"The survey results are right in line with what we've seen in the past with attempted attacks and changes in security protocols," said NBTA President Craig Banikowski. "These incidents prompt a lot of important discussion and analysis but don't significantly alter corporate travel patterns, because travel is the lifeblood of so many businesses."
A 'hybrid' hotel
With the growing popularity of hybrid cars today, is it any wonder that a Japanese company has opened a "hybrid" hotel in Torrance, sandwiched between the U.S. headquarters for Honda and Toyota?
Kintetsu Corp. opened the Miyako Hybrid Hotel in December with an eye toward serving Japanese business travelers who visit the two auto manufacturing headquarters.
By now most Americans know the definition of a hybrid car. But a hybrid hotel?
The 208-room hotel -- the first Miyako hybrid and one of only four Miyako hotels in the U.S., including one in downtown Los Angeles -- is called a "hybrid" because the hotel strives to be energy efficient, with 97 rooftop solar panels, providing about 5% of the hotel's energy. The shampoo bottles in the bathrooms are biodegradable, the hot water comes from tankless water heaters, and even the staff uniforms are made from recycled material.
To save energy, a device near the front door of every room turns off the lights, heating and air conditioning when a guest removes a room key from the gadget.
But the name also reflects the attempt to combine the amenities of a Japanese corporate hotel and an American boutique hotel.
The hotel bathrooms feature deep-soak, 79-gallon bathtubs with adjacent showers, and toilets with heated seats. When the hotel's Ganban-Yoku spa opens next month, it will offer bedrock baths, in which guests lie on heated mineral stones to detoxify and rejuvenate the skin.
Of course, the hotel also serves the love of technology that Americans and Japanese share. Each room provides iPod docking stations, free wireless Internet and flat-screen TVs that range from 46 to 52 inches.
Said hotel manager Cherie Davis: "What we are trying to do is combine East and West cultures."
hugo.martin@latimes.com
