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The Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, set to open in January 2013, is the first hotel from high-end restaurant chain Nobu. Nobu is one of an increasing number of luxury brands to diversify into opening hotels. Nobu hotels are set open soon in Riyadh, as well as locations in London, Bahrain and the Caribbean. Nobu Hospitality chief executive Trevor Horwell says the chain diversified after seeing existing hotels gain popularity when Nobu restaurants opened in them Work it: High fashion hotels “When Mohamed Alabbar [chairman of Emaar Properties] introduced the idea to Giorgio Armani in 2005, it [...]

Viia Yoga, a company that hosts yoga retreats in Mexico and Costa Rica, offers a discount for anyone willing to give up their iPhone.The Tranquility Suite at the Hotel Monaco Chicago. Guests who book the suite can also opt for the black-out option, where they can have their electronic devices locked away.The Library suite bedroom at the Westin Dublin. The hotel offers a package that lets people stash their electronic devices in a safe, in exchange for a “detox survival kit.” HIDE CAPTIONDigital detox – Via Yoga Digital detox – Hotel Monaco ChicagoDigital detox – Westin Dublin<<<123>>>Many find it hard [...]

Exclusive London hotel The Beaufort has seen occupancy rates increase since it began offering day rates. Business people coming to London for meetings are behind the majority of demand, says sales and marketing director Nassar Khalil.The Town Hall boutique hotel, also in London, estimates it has earned an additional £10,000 ($ 15,880) in revenue since it started taking day bookings.”Usually, between 11am and 5pm, our guestrooms are empty. Now, if we have one guest that wants to come for the day, and another who has a late check-in, we can use that room twice,” explains Town Hall senior sales manager [...]

Hard Rock has a music memorabilia collection consisting of more than 70,000 piecesThe first Hard Rock opened in London in 1971, today it has 139 cafes worldwide The franchise is expanding into hotels and casinos, it currently has 16 such venues The Hard Rock Cafe franchise, famed for its rock’n'roll memorabilia, is expanding its reach into hotels and casinos — but its chief executive says the brand will remain “special.”"We don’t want to be in every street corner, in every city of the UK,” Hard Rock’s Hamish Dodds told CNN.”We want to have a few very special locations, and keep [...]

A car passes next to an Ikea store on May 31, 2011 in Lomme, next Lille, northern France. Ikea is looking to build and develop at least 100 budget hotels across Europe The hotels will not have the Ikea name, nor be run by the furniture giantAlso considering building student residences across Europe (Financial Times) — Ikea, the secretive but hugely successful budget furniture retailer, is looking to build and develop at least 100 budget hotels across Europe in its latest push into the property market.Inter Ikea, the company that owns the intellectual property rights of Ikea — which were [...]

Hanting Inns was founded by billionaire businessman Ji Qi just seven years ago. Today the budget chain has 1,000 facilities across China. The company takes inspiration from Western low-cost chains such as Accor, Ibis and Premier Inn. An en-suite bathroom in a Hanting Inns hotel. The chain invests “serious money” into its rooms, says Ji Qi.

The lobby lounge at New York’s Andaz Wall Street, where guests check in on a tablet computer over a drink. The cost of hotel Wi-Fi But that looks to be changing, as a new generation of hotels embraces technology in all aspects from check-in to check-out in a deliberate strategy to appeal to tech-savvy clientele. “Technology is increasingly becoming a brand differentiator for hotels and chains which want to identify with a certain market,” says Katherine Doggrell, editor of Hotel Analyst Distribution & Technology. Technology is increasingly becoming a brand differentiator for hotels and chains which want to identify with [...]