Hotels

Suicide bombers struck almost simultaneously at three landmark Baghdad hotels Monday, killing 37 people, nearly half of them after a shootout between security guards and militants outside the residence of several major Western news organizations. The midafternoon attacks -- which authorities quickly blamed on Al Qaeda associates and loyalists of the Baath Party that ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein -- echoed three large-scale suicide bombings last year in which assailants' coordinated strikes sowed panic and chaos in the capital.

The newest downtown hotel complex buzzed with activity this week as carpenters, electricians and gardeners hustled to put the finishing touches on the $970-million skyscraper that rises over the Los Angeles Convention Center and the L.A. Live entertainment center. But when the glass-sheathed tower that houses the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels opens next month, it will face one of the worst slumps in years for the hospitality business. Hotel foreclosures in California more than quadrupled last year as business travelers and vacationers cut back spending and commercial real estate values sank, forcing owners into default.

With the summer pool season approaching, a battle is brewing between advocates for disabled Americans and hotel owners over how to make public swimming pools more accessible to people with disabilities. At the center of the dispute is a new regulation that requires hotels and recreation centers that operate public pools and spas to install or order permanent lifts - costing between $2,500 and $6,500 each, plus installation - by May 21. The requirement also can be satisfied by pool ramps, which are much more expensive.

  Business owners and others who have long complained that companies are overburdened by state regulations say a proposal now moving through the Legislature shows that lawmakers have lost all touch with reality: It would require that hotels use fitted sheets. "We are now going to make it a crime in California not to use a fitted sheet? Really?" state Sen. Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) asked during a debate before the Senate passed the measure in June. The bill, one of nearly 900 awaiting final action in the Legislature when it returns Monday from a monthlong recess, is intended to address back injuries sustained by hotel housekeepers.

If wine tasting won't lure you to Napa, maybe a film festival and hotel deal will. The Napa Valley Film Festival and the city of Napa have teamed with 22 of the area's hotels, inns and B&Bs to offer lodging and festival pass savings for those attending the annual event Nov. 7-11.  All participating hotels are offering a discounted room rate when booked for a four-night stay; deals vary according to the lodging, but the discount can be...

A trio of run-down, century-old hotels in downtown Los Angeles was sold to developers who hope to clean them up and make them attractive to young artistic types. A partnership called Bristol 423 bought the Baltimore, King Edward and Leland hotels at a bankruptcy auction for $9.8 million, real estate broker Matt Case of Madison Partners said. The hotels around 5th and Los Angeles streets were built between 1904 and 1910, when Southern Pacific Railroad's nearby station on Alameda Street was a key point of entry to the city, downtown historian Greg Fischer said.

Mac users who search for hotels on the Orbitz online booking service are initially directed to more expensive hotels than PC users, Orbitz acknowledged last week. Orbitz defended the practice, saying the travel search engine is simply showing users what it thinks they prefer. Orbitz Chief Executive Barney Harford said data collected by Orbitz shows that Mac users were 40% more likely than PC users to book four- or five-star hotels. "That is just one of many factors that determine which hotels to recommend a given customer as part of our effort to show customers the most relevant hotels possible," Harford said in an email.

Hundreds of hotel workers rallied along the Sunset Strip on Friday, warning Los Angeles-area employers that they would not accept pay cuts, reduced benefits or other givebacks. "We should be earning more, not less," said Morena Hernandez, a maid at the Andaz, the upscale hostelry that was targeted in Friday's protest. "We can't afford a cut in benefits." The noisy but peaceful protest organized by Local 11 of Unite Here took place on the narrow sidewalk in front of the Andaz, formerly the West Hollywood Hyatt, which reopened in January after Hyatt refurbished the property.

Here's another sign that the economy is stronger: Several major hotel chains are significantly raising the number of loyalty reward points needed to book a free room. It's a simple matter of supply and demand, said Joe Brancatelli, who writes an online column on business travel. An improving economy has spurred more travel, prompting hotels to raise rates. “Demand is up so they can charge more,” he said of hotels that are adjusting their reward points. Most of the hotel chains are adopting the point hikes by shifting hotels to a higher tier in the program.

Washington, D.C.,l seemed far too quiet Thursday for a city on the brink of what's supposed to be a big street-jamming people party that happens every four years when a president is sworn into office. President Obama will take the oath of office Monday on Capitol Hill and dance at two inaugural balls in the evening. But the excitement and crowds have yet to materialize. The National Gallery of Art's east and west wings were empty Thursday afternoon, as were the Renwick Gallery opposite the White House and the American Art Museum / National Portrait Gallery too. The temporary White House Visitor Center at the Ellipse, just steps from the president's home, had three visitors around 2 p.m. And no one seemed to be grabbing up presidential trinkets from street vendors either.