ALMOST three decades after the fact, I can still recall with frightening clarity my first time at a youth hostel. What was billed in my “Let’s Go Europe” book as a “historic” Irish hostel in a “castle,” turned out to be a crumbling tower with no heat, stone floors and mildewed mattresses. I vowed never to stay in a hostel again. Yet having heard that the hostel scene, while still being unbelievably cheap, had changed significantly over the years, I decided to try again — only this time, rather than being accompanied by a cute male hitchhiker, I had my teenage daughters in tow. And so it was with great trepidation that I approached the London Central Youth Hostel on a Friday evening in mid-March.

Radisson Blu Comes To Bad Reichenhall - In the far south of Germany is the resort of Bad Reichenhall. This 30 June will be an auspicious date in the resort’s calendar: the day on which Rezidor Hotel Group rebrands the Steigenberger Axelmannstein. The 152-room hotel will thereafter be known as the Radisson Blu Axelmannstein Resort. The name Radisson Blu is one already familiar to the hotel’s operator EP Group Germany through the group’s association with the Radisson Blu Hotel Stralsund, which stands in the far north of Germany.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announced it has filed a lawsuit against Hilton Hotels Corporation and its senior executives Ross Klein, Global Head of Hilton Luxury & Lifestyle Brands, and Amar Lalvani, Global Head of Hilton Luxury & Lifestyle Brand Development, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that Klein, former President, Starwood Luxury Brands Group, and Lalvani, former Senior Vice President, Starwood Luxury Brands Group, aided and abetted by Hilton, stole massive amounts of proprietary and highly confidential Starwood information which was used to expedite Hilton’s entry into the lifestyle hotel market, reposition its luxury brands and substantially reduce its costs and risks of doing so.

The third annual Corporate Travel & Technology World China (CT&TW China), an event organized by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and TTG Asia Media, this week brought together more than 160 corporate travel professionals from China, the United States and other Asia Pacific nations to examine the dynamics of China’s economy and corporate travel management trends and challenges throughout the Asia Pacific region.

For years, during low demand periods, hotels and resorts have turned to the Internet to offer discounted rates as a last-ditch effort to fill rooms. After years of proven results, properties have worked this strategy into their annual marketing plans. Although it works fairly well, search marketing, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click ads (PPC), social media and banner ads, can seriously improve the results.

A memorable fine dining experience at 30,000 feet awaits First and Business Class travelers flying Lufthansa beginning May 1, 2009. Through this unique partnership between The Ritz-Carlton and Lufthansa, premium guests flying from the airline’s 18 U.S. gateways to Germany will select from dishes especially created by award-winning chefs at Ritz-Carlton properties in Denver, New York City, Boston, and San Francisco.

The Rezidor Hotel Group announces the Park Inn Doncaster in the United Kingdom: The existing “Purple Hotel Doncaster” will be rebranded in May 2009 and add 87 guest rooms to Rezidor’s pipeline. “With this signing our Park Inn portfolio in the UK reaches 35 hotels with more than 5,600 rooms in operation and under development”, says Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor. "The opening of Park Inn Doncaster marks the start of another chapter of our cooperation with Rezidor", adds Pearl Palihawadna, Operational Director of Hotel Solutions London Ltd., owner of the hotel. "We believe in the Park Inn brand and aim to develop it further."

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement in praise of President Obama’s plans to transform travel in America by investing in our nation’s rail system:

The current terms and sources of bargaining power for owners and managers are highlighted in the newest edition of The Negotiation and Administration of Hotel Management Contracts, by James J. Eyster '69, the emeritus HVS International Professor of Hotel Finance and Real Estate and Jan A. deRoos '78, the current HVS International Professor of Hotel Finance and Real Estate at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. Based on two years of intensive research, coupled with over four decades of analysis of hotel management contracts, this new volume highlights provisions of concern for both owners and operators in the twenty-first century, as well as providing a rigorous approach for evaluating the finances of proposed projects. The book is available from the Cornell Campus Store.

Three hotels from Hilton Hotels Corporation (Hilton) have been named among the Best Employers in Asia, according to a study conducted by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company.

For the 3rd Earth Guest Day, Accor has reaffirmed its commitment to reforestation. To be held this year on April 22, Earth Guest Day is a Group-wide initiative that aims to involve employees in sustainable development projects. By April 2010, some 1,000 Accor hotels will be actively involved in Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, an initiative launched last year in association with the United Nations Environment Program.

Nightly hotel rates in the Big Apple between January and March plunged nearly 30%, to an average of $284 vs. $404 during the same period in 2008, a new study shows. Ovation Travel Group, the USA's 6th biggest corporate travel firm, conducted the study. It surveyed room rates in 30 key global cities, including 12 U.S. cities.

Shares of hotel real-estate investment trusts traded higher Thursday as investors gained more confidence in the battered stocks following a successful equity offering by Diamondrock Hospitality Co. (DRH) earlier in the week. "This rally ... is partially a short squeeze, partially greater confidence in economic recovery and partially a response to equity markets being open to hotel REITs," Baird analyst David Loeb told Dow Jones Newswires.

Consolidated revenue for the first three months of 2009 totaled EUR1,616 million, down 5.8% like-for-like over the same period of 2008 and down 9.6% on a reported basis.

IHG, the largest international hotel company by number of rooms in China, was named the "Best International Chain" for the second year in a row at TTG China Travel Awards, presented by TTG Publishing, a leading industry publication in Asia Pacific.

Continuing the boutique brand's global rollout, Hotel Indigo today announced the opening of its first property in Central America. The 100-room Hotel Indigo is located in San Jose's upscale neighborhood of Santa Ana, one of the city's fastest developing areas and an excellent starting point to visit some of the world's most compelling eco-tourism destinations.

The Canadian hotel industry posted decreases in all three key performance measurements during the week of 5-11 April 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 20.8 percent to end the week at 49.2 percent. Average daily rate dropped 8.6 percent to finish the week at CAD$116.19. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 27.6 percent to finish at CAD$57.13.

The U.S. hotel industry posted double-digit declines in all three key performance measurements during the week 5-11 April 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 17.9 percent to end the week at 52.6 percent (64.1 percent in the comparable week in 2008). Average daily rate dropped 12.5 percent to finish the week at US$96.60 (US$110.36 in the comparable week in 2008). Revenue per available room for the week decreased 28.1 percent to finish at US$50.85 (US$70.76 in the comparable week in 2008).

The 2009 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) exhibit hall offers the latest hospitality technology solutions and products that can reduce costs, attract customers and help employees. In the exhibit hall, attendees can take advantage of meeting with the hospitality technology industry’s prominent vendors and practitioners, all in one place. HITEC 2009, produced by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), is June 22-25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Feedback at the Ninth Annual Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Affordable Meetings® Mid-America Exhibition and Conference at Chicago’s Navy Pier April 1-2 was upbeat despite the current economic climate. “We heard from both exhibitors and meeting planners that there was a lot of quality business conducted on the show floor,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “It’s no secret that the travel community has been hit particularly hard during the current economic downturn. But we had a very positive show, and our attendees are hopeful that a turnaround is coming soon.”