel."

Mr. Parker received approval from the city in 1993 to build a 150-room hotel on the site across from the DoubleTree, with the grand entrance at Calle César Chavez. He originally planned to put all of the parking underground, but later determined the cost to do so would make the project unfeasible.

He came back to the city asking to build a 225-room hotel instead, to help pay for the underground parking, but the city said he would have to go through the approval process all over again. Frustrated, Mr. Parker attempted to circumvent the planning process. He pursued a ballot initiative in 1999 asking voters to allow him to build the 225-room hotel. Santa Barbarans overwhelmingly voted "no." So Mr. Parker had to work with the city in finding a way to make a 150-room hotel work with the required parking.

Back in 1999, the estimated cost to build the 225-room hotel with parking underground was $58 million. Today's plan for a 150-room hotel, with all-valet parking at two locations off site on Calle César Chavez, is estimated at $90 million. Mr. Parker adds that the hotel is expected to contribute $1.5 million a year in bed taxes to the city.

As part of the original Waterfront hotel development agreement with the city, Mr. Parker agreed to donate five acres of property for a park that would eventually become Chase Palm Park. He also agreed to build a low-priced, 100-room hostel nearby.

Construction of a hostel was a requirement imposed by the California Coastal Commission, Mr. Davis said. When the city revised the land-use plan along Cabrillo Boulevard to allow the addition of a luxury hotel, the Coastal Commission insisted that a budget accommodation also be built nearby to "balance" the type of new lodgings around the beach.

"Fess had approval to build on 3 acres, but he was given the option of expanding it to 3.4 acres if he also built a hostel," Mr. Davis said. "It was his choice. And he chose to build on 3.4 acres, so that meant he had to do the hostel."

The hostel has essentially received its final approval, with only small details needed for a blessing from the Historic Landmarks Commission.

"Santa Barbara is not known for our budget accommodations," said Ms. Brooks from the visitors bureau. "And a new hostel would present our international visitors and the younger demographic with another option, making Santa Barbara more accessible to them."

On Wednesday, the Waterfront hotel design team goes before the Historic Landmarks Commission seeking approval for the final plans. Building permits have been applied for and construction could start by the end of the year.

If it does, said Mr. Parker, he anticipates opening the hotel in late 2009.

He still has not decided on the hotel's final name, however. But there are three things that will be part of the hotel's identification: 1) it will have a reference to the waterfront location and 2) it will include Santa Barbara.

Third, and perhaps most important of all, the hotel name will be prefaced with "Fess Parker."

Hotel magnate Leona Helmsley dies in Greenwich at 87 (The Stamford Advocate, Conn.)

Aug. 21--Dubbed the "Queen of Mean" by some but known as a generous benefactor to local nonprofit agencies, Leona Helmsley died yesterday at her backcountry Greenwich estate on Round Hill Road.

Mrs. Helmsley had been in declining health the past few weeks and died of heart failure yesterday morning, her New York publicist Howard Rubenstein said. She was 87.

Mrs. Helmsley and her late husband, Harry, carved out one of the most recognizable names in the hotel and real estate industry, though her own notoriety reached new heights following a 1989 tax evasion conviction for fraudulently billing $4 million in personal expenses, largely for renovations to her Dunnellen estate in Greenwich.

Former employees testified that Mrs. Helmsley was a mean-sprited Greenwich baroness who supposedly quipped that only "little people" pay taxes, though she denied making that statement.

After her imprisonment, including 18 months in federal prison in Bridgeport, Mrs. Helmsley stayed in the spotlight as she battled with contractors, business partners and others who said she had short-changed them in court. Mrs. Helmsley was acutely aware of her notoriety, though she and her supporters believed it was misplaced.

"She always said, 'I want what I'm owed, I want what's due to me,' " Rubenstein said. "A lot of times she would say to me, 'If I was a man, they wouldn't say this about me. They would just say that I'm tough.' "

Despite her litigious and combative reputation, Helmsley also left a philanthropic streak that in some cases was unrivaled. Her $10 million contribution to Greenwich Hospital, which came after her late husband was hospitalized there, remains the largest single donation, hospital president Frank Corvino said.

The money was used to open the Leona and Harry B. Helmsley Medical Building in 1999. Over the years, Mrs. Helmsley donated an additional $4 million.

"Now and then, we would request financial donation for certain things," Corvino said. "Sometimes a check would arrive unsolicited."

Mrs. Helmsley was known to be cordial and generous to charities and nonprofits that came calling, including the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Co., which received $33,000 in donations during the past two years, said Ron Brien, a fire company board member. Brien met Mrs. Helmsley at a Manhattan party hosted by Rubenstein and who also shared with her an affiliation with the UJA-Federation of New York.

"She was always philanthropic with UJA and she was always supportive of Round Hill and so we only have good things to say about her," Brien said.

Mrs. Helmsley was born July 4, 1920, in Ulster County, N.Y., to the late Ida and Morris Rosenthal. A former model who later worked as a real estate broker, she was married and divorced twice. Her first marriage resulted in her only child, Jay Panzirer, who died in 1982 of a heart attack.

Mrs. Helmsley met and married Harry Helmsley in 1972. Eight years later, she was named president of Helmsley Hotels, famously marketing herself as a "queen" who stood guard over the couple's hotels and made sure they maintained a high level of service.

She bragged about her attention to detail in a 1985 interview with Savvy magazine.

"I know if a bulb is out in Room 14 of the Harley (hotel) before the manager does," she said. "I know if there's a torn pillowcase at a suite in the Palace. I read every card guests filled out from every one of the hotel, especially the negative ones. And I answer them personally."

In April, 1988 "the billionaire baron and baroness of the hotel industry" -- as a story in Los Angeles Times called them -- stood accused in federal and state indictments of evading $4 million in income taxes between June 1983 and April 1986.

A year later -- in August 1989 -- 69-year-old Mrs. Helmsley was found guilty of 33 felony counts, including tax evasion, filing false tax returns and mail fraud. She was convicted of evading $1.2 million in federal income taxes by charging personal expenses to Helmsley-controlled companies.

Harry Helmsley was found incompetent to stand trial because of his failing memory.

Much of the two-month trial focused on references to the couple's luxurious lifestyle and Mrs. Helmsley's imperious personality.

In 1992, after being freed on $25 million bail, Mrs. Helmsley began serving a four-year sentence for income tax fraud at a medium-security prison in Lexington, Ky.

"I'll do what I have to do to get back to Harry and to get on with my life," said Mrs. Helmsley, who served less than two years and reportedly paid about $8 million fines and restitution.

In 1983, the Helmsleys purchased a country home in Greenwich for $11 million, a real estate record at the time.

The estate, which the Greenwich tax assessor values at $13 million, is perhaps one of the best known in town, dating to 1916 when Daniel Grey Reid, president of the American Tin Plate Co., commissioned it at a cost of $1 million for his daughter upon her marriage to Henry Topping, a steel magnate's son, according to "The Great Estates, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1880-1930."

When the Helmsleys moved to Round Hill Road, they befriended neighbor Adie von Gontard, who said one of the first things the couple asked for was advice on what local charities to support.

"She had no wrinkles on her heart," von Gontard, 82, said. "She was an asset to us in Greenwich. I hate to lose her."

In their heyday, the Helmsleys were particularly social, attending parties at von Gontard's home or holding their own, most famously the "I'm Just Wild About Harry" parties.

"She loved to dance," Rubenstein said. "They were terrific dancers. She and Harry were about the best dancers I ever saw."

But after she was sent to prison and later when Harry Helmsley died in 1997, Leona Helmsley retreated into her own world, emerging at times to mark her birthday with outdoor outings on her Greenwich estate.

Recently, though, her health began to decline. A neighbor said she would sometimes see Mrs. Helmsley drive about the sprawling 26-acre estate on a golf cart with a nurse or an employee, inspecting her property.

Mrs. Helmsley is survived her brother Alvin Rosenthal, four grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

Rubenstein said the funeral will be private, though a public memorial service is in the works and will probably occur a month from now.

The Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing newspaper, contributed to this story.

Hotel toothpaste recalled over toxic concerns

A leading supplier of toiletries for luxury hotels today recalled complimentary tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste worldwide after tests showed some contain a potentially toxic chemical.

It was the latest in a series of recalls of Chinese-made goods - toothpaste, children's toys, tyres and pet food - because of shoddy and perhaps dangerous manufacturing methods.

Gilchrist & Soames said it is recalling its 18-gram tubes with the name Gilchrist & Soames on it. The company today said some samples showed the tubes contained diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze that can be toxic to the kidneys and liver.

"They're just kind of the little complimentary size you get in the hotels, and it's branded Gilchrist & Soames," said Cindy Duran, a spokeswoman for the company, which is based in Indianapolis.

Gilchrist & Soames bills itself as "the only branded toiletries company dedicated to the luxury hotel market," according to its website. It serves The Greenbrier in West Virginia, The Properties at Pebble Beach in California and Plaza on the River in London, among other locations.

The toothpaste was made in China by Ming Fai Enterprises International Co Ltd.

The Food and Drug Administration is not aware of any US reports of poisonings from the toothpaste, according to a statement from the company.

China has come under fire in recent months after potentially dangerous levels of chemicals and toxins were found in some of its exports. A long list of products, from seafood to toothpaste, have been recalled or rejected by a number of countries worried about safety.

Gilchrist & Soames said it recalled toothpaste from hotels in Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, Turks & Caicos, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States, and asked hotels to destroy any remaining inventory.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Over 50% willing to pay to ship luggage.

Business travel woes drive interest in luggage shipping services, as traveling solo not so glamorous, most business travelers prefer to take their spouse or significant other along -

In a summer travel season that has seen nearly a half-billion travelers(1) but also a record number of flight delays(2), business travelers continue to show interest in ways to get through airports and to their destinations more quickly.

And with luggage shipping services now available and designed to make air travel easier, 50 percent of those surveyed in the July Orbitz for Business corporate traveler poll say they'd pay between $25 and $75 for this type of service.

This was among the findings in this month's Orbitz for Business Traveler Survey, as 56% said they would pay to have bags shipped ahead of time when taking a trip. The breakdown of responses and costs is as follows:

* Would pay $25 - 30%
* Would pay $50 - 14%
* Would pay $75 - 6%
* Would pay $100 - 6%
* Would pay $200 - 1%
* Not interested in the service - 44%

Prices listed are for round-trip delivery of a single bag, with at least two-day advanced shipping.

"Business travelers today are certainly airport savvy, and given today's travel climate racked with delays and airport headaches, it's not surprising that many are looking for ways to make the process easier," said Dean Sivley, COO and general manager, Orbitz Worldwide's Corporate Travel Solutions group. "Services like OrbitzTLC, traveler alerts and luggage shipping are among the many now available services to make business travelers' lives easier and more hassle-free."

Another question in the July survey asked if business travelers had a trip to a popular vacation destination, would they prefer to bring their spouse or significant other along, or prefer to travel alone?

Seventy-two percent said they would rather bring their spouse/significant other. Twenty-eight percent favor traveling alone. Other questions and findings of the survey include:

1. How much of your annual leisure travel costs (not including spending money) would you estimate are paid for by being a frequent business traveler, such as free airline tickets through mileage programs, hotel stays through loyalty points, etc.?

* 0-10% - 58%
* 10-25% - 22%
* 25-50% - 15%
* 50-75% - 4%
* 75-100% - 1%

2. Most business hotels today offer Wi-Fi access and Internet service to make working while traveling easier. How many hours per day would you estimate you spend working outside of normal business hours when traveling?

* 0-1 - 27%
* 2 - 36%
* 3 - 23%
* 4 - 7%
* More than 4 hours - 7%

3. Assume you have a business trip to a popular vacation destination. Would you prefer to bring your spouse/significant other with you (assuming you are responsible for their travel costs) or to travel alone?

* Bring a spouse/significant other - 72%
* Travel alone - 28%

The Orbitz for Business survey is a subset of Orbitz' Take 5 initiative, which was launched in 2006 in celebration of the company's five-year anniversary.

The Take 5 Corporate Traveler poll was conducted online using a MarketTools panel of 436 adults ages 18-65 who are business travelers.

MarketTools is a market research firm that directly manages a nationally-representative online panel of more than 2.5 million individuals, with a global network extending to more than eight million consumers worldwide.

W Hotels heads for Asian Las Vegas.

This new build W hotel will be located within the Macao Studio City complex; situated on Cotai, an area earmarked by the Macao government to become one of the main gaming - entertainment and resort developments in the Special Administrative Region.

W Macao Studio City will make its debut in 2009, offering 563 guest rooms, in addition to the innovative design and full-range of branded amenities guests have come to expect of W Hotels.

Designed by Charles Allem of Charles Allem Designs International in co-operation with the W brands’s award winning design team, W Macao Studio City will be an exciting keystone of this new development on Cotai. W Macao Studio City is poised to strengthen Starwood’s presence in Macao, as well as being an integral part of a new flagship development in the new “Las Vegas of Asia.”

"W continues to extend beyond the boundaries of everyday travel, offering a magical mix of sexy destinations and sublime design," said Ross Klein, President of Starwood's Luxury Brands Group. "W Macao marks our fourth property in China and promises to offer extraordinary experiences at every turn through the brand's key lifestyle elements of provocative spaces, delightful indulgences and experiential surprises. From the Maldives to Milan, Hoboken to Hong Kong, W Hotels continues to go global as the influential and innovative lifestyle authority and we are proud to make Macao a W destination."

“Following the announcements of the Ws in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou, W Macao Studio City is a logical extension of W’s dynamic growth in China,” said Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific. “W brings to life its own unique positioning, delivering a differentiated travel experience for travelers and will be an irresistible destination for visitors to Macao. Macao provides guests with a wealth of entertainment options, including world-class shopping and proximity to Macao and China’s most popular attractions, making it a perfect fit for the W brand”, added Ko.

“Macao Studio City brings together the best hotel partners in the world and we are excited to partner with Starwood to bring the W to Macao,” said Peter Lam, co-chairman of Macao Studio City. “Our vision is to create a must-see, must-stay and must-return destination for leisure and business travelers around the world. Along with other hotel partners – not to mention the arrival of the Playboy Mansion Macao – I firmly believe that Macao Studio City will be an experience that visitors will want to return again and again.”

“W will captivate an in-crowd of lifestyle-oriented travelers by offering its special blend of warm, witty and worldly experiences. The brand fits in very well with the overall design and direction of Macao Studio City and its positioning as the coolest place to be in Macao. Macao Studio City will be the place where the stars and celebrities will hang out,” said David Friedman, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of Macao Studio City.

“The Cotai area is seeing great momentum, and the addition of W Macao Studio City is certainly going to attract stylish and trendy customers who seek innovative design, comfort and cultural influences, to the ‘new Macao’,” said Mr. Ambrose Cheung, co-chief executive officer, Macao Studio City. “Macao Studio City is developing at a rapid pace; our recent announcements have brought other world-class brands in entertainment, retail and hospitality to the complex. We are confident that W Macao Studio City, as well as the Macao Studio City complex itself, will be a tremendous success when it opens in mid-2009.”

W Macao Studio City will be an exciting addition to the brand's fast-growing international collection of hotels in the world's most vibrant cities and emerging destinations. Starwood has also recently announced it will open a 4,000-room Sheraton Macao Hotel, a 460-room St. Regis Hotel and over 400 St. Regis Residences on the strip in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

W Macao Studio City will feature 563 rooms and suites, all outfitted with the W signature bed, plasma television and wireless Internet access. The W brand's signature Living Room will offer a lounge-like atmosphere perfect for reading the paper, sipping a cappuccino or enjoying a cocktail with friends. Other facilities will include a signature restaurant, W Café, a Sweat workout facility, approximately 11,000 square feet of meeting space, an outdoor heated pool, and the W Whatever/Whenever service, the hotel's 24-hour concierge that provides whatever guests want - from a pair of running shoes to private jet service - whenever they want.

Macao is a Special Administrative Region of People’s Republic of China. It is located on the Southeast coast of China and the western bank of the Pearl River Delta. Bordering on Guangdong Province, it is located 40 miles from Hong Kong and 90 miles from the city of Guangzhou. With the removal of the casino gaming monopoly in Macao in December 2001, new casino developments are quickly establishing Cotai as the ‘new Las Vegas of Asia’.

Hampton opens 20th hotel in Canada.

Hampton today announced the opening of the 92 room Hampton Inn by Hilton London, Ontario in Canada.

The hotel marks the 20th Hampton hotel to open in Canada, the 11th in Ontario and brings the brand’s total room count in the country to 2,238.

“With this opening, Hampton now is the most well represented brand of the Hilton Family of Hotels in Canada,” said Phil Cordell, senior vice-president, Hampton brand management. “We are now represented in five provinces across the country, and we still see tremendous potential here. Canada is a priority market for us, as it generally is underserved by branded hotels, particularly in the mid-market, focused-service segment.”

Located at 840 Exeter Road, the six-story hotel is situated within driving distance of numerous corporate offices, including 3M and Ford, as well as Victoria Hospital and the John Labatt Centre, home of the London Knights OHL hockey team.

Hotel amenities include an indoor pool, fitness facilities, full-service business center and free wireless, high-speed Internet access throughout the hotel. Rooms are equipped with an oversized work desk, two telephones with voice mail and free local telephone calls, as well as 32-inch LCD televisions. All Hampton hotels provide complimentary On the House® hot breakfast and On the Run breakfast bags™, Purity Basics® bath products, a curved shower rod, the Hampton bedding package -- Cloud Nine. The Hampton Bed Experience and the industry’s easiest-to-set alarm clock/radio.

The Hilton Family of Hotels in Canada, including Hampton by Hilton is offering preferred rates to any traveller age 50 and over through the Hilton Family of Hotels 50Plus program. Preferred rates may be booked through hiltoncanada.com/50Plus and represent 10% off the Best Available Rate at participating hotels.

Wynn opens boutique nightclub.

Casino developer Wynn and renowned night club operator Sean Christie have partnered to create Blush, the first boutique nightclub in Las Vegas -

"We wanted to create an intimate nightlife experience that we have termed 'the boutique nightclub'," said managing partner Sean Christie. "Blush offers a unique option to the Las Vegas scene as the club seamlessly transforms from elegant lounge to high-energy nightclub."

Formerly the location of Lure, the venue will undergo a complete remodel under the direction of Wynn's Executive Vice President of Design Roger Thomas. The 4,500 square-foot club will feature a lit onyx dance floor and creme lantern ceiling sculpture. This central art focal piece will create various hues and images that enhance the vibe and atmosphere as the display literally comes alive nightly.

A rich palette of deep green, chocolate brown, gold and shimmering metallics create an ambience of sensual elegance. The club will feature a series of contemporary paintings that add a provocative and edgy feel. Additional seating banquettes around a new dance floor will produce a circular flow to the space. The open-air patio and bar have been enhanced with lighted topiaries and outdoor seating surrounded by lush foliage.

In addition to banquettes and bottle service, a private, draped VIP Room is available for up to 25 people. Additional men's and women's restrooms have been added as well as some playful amenities -- purse drawers at each seat and personal lockers for belongings.

Delectable Asian appetizers from Red 8 will be served nightly from 5 P.M. until 9 P.M. Beverage menus, including wines by the glass or bottle and an extensive collection of infused vodkas, will change on a monthly basis.

The club will feature an eclectic mix of music -- rock n' roll, hip hop and house -- from Music Director and Resident DJ Mighty Mi. Every Thursday, DJ Jack Lafleur will take the stage with his signature style. The lighting and sound system was designed by John Lyons, winner of the World Club Award.

Blush Tuesdays, service industry and local night, will be promoted by Brandon Roque and begin September 4.

Prior to partnering with Wynn Las Vegas, Christie was a founding member and managing partner of The Light Group. He was also an integral part of The Lyons Group which owns and operates more than 30 nightclub venues on the East coast.

Table reservations (702-770-3633) are highly recommended. Free admission for Local Ladies and Service Industry professionals nightly. Blush Tuesdays is the dedicated Industry night. Visitors cover is $30.

Blush is open nightly at 5 P.M. and transforms into an energetic, sensual club on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 10 P.M. until 4 A.M. Located off the main casino floor of Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club.

Bristol Virginia committee discusses signs to help interstate travelers find restaurants and motels

City leaders moved a step closer Tuesday to allowing "way-finding" signs for some businesses.

A committee of the city's Planning Commission agreed to review a Wytheville town policy that allows the signs to help direct interstate travelers.

If approved, the city could place the signs near Interstate 81's Exits 1, 5 and 7.

"The purpose is to try to keep them [travelers] from getting lost, not put them in the front door," committee member R.L. Light said.

The Wytheville policy only applies to restaurants. Committee members, however, agreed to also consider hotels and motels because they are regular destinations for interstate travelers.

The city would charge businesses to have their logos on the signs.

In the case of Exit 7, the biggest challenge might be finding an appropriate place for the sign outside the state rights of way.

After an extended discussion, Economic Development Director Jerry Brown said he will confer with Virginia Department of Transportation officials about what might be permissible. "We're 'ramp-dependant' at Exit 7," Brown said.

Because VDOT won't allow the signs along the interstate exit ramps, the city will be hard-pressed to find a visible location near the ramps.

The city already has a sign at the intersection of Linden Drive and Old Airport Road, directing motorists to many Linden businesses.

"I'm not as concerned about Linden Drive as I am The Village [a nearby hilltop development], anything along [Lee Highway] not visible from the interstate and Exit 5, if anything develops there," City Manager Bill Dennison said.

Committee members also discussed ways to improve the visibility of Stagecoach Road, which provides access to a Cracker Barrel restaurant at The Village.

"That's always been a problem with the Cracker Barrel and when Bob Evans [restaurant] was there," Mayor Jim Rector said.

In other matters, Rector agreed to start a dialogue with Washington County, Va., leaders about sign issues. The county currently has no restrictions on the height or location of commercial signs like those at the new Highlands retail center near the city limits.

"Are we going to have a problem competing with Washington County? They don't have an ordinance," Rector asked Brown.

"That's very likely to happen, especially at the original [Mack] Trammell site," Brown said of the originally proposed site for The Highlands retail center. "The frontage is in the city, so if anything goes there, the signs are going to be in the city and the businesses in the county."

The committee is scheduled to meet again Sept. 5.

Princess Di's personal chef shares recipes and recollections

When Princess Diana walked through the front door at Kensington Palace, Chef Darren McGrady instantly knew she was very unhappy.

She slammed the door, which was not at all like her, and stormed into the kitchen where he was making a meal for her and sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

She burst into tears. Angry tears. "I hate those paparazzi!" she sputtered.

McGrady, Princess Diana's personal chef for four years -- from the time of her split-up with Prince Charles in 1993 until her death in 1997 -- was often privy to her thoughts and feelings that could pour out during a heated moment like this one as well as when she just wanted to talk and chatted at the kitchen table.

He shares his insights into the heart of the People's Princess in his new cookbook, "Eating Royally."

But don't expect a juicy, scandalous "tell-all" from the man or his book. His descriptions of Diana, and the rest of Britain's royal family, create a picture that's as warm and delicious as Diana's favorite bread-and-butter pudding.

During a phone interview to promote the book, he offers the back story of the events that day as an example of Diana's struggles with life in a

fishbowl.

"She had driven to a friend's home for a visit. When she came out of the house, big yellow plastic cones had been set in front and in back of her car. "She moved them aside and got into the car. While she was getting in, a man put the cones back in place.

"Diana got out again and moved the cones again. When she got into the car, he put the cones back in position.

"The same thing happened a third time. And then a fourth time. Finally, Diana got out of the car, yelled at him to leave her alone, and burst into tears. That was the moment he was waiting for.

"A photographer, the man captured a photo of Diana in total distress, and probably got enough from selling that one shot to pay for his retirement. After all, there were millions of pictures of the smiling, happy Diana. Ones of her crying, in tears and distressed, were much rarer and fetched much higher prices," McGrady concludes.

But don't think for a moment that McGrady is using this book to finance his own retirement. Now working as a private chef for a Dallas, Texas, family, he has donated all of his advance and all profits from the sales of "Eating Royally" to the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric Aids Foundation. Why? Because it embraces children and AIDS, which were two of Diana's most important causes.

Done in McGrady's spare time, the book took four years to write. But it is a treasure that mixes recollections with his recipes. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry, besides tempting you to cook from it.

Diana was real. "When she got home at night, the first thing she did was kick off her shoes and walk around barefoot," says McGrady.

He adds, "She never minded being photographed when she was raising funds for charity. She loved pictures then. There was a little vanity, too. She knew she was almost like a model and that she looked the best she had ever looked," McGrady adds.

Her sense of humor wasn't to be missed. Picture Princess Diana after she insists that Chef Darren prepare fresh beet juice for her, drinks it down without diluting it and then jokingly accuses him of trying to poison her when her cheeks literally turn beet-red for several hours.

"When Diana said, 'Darren, I've heard fresh juice is good for you. Please get a juicer,' I knew she wanted it right away. Not tomorrow or the next day. I was in a cab to Harrods within the hour. And the beet juice was pouring out of the juicer shortly after I got it into the kitchen," he recalls.

Although Diana liked trying new foods, she simply wasn't a cook. "When I prepared foods for her to reheat for herself over the weekends, instructions had to be very simple. Just microwaving in a single stage and at one power level. She couldn't handle preparations that went on for two steps or more," says the chef.

As proof, he writes of the time she tried to cook pasta for a visiting girlfriend. When the water boiled over, it extinguished the stove's pilot light. Diana didn't think anymore of it until she smelled gas the next morning and summoned help from the local fire brigade. "When I came back to work on Monday, the princess gleefully informed me that she had 12 hunky men in her house while I was gone."

He talks about rough times, too, like Diana alone in Kensington Palace on Christmas Eve. "She believed the boys belonged at Sandringham to celebrate the holiday with their father and the rest of the royal family. She also wanted her staff to be with their families, so I loaded up the refrigerator with goodies for her and then headed out of the door."

His poignant memories of learning of Diana's death while still eating his breakfast on Aug. 31, 1997, rekindle that same sadness all of us experienced a decade ago. But he keeps her candle burning as he recalls her spirit and style and how she inspired him to work for charities.

"The morning after some her gowns were auctioned off during a charity auction at Christy's in New York, she burst into the kitchen and said, 'Darren, you would not believe how many thousands we've made for charity, just by selling some of my old dresses.'

"I think her reaction to what I'm doing would be similar. Something like, 'Darren, tell me again how many thousands you think you can make for charity by selling your old recipes for the foods I really like.' "

But what would Queen Elizabeth say, since she and the rest of Britain's Royal Family also figure prominently in his stories and recipes? After all, he spent 11 years cooking for the Queen before moving to the Kensington Palace kitchen.

"I have no way to know if she'll even see the book," he says of the Queen, but thinks she probably wouldn't mind his telling people about queenly quirks, including her dislike of sandwiches cut into basic rectangles, ordering scones but never eating them, and being unable to resist chocolate.

"Rectangular sandwiches are shaped too much like a coffins.

"She always treats her Corgis to a scone she crumbles and drops on the floor for them after she finishes her tea.

"Give her a choice of desserts, and she'll always pick the chocolate one," he says. (He shares the recipes for her two favorite heavy-duty chocolate birthday cakes in the book.)

But writing a book about his years in service wasn't always in the chef's plans.

"People still are fascinated and inspired by Diana and the good work she did, from opening up about her bulimia and working to eradicate land mines to hugging an AIDS patient at a time when the disease still was misunderstood.

"When people found out I worked for her, they just kept asking questions. Their interest made me realize I needed to do the book," he says.

But what do people ask this palace insider?

"What her favorite foods were, whether she really was as nice as she seemed and whether I have Prince William's phone number," McGrady answers.

He doesn't have Prince William's phone number, or isn't telling if he does.

Diana's food choices often were simple, including stuffed eggplant and peppers, steamed trout, roasted vegetables and chicken. Besides the amaretto-flavored bread pudding she loved, she often opted for summer pudding if she was having lunch guests.

In stark contrast to Balmoral, where the royals went "stalking" and game often was on the table, the only "game" Diana permitted at Kensington Palace was the boys' PlayStation.

McGrady writes that she once asked him, while he was still working for Queen Elizabeth in the kitchen at Balmoral Castle, "Why does everyone in this family like killing things?" She hated the idea, he says.

She liked baked beans on whole wheat toast for breakfast because there was lots of protein and no fat -- just carbs she could work off at the gym. Baked potatoes often were on her plate but they were plain or sprinkled lightly with a little vinaigrette dressing. She snacked on yogurt and grain bars and fresh fruit. Fresh lichees were a favorite. "If I left a bowl of those out for her, she'd leave it looking like a bomb went off," says McGrady.

There was a great deal of contrast between the formal dinners and service at Buckingham Palace and mealtime at Kensington where Princess Diana and the boys sometimes even ate from snack tables while watching television.

Painting another picture of Kensington's more casual atmosphere, McGrady writes, "If Diana and the boys were visiting Granny and wanted ice cream, the Queen would call her page, who in turn would call the head chef. The head chef would call the pastry kitchen and the pastry chef would in turn call the silver pantry for some silver dishes to present it on. The ice cream would be formed into decorative quenelle shapes and placed in a silver dessert dish. Then it was off to the linen room to get the proper napkin. Eventually, a footman would arrive to take the ice cream up to the royal dining room some 15 minutes later."

At Kensington, the boys just walked into the kitchen and asked for ice cream. During one of those sessions, Prince William, the future king, shared his idea of a dream job with McGrady. Between frosty spoonfuls, he said, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a motorcycle policeman."

But what of Diana's public image? Did it match the "real" Diana? The chef's short answer: "Yes."

He shares warm memories of a woman who chose to have her lunch from a tray on the kitchen table whenever she wasn't entertaining guests. And she chatted about everything from soap operas to juicy tidbits she'd just heard from Fergie.

Besides the public compassion she showed for people who needed her help all over the world, she treasured her staff after they had earned her trust.

When she discovered McGrady was courting, she made sure he had longer weekends off by taking dinner "out" on Friday evenings. One day, she also gave him a huge and beautiful bouquet for Wendy, who is now his wife.

"Just tell Wendy they're from you, because we girls love flowers," she said. But McGrady answered, "No, I'll score more points with her if I tell Wendy they're from you."

Along with her caring ways, Princess Diana packed a mischievous sense of humor. Diana once told a Saudi prince that she liked mangoes after listening to him go on endlessly about the wonderful mangoes and other fresh fruit grown in his country. A week later, Diana struggled to carry a huge box of mangoes into the kitchen. She remarked: "Do you believe this, Darren? The man sent me a whole crate of mangoes because I mentioned that I liked them. Next time, I need to mention how much I like diamonds."

Once, she received an invitation for the boys to visit the set of "Mission Impossible" and meet Tom Cruise. "Darren, do you think William and Harry would like to meet Tom Cruise?" she asked.

McGrady's answer, "I don't know about the boys, but I think their mother might."

She laughed and headed off with the boys. When she returned, she picked up a banana and, between bites, said of Cruise, "There's another one off my list. He's too short."

"Diana really was tall and the royal family, including the Queen and Prince Charles, are short. The elevation of Diana's shoes became a way to tell how things were going between Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Flats? Good times. Super-high heels? Real trouble, according to the chef.

She was proud of Pr ince William's good looks and sometimes teased him. "One day when she was in the kitchen and William walked in she said, 'Look at him, Darren. Isn't he drop-dead gorgeous?' "

Prince William protested, "Oh, Mommy, stop it." But Diana added, "And look at his height. That's from my side of the family."

But what were Diana's real feelings about the royal family?

"The Camilla thing really weighed her down, but there was nothing she could do about it. She never told me she was still in love with Prince Charles, but I believe she still had strong feelings for him. To the last, she always referred to him as 'my husband' and never as 'him' or 'the prince.' "

Her biggest gripes weren't with the Queen and the other royals but with the Queen's advisers who were always stifling her spontaneity, says McGrady.

"If Diana decided she wanted to visit a homeless shelter, she wanted to go the same day or the next day. She did not want to wait months until the shelter could be cleaned up and painted and local dignitaries and their wives ("the blue rinses," as Diana called them) could line up to greet her," he adds.

Recalling a time when a bomb went off in Manchester and injured children, he said, "Diana was on the phone to Buckingham Palace as soon as she heard the news. I heard her say, 'Please send me. I really want to go.' "

Princess Anne was sent instead. Later in the day, as she and McGrady watched the BBC coverage of Princess Anne's visit on the kitchen telly, Princess Diana said to McGrady, "I should have been there. Look at her. You can tell she's more interested in horses than children. She doesn't get down to talk to them on their level. She should at least take off those white gloves so the children can feel the warmth, flesh-to-flesh, that makes the human connection.' "

Although Diana was known worldwide, she always was amazed by the reception she received in the United States.

During her visits, McGrady says, "She'd call and talk about the crowds. The shouting. The cheering. She loved the friendliness of Americans, along with their lifestyle and the weather. And she'd tell me, 'We've really got to move here!' "

That enthusiasm helped McGrady decide to move to the States shortly after her death -- despite job offers from Dodi Al Fayed's father and high-ranking British politicians, as well as Prince Charles.

"Besides," McGrady says, "With that wicked sense of humor that she had, I could just hear Princess Diana's voice saying 'Darren, you're really not going to cook for THAT woman, are you?' "

Hospitality Properties Trust Sells 18 Homestead Hotels For $205.35 Million

Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE: HPT) today announced that it has sold 18 Homestead Studio Suites hotels (2,399 rooms) for $205.35 million. HPT expects to recognize a gain on this sale of approximately $95 million.
HPT purchased these 18 hotels in 1999 from Homestead Village, Inc. (which was then a publicly owned company) for $145 million. The expected gain reflects depreciation expense realized by HPT since 1999. Simultaneous with this purchase, these hotels were leased by HPT to a subsidiary of that seller for minimum rent of $15,960,000/year plus percentage rent based upon increases in gross revenues at the hotels. In 2006, the percentage rent received by HPT for these hotels was approximately $509,000.

In 2001, an entity affiliated with Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) purchased Homestead Village, Inc. and HPT's tenant for these hotels. On June 11, 2007, Blackstone sold Homestead Village, Inc. and the tenant entity together with a larger group of hotels to an affiliate of the Lightstone Group, a privately owned entity. This sale resolves outstanding disputes between HPT and Lightstone. Seventeen of these hotels were purchased by an affiliate of Lightstone for approximately $192.25 million. One hotel was purchased by HRPT Properties Trust (NYSE: HRP) for approximately $13.1 million, and this one hotel will be short term leased by an affiliate of Lightstone until that hotel property may be redeveloped as part of a larger project including adjacent property currently owned by HRPT Properties Trust.

HPT intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of these hotels to reduce amounts outstanding under its revolving bank credit agreement.

Hospitality Properties Trust is a real estate investment trust which owns 292 hotels and 186 hospitality and travel centers located throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Ontario, Canada.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Smokefree England - one month on

97 per cent of premises inspected in the two weeks after 1 July were smokefree as required by the new law, data published today by the Department of Health reveals.

Minister of State for Public Health, Dawn Primarolo, said:

"When we introduced the smokefree law last month, we predicted that it would be largely self-enforcing based on experience elsewhere and the fact that three-quarters of the public supported the move.

"These figures confirm that, just as happened previously in Ireland then Scotland, England saw very high levels of compliance in the first few days. All the signs are that businesses and the public have taken the new law in their stride.

"These high levels of real protection from secondhand smoke in public places and workplaces are a testament to everyone involved. Efforts from enforcement officers in local authorities and businesses, especially those in the hospitality sector and also the public have all contributed to making this country a healthier place in which to work and socialise".

Removing secondhand smoke from enclosed public and work environments is an enormous step for public health. Thousands of lives will be saved. Others will be spared the misery of watching family and friends die prematurely from secondhand smoke-related illnesses.

So far, data has been collected from 88,899 inspections, which includes 1,090 hotels, 6,783 restaurants and 9,568 licensed premises. Enforcement officers found that 97 per cent of premises were respecting the requirement to prohibit smoking in enclosed premises and 79 per cent were displaying the correct no-smoking signage. Compliance was even higher in smokefree vehicles, with figures of 98 per cent and 84 per cent respectively.

Although these figures only relate to the first two weeks, compliance is already comparable to the high levels experienced during the first month of smokefree in Scotland and Ireland. A similar pattern has also emerged with regards to signage requirements, with 'other' premises less likely to be compliant than licensed premises, accommodation and restaurants.

Local authorities are continuing to work with businesses to ensure they understand the requirement for no-smoking signs to be displayed at the entrance to all public places and workplaces covered by the law.

During the first two weeks of inspections, it has only been necessary to issue one fixed penalty notice to an individual wilfully flouting the law by smoking in a smokefree place. Councils have instead ensured that businesses and individuals are given sufficient opportunity to comply with the law and have so far issued 142 written warnings following failure to prevent smoking (equivalent to 0.2% of premises inspected). There were no court hearings.

Graham Jukes, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health said: "The acceptance of the new law reveals the good planning and investment put in place by the Department of Health, local authorities and business leaders in the run up to 1st July. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is proud to have played a key role in the implementation of what has turned out to be popular legislation with a limited need for enforcement action to be taken."

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, Chairman of the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services, said: "The high level of compliance is testament not only to the businesses, landlords and members of the public who have wholeheartedly embraced the new law - but also to the council environmental health officers who have carried out their work with a light touch, an even-hand, and a commitment to advising people rather than punishing them."

Over the first month there has also been a steady downward trend in calls to the Smokefree England compliance line. In total, 2,342 calls were received during the first four weeks and 606 of these were passed on to local authorities to follow up. Calls peaked during the first week at 1,024, although only 232 of these were leads with sufficient information to pass
to local councils. However only 378 calls were received during the week of 22nd July, with 110 leads passed to councils.

Delta Hotels Wins Manager Excellence Award from International Association of Reservation Executives (IARE)

SEATTLE --(Business Wire)-- Envision Telephony, Inc., a leading global provider of software solutions for the contact center and the enterprise, announced today that Perry Kendall, General Manager for Delta Hotel Global Reservation Service, has won the 2007 International Association of Reservation Executives (IARE) Manager Excellence Award.

IARE was founded in 1985 by a group of hotel reservation center managers to facilitate the exchange of ideas and opportunities relevant to the profession. Each year the association hosts the IARE Excellence Awards to honor those who have exceeded expectations in the areas of job performance, team development, customer service and even community service.

The recipient, Perry Kendall, has over 15 years of hotel industry leadership experience. He has held this position since 2001 and has worked in leadership roles with both Delta Hotels and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.



"I am honored to win this prestigious award," said Kendall. "Using Envision's software has allowed our team to effectively evaluate, coach and develop agents to optimize their performance. Ultimately, this yields satisfied customers, which is our principal focus at Delta Hotels."

Delta Hotels implemented the Envision Performance Suite(TM) in 2004. With the solution, Kendall and his team have successfully improved customer service, agent productivity and call conversion rates while decreasing employee turnover.

About Delta Hotels

With a diversified portfolio of 40 city center and airport hotels and resorts, Delta Hotels is the leading first-class hotel management company in Canada. Widely regarded as Canada's brand of choice by guests and owners, Delta Hotels has also distinguished itself as an exemplary employer to its more than 7,100 employees. Delta Hotels is the only hotel company to be recognized by the prestigious National Quality Institute with two Canada Awards for Excellence, one for quality (2000) and the other for a healthy workplace (2004). It was also voted one of the 50 Best Employers in Canada by The Globe and Mail's respected magazine Report on Business from 2001 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2007. Delta Hotels is wholly owned by Fairmont Raffles Holdings International, which operates over 120 hotels worldwide under the Fairmont, Raffles, Swissotel and Delta brands.

About Envision Performance Suite(TM)

The Envision Performance Suite maximizes contact center efficiency and effectiveness through the seamless integration of Envision's core applications: quality monitoring, eLearning, workforce management and business intelligence.

About Envision

Envision Telephony, Inc. is a global, award-winning provider of software and services that improve performance from the contact center to the enterprise. The company's flexible, integrated solutions enable customers to consistently deliver legendary customer experiences by improving agent, contact center and enterprise performance. Envision's software includes analytics, performance management, workforce management and Click2Coach(R) (composed of Envision Quality Monitoring(TM) and Envision eLearning(TM)). The company's solutions are deployed across thousands of desktops in both a telephony and a back-office environment. Envision offers business consulting, implementation, training and support services using a proven, ROI-driven methodology that delivers rapid and reliable results. More information can be found at www.envisioninc.com.

Click2Coach is a registered trademark, and Envision, Envision Telephony, Envision Performance Suite, Envision eLearning, Envision Quality Monitoring and the Envision Telephony logo are trademarks of Envision Telephony, Inc.

Bulky Steel ruins may delay Bethlehem casino opening until '09

Aug. 7--Summit County Council is considering raising the county's hotel-room tax by 1 percentage point to pay for repairs and improvements to the John S. Knight Convention Center in downtown Akron.

The hike would raise the county's 4.5 percent tax on hotel rooms to 5.5 percent, bringing the total tax on hotel rooms in Summit to 14.75 percent.

The increase on hotel guests would be 71 cents per night "based on the average room rate in Summit County of $71," according to the legislation, which was introduced Monday night.

The additional tax would last through Oct. 31, 2017.

Overnight visitors to Akron would still be taxed less than they would be in Cleveland (15 percent), Columbus and Toledo (16.75 percent), and Cincinnati (17 percent), according to the legislation.

The Knight Center receives the bulk of county bed tax revenue $1.8 million for center operations. Susan Hamo, president of the Akron-Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the Beacon Journal in March that the additional 1 percent is expected to raise about $500,000 a year. The legislation says "approximately $550,000" would be raised.

The University of Akron announced in June it will purchase the Crowne Plaza Hotel one of only two Akron hotels to convert into a student residence hall. On Friday, the city and UA announced an agreement to keep about 95 rooms (half of the total) available for the public and/or conventions through November 2009.

County officials did not know whether the $500,000 figure took into account the loss of the Crowne Plaza and Hamo could not be reached for comment Monday night.

But in an e-mail she sent to council President Nick Kostandaras Sr. on July 30, she said it would raise about $500,000 and warned that failure to pass the tax could hurt the "ability to attract another downtown hotel."

Kostandaras said the convention bureau lobbied the state legislature to grant authority to charter counties (Summit is the only one) to raise the bed tax by 1 percentage point for capital improvements, which it did.

The revenue generated by the hike would be reserved for capital improvements to the Knight Center, including repairs to the air conditioning and heating system, replacement of worn carpeting and kitchen repairs.

Kostandaras said county hotel operators support the increase. If approved, the increase would be the first for the Knight Center since it opened in 1994.

In other business, the council authorized the Summit County clerk of courts to accept payment via credit cards and debit cards for title fees and court costs.

The legislation establishes a nonrefundable "convenience fee" of 3 percent on each transaction for using such cards, with a minimum charge of $1.