HOSPITALITY HEADLINES

• Cayman and Cuba talk tourism (Cayman Net News, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands)
• El Salvador Catches Break with Surf Tourism (The Nica Times)
• Stake in W Hotel building on auction block (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Holloway vetoes hotel tax proposal: Measure won't make it to Legislature (The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.)
• $20 million for Pure Michigan tourism ads OK'd by House: Approval by Senate remains in doubt (Detroit Free Press)
• BRIEF: Casa Monica joins Marriott's Autograph Collection (The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville)
• Trump project will cut smaller checks: Refinancing brings down mortgage payments (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Odds turn against hotel-motel tax (The Macon Telegraph, Ga.)
• Gaming pact lacks committee support: Oxford County resort casino will go to voters (Bangor Daily News, Maine)
• Bank forecloses on unopened motel (The Norman Transcript, Okla.)
• The Philadelphia Inquirer Inga Saffron column: Changing Skyline: An artful urban casino or more big-box blah? (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
• February ski resort visits halt long decline: Seasonal occupancy rate surpasses last winter, sending good signal. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Leonard D. Richman, real estate developer, dies at 88 (Chicago Tribune)

INSIDE HOTEL ONLINE TODAY
DAILY EMAIL NEWS

• Revenue Management: Tactical Discounting / Dr. Gabor Forgacs
• Hotel Alden in Downtown Houston Acquired by Northwood Investors; Hans Schmitt Appointed General Manager and Managing Partner
• Chesapeake Lodging Trust Acquires the 498-room Hyatt Regency Boston for $112 million, or Approximately $225,000 per Key; Hyatt Continues as Operator
• Barton G. Weiss Completes the Transformation of the Former Residence of Fashion Designer Gianni Versace to The Villa By Barton G., The Villa Includes a 10-suite Hotel (Rates Start at $2,100) and an Old-world Fine Dining Restaurant
• Latitude Management Real Estate Investors, Inc. Completes $4.5 million Conversion of the Former Radisson Austin North to Holiday Inn Austin Midtown
• Majesty Hospitality's Unopened Sleep Inn & Suites, Norman, Oklahoma Facing Foreclosure Proceedings
• Benchmark Hospitality International Adds Deloitte University to Management Portfolio; New Learning and Leadership Development Facility to Open in 2011
• InnLink announces first comprehensive solution for properties leaving or transitioning from a franchise - BridgeLink
• The Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida the First Property to Become Part of the Autograph Collection, the New Marriott Brand for Independent Hotels
• Cayman Islands Officials Hold Exploratory Talks with Cuba & Sol Melia Hotels to Form Tourism Partnership
• Penn State Hotel and Restaurant Society Elects New Slate of Officers; 2010 Winter Board Meeting Charts Course for the Future
• Leonard D. Richman, Chairman of IRMCO Properties and Management Corp.,  Dies at 88
• Carlson Hotels Appoints Peter Feran General Manager of the 142-room Radisson Hotel Brunei Darussalam, Located in Bandar Seri Begawan, the Capital City of Brunei
• Dorchester Collection Appoints Lisa Lernoux-Dock as Director of Sales for New Country House Hotel, Coworth Park
• Gilt at The New York Palace Hotel Names Stephane Lacroix as General Manager
• Tom Gilliland Named Assistant General Manager of the Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center near Washington DC

• Cendyn Increases Online Business for Galt House Hotel with Advanced Website Design and Marketing; 1,290-room Convention Property Implements eBooker Online Reservations and EZYield.com Rate Optimization; Increases Online Visibility 184 Percent to Sell More Rooms and Services
• Are You Using the Power of Video to Fill Your Hotel Rooms? - Register for this Complimentary Webinar to Learn What Every Hotelier Needs to Know about using Online Video to Appeal to Different Generations of Travel Shoppers
• UK-Based Hotel Group Increases Bookings and Average Rate Using Sabre Hospitality Solutions' Reservation Technology; Red Carnation Hotel Collection increases call center bookings by over 50 percent after expanding relationship with Sabre Hospitality Solutions
• On the Rocks - Observations on How the Economic Meltdown Will Affect Hotel Management Contracts / Richard Warnick
• Hotel Spas: An Examination on How the Economic Recession Has Impacted Hotel Spas / Gabrielle Lerner
• Union Workers Taken by Surprise as Westin Providence Hotel Owner Imposes 20% Pay Cut and Increases Employee Health Care Contribution 43%
• New Jersey Gaming Regulators Successful in Forcing MGM Mirage Out of Atlantic City; State Releases Exhaustive 74-page Report Detailing Pansy and Stanley Ho Links to Organized Crime
• Seattle Hoteliers Angry with Lawmakers Who Have Diverted Hotel-tax Accounts of $80 million to Help Balance the State Budget Rather then for Convention Center and Tourism Promotion
• Owners Abruptly Close the 80-room Savannah Lakes Resort on Lake Thurmond in McCormick, South Carolina
• INNCOM Automated Guestroom Systems Play Lead Role in LEED Certification at Bardessono; Napa Valley's Bardessono luxury boutique and spa becomes third hotel in the world to receive this prestigious recognition
• Luxury Link Releases 2010 Consumer Survey Results; Online Luxury Hotel Deal Expert's Annual Survey Reveals Preferences, Travel Booking Practices and Most Sought-After Destinations of More Than 6,000 Travelers
• StarCite Partners With EveryScape To Provide Rich Visual Experience For StarCite Online Marketplace Properties; WebScapes Empower Meeting Planners with Additional Information and Offer Suppliers Added Opportunities to Showcase Location
• Mehta Family, LLC Prepares to Open a 310 studio Staybridge Suites in New York City's Times Square
• Claiming to Be the World's Largest Hospitality Exhibition, Hotelex Shanghai 2010, Set for March 29-April 1at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center
• Driven By Dubai's Vibrant Hospitality Industry, the UAE Has 52,566 Hotel Rooms in Active Pipeline
• Best Western Business Travel Advisory Board Finds Increase in Business Trips, New Growth Opportunities in 2010
• AH&LA Recognizes Bhupen Amin of Lotus Hotels & Investments with State Leadership Award
• Broughton Hospitality Names Jim Sichta as Chief Operating Officer

Top five viewed pages during February 2010

1. The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas Informs 340 Employees that it Will Close on May 2, 2010; Village Hospitality LLC Concludes Funding Operations No Longer Economically Viable
2. What's the Secret to Achieving Top Ranking on TripAdvisor? / Daniel Craig
3. Las Vegas City Leaders Blast Obama Stating "He is Not Really Welcome in this City Until he Straightens This Out." in Response to Presidential Comment
4. What to Do When Things Go Wrong in a Hotel / Daniel Craig
5. InterContinental Takes Aim at Hilton's Loyalty Program Members with Bold Move to Entice Customers