24 May 2013
  • Accor hotel executive exposed for posting biased TripAdvisor reviews

    Digital

    A senior executive at one of the world’s largest hotel groups has admitted breaching TripAdvisor’s rules by posting dozens of glowing reviews about the firm’s properties. Peter Hook, who describes himself on Twitter as “director of propaganda” for Accor hotels in Asia and the Pacific, also published a number of critical reviews about the company’s [...]

  • Mexican hotel operator City Express plans to go public next month

    Destinations

    Hoteles City Express SAB, a Mexican operator of hotels for business travelers, plans to raise about $250 million in an initial public offering this year, said Abelardo Loscos, a company investor relations official. The hotel operator plans to carry out the offering next month, Loscos said in a telephone interview today from Mexico City, where [...]

23 May 2013
22 May 2013
  • New York State Senator says Airbnb’s actions “pathologically irresponsible”

    Rooms

    New York State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), who co-sponsored the law that made a large swathe of short-term rentals — the type you can find on sites from Airbnb to FlipKey to Expedia — in the state illegal, released a statement today regarding the fine handed down to Airbnb host Nigel Warren earlier this week. [...]

  • Nashville’s new convention center sets up big challenge for Memphis

    Destinations

    After nine years of discussion, controversy, planning and construction, Nashville’s mammoth, gleaming new $585 million convention center opened with two days of public events and concerts Sunday and Monday. The new Music City Center is three times bigger than the city’s existing convention center, which opened in 1987, and nearly 3 1/2 times bigger than [...]

  • Skift Q&A: Can an independent hotel booking site survive and thrive?

    Digital

    The online hotel booking market is relatively packed, and standing out from the pack is difficult for any brand. The leadership at thirteen-year old Tablet Hotels, takes the position that each new entrant that may promise something new or unique is actually either a validation of its model or an opportunity to further evolve. Tablet Hotels [...]

21 May 2013
  • Is Airbnb illegal in New York? Definitely not, but many of its hosts break the law

    Original

    Yesterday a New York City judge ruled that Nigel Warren, a tenant in who rented his apartment to a user on Airbnb would have to pay a $2,400 fine for breaking a New York State law that prohibits almost all rentals of apartments for less than 30 days in the city. The New York Times‘ [...]