New Paradise Power in Santa Monica The 71-room Shangrila Hotel overlooking the famous Santa Monica beach walk is setting a new style in this trendy L.A. beach town with tony new suites and an Art Deco theme carried out in sweet details and collectables throughout the property. The full service property has a gourmet comfort […]

The American economy may be heading into a fiscal wall but when it comes to travel at least half the U.S. population is saying, “what wall?” Some 50 percent of Americans have booked or plan to book travel in 2013, and a good chunk of those travelers (87%) plan to spend as much or more […]

Online travel agencies (OTAs) are taking some hits when it comes to customer satisfaction. Most recently a customer satisfaction survey run by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) showed a 2.6 percent drop in the average consumer’s positive experience rating with OTA’s, markedly the biggest among all retail categories measured. The index measures some 70,000 […]

Caesars Entertainment finally has been bitten by hotel fee fever and, as of March 1, added daily fees ranging from $10-$25 at its Las Vegas resort properties. The news is significant because Caesars, with its nine hotel properties, including Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, Bally’s, the Flamingo, the Quad, Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood on the […]

It is now possible for North Americans to go to China without a visa – for three days, that is. As of January this year, North American citizens traveling to Beijing or Shanghai can bypass China’s onerous visa process and get their passport stamped on arrival. But, of course, there are caveats. The 72-hour visa […]