The digital age of boutique — From business center to business hotel
BLLA
How effective are the business centers in your hotel? When we've stayed at hotels, rarely have we used the business centers — mostly because many of them are forgotten-about caves hidden in the cold dark corners of the hotel. It's time to phase these out — but what's next? Check out the BLLA Blog here.More

BLLA 'Quick Poll'
BLLA
Take our brief survey and be entered to win a FREE membership to BLLA. The poll will close in seven days. Click here to begin: http://www.cvent.com/d/qcq1f1. More

In Bangladesh, strong promise of growth
The New York Times
Bangladesh is probably one of the last places in Asia people would expect to see a thriving beachside resort with luxury hotels. And yet, Cox's Bazar is exactly that — a place where affluent Bangladeshis go for a weekend of seaside fun. During the high season, when the monsoon rains are not pounding the country, the beach is filled with children and their watchful parents among slightly dilapidated orange beach umbrellas.More

Lying down on the job: Boutique owner stresses comfort, service
Lodging Hospitality
When real estate developer Brian Obie was building his recently opened hotel in Eugene, Ore., he decided to move things in the right direction by lying down on the job. Literally. "A lot of people want to know they're going to sleep on a good bed. That's the foundation of the experience. If you don't have a good bed, you don't have much," says Obie. "So my wife and I went to different hotels and then bought six different mattresses and springs into our house to try."More

Alfresco sleeping under the city lights
Travel Weekly
Remember the days before air conditioning? Old-school New Yorkers might recall sleeping on their fire escapes to escape the summer heat. Alfresco sleeping is now back at Hyatt 48 Lex, a luxury boutique hotel in New York. The Suite Glamping Package is available with eight terrace accommodations. The hotel will make up bedding, pillows and extra blankets on the terrace, giving glampers an unusual view of the nighttime Manhattan skyline.More

Why all the locals are lounging in the hotel lobby
The Wall Street Journal
More consultants, bloggers and other creative non-office types are latching on to the comfy chairs, free Wi-Fi and other amenities to be found in chic new urban hotels. Guests are setting up their laptops, iPhones, ear buds and water bottles and doing business from high-visibility library tables and quiet corner armchairs. More

Missoni's hotel creates colorful oasis for guests
PSFK
Missoni, the Italian fashion house famous for its colorful fabrics and knitwear design, has opened luxurious Missoni Hotels in Edinburgh and Kuwait. Every room has its unique design including branded products, Missoni sheets and bathrobes in a fire of color.More

Experiencing Santa Barbara's best coastal and inland golf
C-Suite Quarterly
After playing the breathtaking ocean-front Sandpiper Golf Course, then making the drive through the Santa Ynez mountains to the Rancho San Marcos Golf Course, you might have a difficult time convincing yourself that these two tracks are not only in the same state, but are just 20 minutes apart. Here's a look at the beautiful resort and boutique hotels to rest your head between holes.More

A 1st look at Algonquin Hotel historic Blue Bar's new style
USA Today
The famed Algonquin Hotel is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation, including of its 1930s-era Blue Bar, set to show off its new design soon. The Times Square-area hotel has been closed since January to transform itself into a modern-day luxury hotel.More

The Last Word redefines luxury in Cape Town
Breaking Travel News
In a hospitality environment at times overcome with monotony, The Last Word prides itself on offering a distinct five-star experience. Treating guests like royalty, the family-run business offers personalized hospitality in picturesque locations surrounded by exquisite style and elegance. More

Classic Paris hotels close for facelifts
Forbes
Get ready to say au revoir to some of Paris' most famous luxury hotels — but not forever. Both Ritz Paris and Hôtel de Crillon will be closing their doors for two years for complete renovations — overhauling the ornate-but-tired spaces to keep up with the city's spate of new hotels from international luxury chains.More

Stylish hotels sprouting in Brooklyn and Queens
The New York Times
The New York City hotel market managed to defy the slump most of the country experienced during and after the recession. Occupancy rates in the city were 85 percent in 2011, compared with 60 percent nationally. Despite a tough market for financing, at least 15 hotels opened in the five boroughs, roughly half of them outside Manhattan. Among the recent additions is the boutique Hotel Vetiver in Long Island City. More

Increasing options for children at hotel spas
The Toronto Star
In recent years, it hasn't been all that uncommon to bump into little girls in the pedicure station or hairdressing chair, but boys are usually left at home for what many see as a "girls only" day out. But times are changing. While the Four Seasons Chiang Mai Spa has a full menu for kids and another for teens, it's the Angel Bliss massage that raises the bar.More

Flip.to wants to turn travelers into travel brand advocates
Tnooz
Flip.to is a marketing platform for hotels and restaurants that turns their guests into engaged brand advocates to boost brand awareness and earn new customers. Launched in 2010, Flip.to is generating substantial return on engagement and return on investment for clients around the world.More

Hotel rooms with a view of photography shows
The New York Times
Dozens of hotels have notable art collections, but a few are focusing specifically on photography. W Hotels, for example, will introduce its first Instagram photo exhibition at the Living Room in its Times Square property. The hotel is in partnership with the photo-sharing company to curate a display of pictures from New York-based Instagrammers who capture architecture, design and street art in the city. More

Toronto's luxury hotels: A study in customer loyalty
Hotels Magazine
Late last summer, local newspapers lauded the sale of a $28 million penthouse suite in the new Four Seasons in Toronto, scheduled to be open late this summer. The sale price in excess of $3,000 per square foot is part of a surprising luxury hotel construction boom well underway in the Canadian city. It seems every luxury hotel chain on Earth decided this city is the place to be, and all within a narrow timeframe.More

Boutique-on-wheels 'Styleliner' takes cue from food trucks
The Washington Post
Forget food trucks. Washington, D.C., fashionistas soon will get a taste of a mobile commerce trend as a "fashion truck" rolls into town. Styleliner, a novel boutique concept founded by New Yorker Joey Wolffer, is due to arrive in Washington. The 20-foot fashion truck, which 29-year-old Wolffer describes on her website as a "treasure chest on wheels," carries jewelry, accessories and clothing. It will be the first of its kind to wind its way through the District.More

Inside the battle of two boutiques for a site that will draw crowds
The Wall Street Journal
Blame the Olallieberry pie: A generous slice helped boutique chain Intermix beat out rival Scoop NYC in the race for a prime store location in Beverly Hills. After several years of playing it safe, fashion retailers are once again opening new stores, with signs of better times ahead. There are still parts of the country with too many stores, but in affluent urban areas, competition is rising for prime space.More

Disney builds up the less-glamorous 'guts' of its hotel rooms
The Baltimore Sun
Walt Disney World has historically set its hotels apart by designing them with over-the-top themes, from an African village to a national park lodge to a sprawling ode to popular culture. Now, however, the giant resort is focusing on improving the less-glamorous guts of its 22,000 rooms — with mini-refrigerators, wireless Internet access and extra mattresses.More

Where does your hotel soap go? IHG recycling program targets it
The Boston Globe
Ever wonder what happens to your hotel soap and bathroom amenities after you've checked out of the room? As part of IHG's Green Engage program, Clean the World will have access to all the unopened and unused hotel amenities, which IHG hopes will reduce solid waste by 50 percent for each participating hotel. More

When in Hollywood, check out the W
C-Suite Quarterly
One sure sign that a new boutique hotel has made its mark is when a hotshot event planner such as Gavin B. Keilly anoints your lobby and public spaces as the pre-2010 Oscar meeting and grazing spot. However, that achievement pales next to one amazing statistic–the hotel's rooms sold out in a mere two weeks after its opening and reservations have been hovering at an unprecedented 90 percent capacity ever since.More