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Reports on developments concerning the advertising industry in the United States, as of April 4, 2000. Includes the rollout of an image makeover campaign by MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada; Selection of advertising agency Richardson, Myers & Donofrio Inc. to handle real estate agency Re/Max's creative account.

Looks at the Marriott Corp. hotel chain and how the company's board is frequently discussing whether its next chief executive will be a member of the Marriott family or an outsider. Suggestion that John Marriott is in line to take over the company after J. W. "Bill" Marriott Jr. retires; Influence of the Marriott's Mormon faith on their company; Author's view that Marriott's next CEO will face a challenge in keeping up with hipper brands such as Westin and W from Starwood hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Hilton Garden Inns of Hilton Hotels Corp.

Reports that Westin hotels, owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., plan to install state-of-the-art fitness rooms in all of it hotels in the United States in an effort to attract travelers who are fitness conscious. Cost of the new fitness rooms, which will feature Precor and Life fitness treadmills, bikes, elliptical trainers, free weights and medicine balls; Role of Reebok International Ltd. in the project; View of the author that hotel gyms are emerging as battleground among hotels in customer and business traveler retention; Other hotel companies making improvements to their fitness rooms.

Focuses on the launch of James Hotels by founders Stephen Hanson and Danny Errico. How Hanson, a restauranteur, learned about the hotel business from an affiliation with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.; Comments from Hanson about the market niche of trendy hotels for less affluent consumers; Design and features of hotel rooms offered by James; Price of a room at James, indicating that it is line with other moderately priced hotels.

Reports that hotel room rates are increasing. Impact of the economic recovery on the pricing power of hoteliers; Estimates percentage increase in room prices at the five Las Vegas (Nev.) hotels operated by Mandalay Resort Group; Comments from Bjorn Hanson of PricewaterhouseCoopers, regarding the lack of deals available to the vacation traveler; Estimated percentage rise in room rates in the hotel industry for 2004; Cities that are still suffering economically where hotel bargains may still be found, including San Francisco (Calif.), Boston (Mass.) and New Orleans (La.); Increase on hotel construction, suggesting there are many rooms out there impacting the hoteliers ability to raise rates everywhere. INSET: Going Up.

Focuses on the efforts of Atlantic City (N.J.) to change its image. Cost of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which is the first major property added to the gambling resort since 1990; Impact of new hotel and casino opening on other establishments with respect to spending on improvements to attract a younger demographic; View that Atlantic City wants to be hip just like Las Vegas (Nev.); Price of renovation at Bally's; Comments from Paul Rubeli, chairman of Aztar Corp., which runs the Tropicana in Atlantic City, about what the industry has learned from Las Vegas; Details of the offerings at the Borgata, suggesting that there are other night life alternatives besides gambling.

Reports on the initiative undertaken by Marriott International Inc. to upgrade beds in seven hotel chains and discusses the competition among hotels in the area of bedding. Details of the upgrade by Marriott, such as 60% cotton sheets and additional pillows on every bed; Efforts of rival hotels to offer luxury beds, including Radisson, Hilton and Sheraton. INSET: Comparing Hotel Beds.

Focuses on the efforts of hoteliers to market six-star hotels to the leisure class. Types of amenities which are offered at the hotels, including personal butlers and private swimming pools; Growth in the luxury travel industry; Plans of Horst Schulze to open a luxury hotel in an Austrian chateau; Designation of the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton as five-star hotels. INSET: Lodging Large.

Presents information on a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the increase in hotel-room prices in 2005.

Reports on the plan of developer Peter Morton to build a condominium-hotel project in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004.

Reports that Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. will announce the hiring of Steven Heyer as chief executive officer. Recent work history of Heyer, including the No. 2 man at Coca-Cola Co.; Expected role of current CEO Barry Sternlicht, who will remain with the company that he founded; Comparison of Heyer and Sternlicht's management styles, indicating Heyer is more traditional; Excerpts from a joint interview with both Heyer and Sternlicht, regarding what will be needed for the two men to co-exist successfully; Perceived strengths Heyer brings to the job and how it will help Starwood, which is attempting to offer more services to the guests at its hotels and resorts; Speculation about Starwood's retail business; Demographics of Starwood's customers.

Discusses the increasing likelihood of strikes among hotels in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco in California in 2004, due to a labor strategy to line up new contracts in those cities that would expire in 2006.

Presents a forecast on hotel bookings for the holiday season in the U.S.

Describes the way in which hotels in the U.S. respond to the needs of children.

Reports on the plans of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. to build two boutique, design-style hotels in China.

Reports on the increase in hotel room prices in the U.S., as hotel companies take advantage of a sudden surge in business travel as of June 2004.

Reports that Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is teaming up with T-Mobile USA Inc. to provide high-speed wireless Internet access to nearly all of Hyatt Corp.'s hotels by the middle of 2005. View of author that Wi-Fi, short for wireless fidelity, is becoming a feature to attract customers to hotels; Number of hotels around the world offering Wi-Fi, according to Pyramid Research, a telecommunication consulting-and-research firm; Other hotel companies that already offer Wi-Fi; How Hyatt's implementation of Wi-Fi will differ from its rivals; Charge for the wireless service.

Focuses on the outlook by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the U.S. hotel demand in 2004.

Focuses on the refurbishing of trophy hotels that are considered some of the finest in the world. Efforts of hotel owners to refurbish the Four Seasons Biltmore, San Ysidro Ranch and the Hotel Bel-Air; Efforts of Merv Griffin, the owner of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills (Calif.), to sell the hotel rather than refurbish; Amount paid for the hotel by Beny Alagem, who founded Packard Bell Electronics Inc. in 1986; Design plans for the soon-to-be refurbished hotel; Discussion of the value of owning a trophy hotel.

Focuses on the rating of hotels. Excerpt from an invitation to the Pala Casino Resort and Spa in San Diego (Calif.), suggesting the hotel was a four-star hotel; Comments from Joel Moore, the hotel director, admitting it was they who applied the rating to the hotel and not the Mobil Travel Guides; Importance of the star rating system to travelers booking hotel accommodations online; Comments from Brian Ek of Priceline.com, regarding the need for a homogenous rating system; How Mobil Travel Guides and AAA evaluate hotels; Examples of discrepancies in the rating of several hotels. INSET: How They Rate.

Reports that the rise in number of business travelers have helped improve profits in the U.S. hotel industry in 2003 according to a series of studies and surveys.

Discusses how the American Automobile Association (AAA) is revamping it's guidelines for five-star hotels in the U.S. Consideration of the rank of the Hotel Bel-Air in the AAA and Mobile Travel Guides; Efforts of midpriced hotels to offer luxurious amenities to improve their rankings; How hotels with high rankings can raise their prices and make better business; Role of AAA inspectors in investigating the quality of hotels; Standards for five-diamond hotel.

Reports on the decision of Marriott International Inc. to enter the bidding for the Aladdin hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Reports on the efforts of Marriott International Inc. to enhance its loyalty program as it competes against other hotel chains, as of May 28, 2003.

Presents information on the status of the debt rating of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. issued by the Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.

Reports on the partnership agreement signed by Hilton Hotels Corp. with Expedia Inc. in an aim to eliminate deeply discounted Hilton hotel rooms on the Web as of April 14, 2003.

Reports on the security measures being taken by hotels to avert terrorist attacks.

Reports on the implementation of cancellation policies in several hotels in the U.S. due to travelers' war concerns in Iraq.

Deals with the joint marketing effort of hotel firm Marriott International Inc. and Intel Corp. to promote Wireless-Fidelity, a wireless Internet technology, in Marriott hotels.

Reports on the effect of cost cutting of hotels on the quality of hotel services.

Reports on the transfer of the ownership of Le Meridien hotels in Dallas, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana from Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts Group to LaSalle Hotel Properties SBI in 2002.

Reports the results of a study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers on the status of hotel occupancy rates in the U.S. for 2003.

Reports that hotel chains are cutting room rates in response to financial troubles related to a decline in tourism. Details of deals available to travelers, such as free occupancy on Sundays and free food for children of guests; Forecast that the financial troubles will last for the foreseeable future; Decision of travelers to reserve rooms later than expected by hotels; Possible negative consequences of these deals, including revenue pressure on hotel chains.

Reports on the possibility of a delay on the recovery of hotel industry in the U.S. due to a war in Iraq according to an analysis by PKF Consulting's hospitality research group in Atlanta, Georgia.

Reports that hotel owners are demanding for a larger share of profits from hotel-management chains.

Reports that Hilton Hotels Corp. is expected to announce a plan to sell off two floors of its landmark hotel in midtown New York City as time share-units. Why time shares are one of the few bright spots in the travel business; Comparison of hotel occupancies with time share development occupancies in places like Orlando, Florida; Question of whether to buy time shares through developers; Marketing strategies.

Reports on Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. LLC, and how the hotel chain plans to open a large number of new hotels in the United States. Comments from Ritz-Carlton president Simon Cooper; Reasons for the rapid expansion; How Ritz-Carlton could lose its luxury status as a result.

Predicts the increase in hotel-room prices in the U.S.

Reports that Ian Schrager is placing a bet on the gambling business, putting down a deposit to buy an aging casino-hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada called the Maxim.

Discusses the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. Details on the lavish decoration of the hotel, which is an oddity in Salt Lake City, where the large percentage of Mormons tend not to spend large amounts of money on lodging; Earl Holding, a petroleum industry billionaire who built the hotel; How the hotel's construction made Salt Lake City an attractive location for the Winter Olympics, which are to be held in the city.

Profiles Mark Patel, a Washington, D.C. hotelier who has seen his business decline dramatically since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. How he built his business as a small but up-scale hotel; His inability to cover expenses due to decreased travel; Efforts to house military personnel to boost revenues.

Reports on the inability of a number of hotels to cover their debt payments from operations due to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Reports on the plans for layoffs in the hotel industry after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Reports on the business condition of the hotel chain Marriott International Inc. in August 2001.

Reports on the efforts of established luxury hotels to update their image. Redesigning efforts at Le Parker Meridien hotel in New York City; Plans of Marriott International Inc. to give its Renaissance chain a more trendy look; Changes made to hotel restaurants including different names, lighting, and menus; Perception that many hotels are decorated to appeal to older customers.

Focuses on the services offered by hotels in the United States for business travelers and their children.

Predicts the decreasing income of the hotel industry in the United States for year 2001.

Discusses the availability of travel bargains in the United States for the summer of 2001. How the travel industry is lowering prices and increasing promotions to compensate for a sharp decline in business travel; Examples of deals found by travelers; Increase in the popularity of discount airlines; Examples of promotions in the hotel and cruise industry.