HOSPITALITY HEADLINES

• Convention center awaits funding OK: Authority officials say most of big project's preliminary work is done (Albany Times Union, N.Y.)
• Gwinnett delays discussion about hotel, retail complex (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• States see casinos' benefit: Tax revenue has doubled nationally in 10 years (The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.)
• Horse Park hotel developers sue: Contend deadline wasn't part of failed deal (The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
• Dallas council votes for $42 million hotel land purchase (The Dallas Morning News)
• Visitors bureau pledges $10,000 for trees: Planting of native species in Cuyahoga Valley National Park to begin in fall (The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio)
• Hampton Inn's Howe honored by Hospitality Association (The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.)
• Marriott meets with Focus on the Family about porn (The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.)
• Greeley tourism on the table at luncheon (Greeley Tribune, Colo.)
• Room tax increase has hotel support (Omaha World-Herald, Neb.)
• Whole Foods store is still on track in scaled-back project: The plan now calls for a 7-story, not 17-story, hotel and condo development Downtown next to the new food retailer. (The Idaho Statesman, Boise)
• Foxwoods Sizzle: Three New Chefs Put Fine Dining On A Roll At State's Largest Casino (The Hartford Courant, Conn.)
• KC area's first-quarter hotel occupancy down 1.7 percent (The Kansas City Star, Mo.)
• Take at casinos hits record (The Kansas City Star, Mo.)
• EDITORIAL: Tourists, service workers good for Kerr Co. (Kerrville Daily Times, Texas)
• State tourism secretary optimistic about summer (La Crosse Tribune, Wis.)
• Low and behold: Gambling revenues fall (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• MGM Mirage may say 'take two' (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• LV visitation numbers tumble (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Tropicana Entertainment boss may lose influence (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• EDITORIAL: Hotel vote could be an expensive mistake (The Dallas Morning News)
• Diablo Grande resort getting interest from 6 potential buyers (The Modesto Bee, Calif.)
• A Tower Achievement at Porter & Frye: Chef's imagination gets free rein in new location as his menu's twists and turns delight guests. (Star Tribune, Minneapolis)
• Construction trimmed on 2 hotel projects: Developers hope Park East building can start this year (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• 3 developers vie for Osceola convention-hotel space: Three firms want to build hotel-convention space with tourist taxes, but there isn't enough for all, officials say (The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.)
• Low bidder identified on Convention Center work (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Surfside Villas resort being torn down: Beach cleanup (The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.)
• 4 counties seek tourism brand name (Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.)
• Suit greenlighted by appeal wraps up with settlement: The state supreme court said a hotel has a duty to keep its guests safe. (The Roanoke Times, Va.)
• Lookout Lodging: Experience a taste of history at old national forest fire towers (The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.)
• Utah tries to lure visitors with its beauty (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Foreigners Prop Up Beach Tourism (Tampa Tribune, Fla.)
• Dalton: Tourism incentive bill key to Dalton hotel deal is killed by Gov. Perdue (Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.)
• The Wichita Eagle, Kan., Carrie Rengers column: Hartman planning for hotel at arena (The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)
• Perdue's veto a blow to hotel? (The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.)

INSIDE HOTEL ONLINE TODAY
DAILY EMAIL NEWS

• Leonardo Hotels Seeing Quick Growth in the European Market with  SynXis as Distribution Partner; RedX Distribution Management System increases hotelier's exposure to full scope of GDS channels and third-party distribution; new chain shows immediate growth of over 10 percent
• Cendyn Launches The Beverly Hilton's Newly Redesigned Website
• Conservative Christian Organizations Discuss with Marriott International the Elimination of Adult Movies from 3,000 Hotels in the U.S; 90% of Marriott Rooms Wired with In-room Adult Entertainment
• The Developers of the Canceled Westin Hotel Project in Lexington, Kentucky Suing the State of Kentucky for Breach of Contract
• Omaha Hoteliers Favor 1½ Percent Bed Tax Increase to Pay for Baseball Stadium; If Passed, Omaha Will Have the Highest Hotel Tax at 17.98% of the Nation's Largest Convention Cities
• Suit Against Holiday Inn Expess in Roanoke, Virginia Settled Out of Court Following a Virginia Supreme Court Ruling that Hotels Located in High-crime Areas Have a "Broadened Liability" to Protect Guests
• Economy Got You Down? A Four-Step Survival Guide for Tough Times / Michael G. Frenkel
• The Generation Companies Acquires the 77-room MainStay Suites in Southwest Charlotte, North Carolina for $3.9 million
• EMCVenues To Host MEET Chicago 2008; Meeting Education Event To Benefit All Planners, May 29th, 30th
• Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives Agree on Six Point Plan for National Associations; Susan Springer, Executive Director of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association Re-elected President 
• The Southern California (Orange County) Tourism Boom of the Past Couple of Years Might Wane this Summer; An Uncertain Summer / Sandi Cain
• Doubletree Hotel Jefferson City, Missouri Opens Following a Multi-Million-Dollar Transformation of the Former Hotel La Bella
• Simon Smith Named General Manager at The Goodstone Inn & Estate, Middleburg, Virginia

• Mobile in Travel: Should Your Mobile Strategy be About ROI or Brand Advocacy?
• 'The Belamar' Luxury Boutique Installs Flyte Systems in State-of-the-Art Business Center; Live airline flight information and boarding pass printing provide travel convenience for business guests
• Sheraton and Microsoft in Unique Co-branding Partnership - Seeking to Appeal to the New Breed of Digital Lifestyle Guest
• What's Happening to Hotel Cap Rates, Values and Financing? / Suzanne Mellen / Jim Butler
• A $30 million Restoration and Renovation Project Completed at Boston's Omni Parker House; Longest Continuously Operating Hotel in the U.S.
• The Gasparilla Inn & Club, Located in Boca Grande, Florida, Named to The National Register of Historic Places
• Molinaro Koger Arranges Sale of SunSpree Resort Orlando, Florida
• R.D. Olson Development Sells the Marriott Residence Inn, Burbank and Marriott Residence Inn, Oceanside to Apple REIT 8 for $80 million
• Educational Institute Offers CHA, CLM Exams Online
• 'Best NFC Service of 2008' Awarded to VingCard (ASSA ABLOY AB) by NFC Forum at Monaco Event; Global security leader receives 'First Place' for its Signature RFID/NFC solution at the European NFC Developers Summit in Monaco
• 2008 Pet Travel Statistics Reported by BringYourPet.com
• Central Oregon's Resort Properties Go Overseas (Lithuania, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico) to Find Employees for $9/hour Positions
• Chuck Shishido Recipient of Outrigger Enterprises Group's 2007 Chairman's Award
• Barney Hospitality Group On a Fast Track to Renovate and Convert Downtown Bakersfield's Holiday Inn Select to a Full-service Marriott
• Amanda Elder Appointed General Manager of The St. Regis Shanghai

Top five viewed pages during April 2008

1. Top Twenty Hotel Brands in the World at January 1, 2008, Also Top Ten Hotel Groups in the World
2. Why Everyone Gets a Hotel Room Upgrade... But You / Daniel Edward Craig
3. Night Manager of the Regency Inn in San Bruno, California Brutally Attacked by Rowdy Hotel Guests
4. Hilton Recognizes the Top Performing Hotels of 2007; Hilton Showcases Best of the Best Hotels with the Brand’s Annual Awards
5. Ownership of the Westin Casuarina Charging Attendees of a Dental Conference for the Organizer's $57,000 Past Due Bill; Convention Industry Veterans Question the Ethics and Legality of the Decision