Michigan hotel guests victims of identity theft

by Julie Gerstein on

Former guests at a Michigan hotel got a nasty surprise on their credit card statements this month. Around 150 guests at the Doherty Hotel and Convention Center in Clare, Michigan, found fraudulent charges on their credit card statements after staying at the hotel. Victims’ average fraudulent charges were around $2,500.

Authorities say they’re not sure whether the hotel’s system had been hacked or whether the cards were accessed by a criminal employee, but the hotel is cooperating with the investigation. This isn’t the first time a hotel has been targeted: LA’s Westin Bonaventure and the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, have both experienced similar crimes.

According to credit experts, hotel guests are at particularly high risk for identity theft, and travelers are encouraged to be extra vigilant when checking credit card statements while traveling and after.

[photo by Flickr user Andres Rueda]

Daily Pampering: Rock star rides at the Hard Rock San Diego

by Melanie Nayer on

Forget your drab rental car, the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego is offering guests booking the high-roller packages a sweet ride from Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s ‘exotic cars’ fleet. Enterprise Rent-A-Car will drop the cars off at the hotel for the guests to use throughout their stay.

The top package is the Diamond Ride which pairs a 1,700 square-foot Diamond Rock Star Suite featuring two bedrooms and a private outdoor Jacuzzi with a stunning Bentley Continental GT with 552 Horsepower to tour the city. The Diamond Ride package is priced starting from $3,099 per night.

Other pairings include:

  • Multi-Platinum suite and an Aston Martin Vantage, starting at $2799
  • Platinum suite with a Mercedes Benz S550 starting at $1209
  • Gold Suite with a Porsche Cayman starting at $759
  • Black Eyed Peas Suite paired with a Cadillac Escalade ESV starting at $809 per night

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

“Ground Zero Mosque” reality check

by Sean McLachlan on

We’ve all heard about it–the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”. Journalists, bloggers, and pretty much everyone else have been screaming at each other about whether it should open or not. All but absent from the debate, however, are hard facts.

Now the Village Voice has published an angry article with facts about the Ground Zero Mosque. First off, it’s a community center as well as a mosque. Secondly, it’s not at Ground Zero. The article has a map showing the proposed community center is two-and-a-half blocks away from Ground Zero at 51 Park Place. Even more revealing are photos of what’s also in the vicinity of Ground Zero–a Burger King, a bookie, and a titty bar. Nobody has called these places disrespectful to the memory of the victims.

Village Voice writer Foster Kamer goes off on people from outside New York City making judgments about the Park51 project, pointing out that the community center will have a 9/11 memorial and saying that people who want to stifle freedom of religion are almost as bad as terrorists. He also reminds us that dozens of Muslims were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including an NYPD cadet. Kamer then rips into the commercialization of Ground Zero. Thousands of tourists flock to it every year, feeding a small industry of guided tours and souvenir stands selling Chinese-made memorabilia. There’s even a hotel that’s using its proximity to Ground Zero as a selling point.

One thing Kamer doesn’t include, however, is a link to the Park51 project, so here it is. The site details what the developers are planning to do with the property.

Is an Islamic community center an appropriate thing to have two-and-a-half blocks away from Ground Zero? Is a titty bar? Is Ground Zero tourism respectful or simply ghoulish? Tell us what you think in the comments section.


Photo of 45-51 Park Place courtesy Gryffindor via Wikimedia Commons.

No more vacation rentals in San Francisco

by Julie Gerstein on

Bad news for those of you planning on renting an apartment for your next trip to San Francisco: it’s illegal. It seems the city’s long forgotten ordinance against residents renting out their apartments to tourists has of late been reinforced. The 1981 ordinance prohibits landlords from renting out to a tenant for a period of less than 30 days.

Why would San Fran care if landlords rent their apartments out as vacation rentals? Well, the city argues, the vacay rental market takes valuable housing off the rental market, making it more difficult for people to find affordable places to live. A recent survey of one of the city’s largest vacation rental services found around 500 properties available.

San Francisco’s enforcement of the vacation rental policy mirrors a decision earlier this year from New York state governor David Paterson to ban short-term vacation rentals in New York, and could signal the beginning of an anti-vacation rental legislative trend. And that could have a big impact on vacation rental industry companies like HomeAway and VRBO.

Tourists have gravitated to the vacation rental market in recent years in part because it’s more economical than staying a hotel: Prices are typically around half as much as hotels — and with added living amenities like kitchens and living spaces.

[photo by Flickr user permanently scatterbrained]

Five signs that the hotel meeting business is recovering

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Business meetings are back in style. Group customer is on the rise for the hotel business, signaling that the corporate crowd Is getting back out on the road. Joining the party are other groups, such as associations, sports teams, religious groups, social organizations and the military, according to USA Today.

The U.S. Travel Association is predicting a 7 percent increase in meeting and convention spending this year, with a forecast of $90.7 billion. Last year, this measure fell 15 percent, as the effects of the financial crisis and subsequent recession led to cancelations.

To get the big bucks back in the door, hotels and convention bureaus have been rolling out favorable pricing and sweetheart deals, and it’s starting to work.

So, how do we know this sector’s coming back? Here are five hints:

1. The meeting planners say so: A June survey by Meeting Professionals International showed 61 percent of respondents saying “that they’re seeing more favorable business conditions, including attendance, budgets and number of meetings,” according to a USA Today report. Only 15 percent responded this way in August 2009.

2. Hotel groups say so: InterContinental Hotels Group has announced that its group and corporate revenue climbed 10 percent in the first half of 2010 relative to the same period in 2009. Denihan Hospitality Group’s eight New York City hotels are showing an increase in group revenue of 26 percent year-over-year.
3. Even Grand Rapids has good news: The JW Marriott in Grand Rapids, Michigan has sold more than 1,500 group room-nights so far this year, up 20 percent from last year.

4. So does Fort Lauderdale: In this Florida town, group revenue is up 30 percent at the Harbor Beach Marriott. Corporate deals are still down from last year, but other groups are more than making up the difference.

5. Hotels understand what’s going on: Even though the market is coming back, hotels realize that they still need to price aggressively. Notes George Aquino, general manager of the Grand Rapids JW Marriott Everyone’s felt the turmoil of 2009. We don’t want that to happen again.”

[photo by msprague via Flickr]