HOSPITALITY HEADLINES

• Dallas council member Mitchell Rasansky wants voters to weigh hotel issue: Some criticize his conflict of interest in project (The Dallas Morning News)
• Developer regroups on Gateway hotel (The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.)
• Florence, Ore., increases hotel room tax (The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.)
• Hotel rebuild to start on Truman Avenue: El Rancho's style going Conch-like (Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon)
• Arlington finds new tourism chief in Dallas (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas)
• Hotel bookings hit all-time high after only 7 months (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas)
• Grandview Inn fire ruled arson (The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.)
• Tropicana officials calm fears in wake of bankruptcy filing (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• 'For sale' sign could be headed for Fitzgeralds (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• MGM Mirage profits slide (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Ex-Harrah's chief tapped for Sierra Pacific position (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• More of downtown getting a face-lift: $1 million project meant to meld hotel with other areas (Merced Sun-Star, Calif.)
• BRIEF: Hotel worker charged with assaulting female guest (Star Tribune, Minneapolis)
• Plans to redevelop buildings dropped: Economic conditions lead to withdrawal of hotel, condo projects (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• BRIEF: Paradise Inn to open May 16 (The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.)
• BRIEF: Shot fired at downtown Omaha hotel (Omaha World-Herald, Neb.)
• Convention Center: The name game: More than 125 people weigh in on what the new downtown building should be called (The Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Red Lion reports net loss; company buys Denver hotel (The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.)
• Burma tourist traffic likely to give way to aid workers (Bangkok Post, Thailand)
• The Wichita Eagle, Kan., Carrie Rengers column: Owner: There's always room for a chic hotel (The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)
• Greenbrier CVB to host Tourism Summit May 14 (The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.)

INSIDE HOTEL ONLINE TODAY
DAILY EMAIL NEWS

• The Brandstand Alarm Clock Designed with the Hotel Guest in Mind; Clean Minimalist Look Will Compliment Any Hotel Guestroom
• Steve Wynn Contemplating Another Use for the Plush Golf Course Located Behind Wynn Las Vegas - Possibly Two Hotel Towers with a Combined 5,200 Rooms and a 1.8 million Sq Ft Convention Center
• 13 Properties Selected as the Best of the Best at Choice Hotels 54th Annual Convention
• Dial Family Resorts Selects Marcus Hotels and Resorts to Manage Proposed $150 million Hawaiian Themed Resort with 409 rooms and 75,000 sq ft Indoor Water Park Near Providence, Rhode Island
• Majority of Dallas City Council Members Favoring Outright City Ownership of $500 million Convention Center Hotel
• Hotel Visitors to Dubai Projected to Rise to Ten million by 2010, from Seven million in 2007
• Profit Declines at MGM Mirage: Cost of New Detroit Casino, Economy Cited for Poor 1st Quarter
• Red Lion Hotels Corporation Acquriring Fee Simple Interest in the 478-room Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast for $25.3 million; Following $8 million Renovation Property to be Rebranded Red Lion
• Under a Sale and Management-back Arrangement Accor Sells the Sofitel Grand Hotel in Amsterdam at a Enterprise Value of EUR92 million (US$ 142 million)
• HITEC 2008 Features Demonstrations and Discussion of the Hottest Hospitality Technology Trends
• Molinaro Koger Structures Sale of Residence Inn by Marriott Lubbock, Texas
• Hotel Vitale Announces Innovative Green Meeting Packages; "The Green Standard" Programs Incorporate Eco-Friendly Practices Throughout Every Aspect of Meetings and Events
• Carlson Hotels Worldwide Signs More Than 50 New Properties in the First Quarter of 2008
• Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts Opens Fourth Hotel in Turkey - the 402 room Swissôtel Grand Efes, Izmir 
• Resorts and Hotels On the Rise in the Pacific Coastal City of Mazatlán, Mexico
• New York's Tavern on the Green Opening 40,000 Square Restaurant in the Metreon Building Adjacent to San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center
• Mario Ferraro Appointed General Manager of the Hilton Molino Stucky, Venice, Italy
• Judy Hendrick Joins Aimbridge Hospitality as Chief Financial Officer

• TIG Global Receives Top International Honors for Website Design and Internet Marketing; TIG Global Wins Three Summit Creative Awards
• Microsoft Technology Center Customer Solution Case Study; MSI Increases Product Scalability with Access to the Right Resources
• Profitable Spas: Be On-Trend Rather Than Trendy / Dr. Judy Singer
• In Atlanta Rosewood Wants to Out Maneuver Luxury Competitors Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton By Offering Complimentary Butler Service
• Tropicana Entertainment Files for Chapter 11 Protection Following Fallout from Atlantic City Casino Loss; Expects to Maintain Current Staffing Levels at Nine Casino and Resort Properties
• Hotel Internet Marketing - Having a Web Site Is Not Enough / Neil Salerno
• Dunblane Hydro, A Historic Scottish Hotel, Will be Managed by Hilton and Branded Doubletree Following Multi-million Renovation
• Kimpton Leverages Social Networking to Recruit, Interact with Job Seekers
• The Saraya Aqaba Resort Destination on the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan, Signs Jack Penrod's Nikki Beach to Operate a 140 room Resort Hotel with a Residential Component
• The Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association Honors Eleven as Stars of the Industry; Russ Cole, General Manager of the Best Western Four Seasons, Traverse City Named 2008 Hotelier of the Year
• Aimbridge Hospitality Awards Properties, Personnel for Outstanding Performance; Patti Patenaude and Dave Pappas Named 'GM of the Year'
• Konover Hotel Corporation and Waterford Group Announce Plans for Extensive Hotel Renovations at the Sheraton Hotel at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT; Waterford Hotel Group Assumes Management of 237-Room Airport Location
• Harris Hotel Group Prepares to Open 112 room Candlewood Suites in Columbia, South Carolina; Hotel Developed by Joint Venture Between American Hotel Development and Glenmont Capital Management, LLC.
• Hotel Indigo Chicago-Vernon Hills Opens Following a $5 million Renovation and Conversion from an AmeriSuites Hotel
• The ProHost® Housekeeping System Has Been Selected for the 210 room Westin Huntsville in Alabama
• Pegasus Solutions Goes Green for FCm Travel; Asia-Pacific Direct Deposit Facility for Agent Commission Processing Minimizes Payment Turnaround and Carbon Footprint
• Joseph F. Smith Named President of Alliance Hospitality Management LLC, Formerly the President of Boykin Management Company
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Names Ex-Wendy's Executive Jeff Cava as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
• The New York Palace Appoints Christopher Burkhardt and Alex Chaharmahalian to Executive Positions

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