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A LAWSUIT FILED in federal court in Washington state alleges that STR, owned by commercial real estate information researcher CoStar Group, along with several major hotel companies conspired to inflate luxury hotel rates. The seven individuals named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit seek to make it a class-action filing on behalf of every person who stayed at the defendants' hotels from February 2020 until the present for an unspecified amount. CoStar and hotel companies including IHG Hotel & Resorts, Marriott International and Hyatt Hotels Corp., entered an exchange of "competitively-sensitive information about their prices, supply, and future plans" in violation of the antitrust provisions of the Sherman Act, according to the lawsuit. STR and most of the other defendants in the suit did not respond to requests for comment in time for this article, but a spokesperson for IHG said the company could not comment on pending litigation. "Teddy Roosevelt passed the antitrust laws to prevent titans of industry from price fixing in smoke-filled rooms," Steve Berman, the plaintiffs' lead attorney told Reuters, calling the defendants' conduct the "modern equivalent." The alleged price fixing happened in major cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. The lawsuit focuses on STR's "Forward STAR" product that was expanded into many of those markets in April after launching 17 of the country's 25 largest hotel markets, including Las Vegas, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston and Phoenix.

SALEM, OREGON, RECENTLY changed its plan to use transient lodging tax funds for library funding gaps. AAHOA and the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association have been closely monitoring the municipality's attempts to divert the protected revenue from its intended purpose, promoting tourism. Instead, the city will use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Hotel taxes diverted from tourism could diminish funding for year-round visitor attraction efforts, AAHOA said in a statement. "AAHOA and ORLA were proactive in ensuring appropriate use of the transient lodging tax in the city of Salem," said Taran Patel, AAHOA's Northwest regional director. "This is a great example of the importance of AAHOA members being active in advocacy at the local levels of government."

STR FILED A motion to dismiss a lawsuit that claims it, along with several major hotel companies conspired to inflate luxury hotel rates. The research firm said in the motion that the seven individuals named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit failed to show a knowing conspiracy to fix prices through STR's "Forward STAR" program in violation of federal antitrust laws. The lawsuit, filed in February in federal court in Washington state, alleges that STR, owned by commercial real estate information researcher CoStar Group, and hotel companies including IHG Hotel & Resorts, Marriott International and Hyatt Hotels Corp., entered an exchange of "competitively-sensitive information about their prices, supply, and future plans" in violation of the antitrust provisions of the Sherman Act, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs seek to make it a class-action filing on behalf of every person who stayed at the defendants' hotels from February 2020 until the present for an unspecified amount. However, STR's motion claims it fails to provide evidence of any illegal actions and is mistakenly part of a current legal trend.

WYNDHAM REWARDS RECENTLY announced the three finalists for the mural project at Gillespie Golf Course in Greensboro, North Carolina. The selected artists are Vincent Ballentine from Brooklyn, New York; Raman Bhardwaj from Greensboro, North Carolina; and Abel Jackson from Charlotte, North Carolina. A committee of key community figures and organizations chose these finalists from over 50 nationwide applicants, Wyndham said in a statement. The project aims to honor the Greensboro Six, a group of Black men who, in 1955, played golf at the whites-only Gillespie course, the statement said. Their act of defiance against segregation occurred just a week after Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. The Greensboro Six were arrested, convicted of trespassing, and spent 15 days in jail. Their actions and subsequent court cases eventually led to the desegregation of Gillespie Golf Course. In 1961, the Greater Greensboro Open (now the Wyndham Championship) became the first PGA Tour event in the South to welcome a Black player, Charlie Sifford.

What goes on behind the stage of first homegrown theatrical spectacular? RWS Facebook fans were treated to an exclusive Fans Special before Voyage de la Vie takes its final curtain call on 16 July!

So you've always wanted to play Freddy Kreuger from 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series. Or perhaps a horror movie scream queen is your thing. But there's a problem - before your big break to make your presence felt this Halloween, you must pass this thing called the auditions.

India tours southern states namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu attract numerous national and international tourists throughout the year as they offer a plethora of extremely beautiful India travel destinations like temples, backwaters, hill stations, beaches and forests. Additionally the union territories of Southern India i.e. Pondicherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar also act as tourist hotspots due to the presence of exotic landscapes in these places. Therefore visiting peninsular India will give you plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with its beautiful nature and diverse cultures.

Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), also known as Katunayake International Airport or Colombo International Airport, is located in the town of Katunayake to the north of Colombo. Serving six million passengers a year, it acts as a hub for Sri Lankan Airlines and serves British Airways, AirAsia, Indian Airlines, Condor, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates and Jet Airways.

Sarasota Bradenton International airport, located three miles away from Sarasota County in Florida, US, acts as a gateway to the south-west Gulf coast of Florida. The airport is spread over approximately 1,100 acres and most its property including half of Airside B, runways and taxiways, three fixed base operators (FBOs) and certain other lands are located in Manatee County.

As soon as the REAL ID act gets fully implemented, US citizens, residents, and visitors will need to show a REAL ID compliant document in order to go through TSA security at the airport or enter a secure Federal building. The Enhanced Driver's Licenses (EDLs) are designed to prove the bearer's identity and citizenship, and can be used for all REAL ID purposes, like a passport book or passport card when traveling between the US and Canada and contain an RFID chip.

If you are frequent travelers, and running low on your US passport pages, we recommend you to request additional passport pages. The specific reason behind it the additional pages service will be discontinued at the end of 2015. Although the US State Department has not yet put out a formal announcement but many media outlets reported the same. The time is to act now, have pages added to your passport if you still have several years of validity or renew passport by requesting a large 52 page book at no additional costs.

The Hummel LNG Hybrid barge is the world's first environmentally friendly hybrid liquified natural gas (LNG) barge built by Becker Marine Systems. The vessel is a floating power plant providing clean and efficient cold ironing power to cruise ships. It also acts as a backup power bank to the local electric and power grid.

Passport Alert!! Your passport is in risk, if you are in IRS list of debtors. A new law will allow the US State Department to refuse to issue US passports to individuals with "seriously delinquent" tax bills in excess of $50,000. Even, the State Department is authorized to revoke previously issued passports if the bearer is on the IRS list of debtors! So, if you were not paying your taxes from a while, pay them as soon as possible, in order to be able to fly internationally. In case, you haven't applied for a passport yet, apply with a passport expeditor to get an expedited passport.

Passport Alert!! Your passport is in risk, if you are in IRS list of debtors. A new law will allow the US State Department to refuse to issue US passports to individuals with "seriously delinquent" tax bills in excess of $50,000. Even, the State Department is authorized to revoke previously issued passports if the bearer is on the IRS list of debtors! So, if you were not paying your taxes from a while, pay them as soon as possible, in order to be able to fly internationally. In case, you haven't applied for a passport yet, apply with a passport expeditor to get an expedited passport.

Kufri is a beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh where numerous honeymooners visit every year for some moments of peace.

Unparalleled comfort and assured safety could be experienced with our luxury Tempo Traveller service in Amritsar. Whether you are on a sacred voyage to pay your respect to the golden temple of Amritsar or on a way to treat yourself with mouthwatering kulche on the streets of this bustling crowd, we are here with our GPS laced autos with sound system and lush modern amenities which is redefined by our experienced professional drivers who acts as a guide to you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN'S STATE of the Union address before Congress on March 7 touched on several issues hotel industry associations have been advocating for a while. AAHOA and the American Lodging and Hotel Association both issued responses to the speech and AAHOA held its 2024 Spring National Advocacy Conference during the week of March 14. The issues at hand include the extension of tax credits, handling of junk fees for greater disclosure and transparency and raising the federal minimum wage. During SNAC, more than 200 AAHOA leaders and members spent two days in Washington, D.C. The conference opened with a legislative learning session at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, followed by an evening Congressional Reception at the Cannon House Office Building and then a full day of Congressional meetings. "Each year we continue to see the relationships grow between our AAHOA Members and their elected officials," said Laura Lee Blake, AAHOA president and CEO. "Our twice-yearly advocacy conferences are quickly becoming the foundation for shaping and driving national policy, and our members are making it happen."