The National Business Travel Association hotel committee for the first time is taking action to address rate loading lapses. The committee plans to release on Sept. 15 a detailed timeline that buyers can use to ensure hotels remain on track. That date was chosen because it is early enough in the 2005 rate negotiating season [...]

When urban dwellers think of hotel-condos, they usually imagine sky-high city apartments that come with daily maid service, mints on pillows and the option to order chilled champagne for delivery at any hour.
More often though, hotel-condos are proliferating into mid-size and smaller cities across the nation and, in some cases, transforming the places where [...]

During the past six years, South Florida’s landscape shifted from low-slung homes to condominiums hundreds of feet high. As the buildings reached skyward, so did prices, topping seven figures for the more luxurious digs.
Today, though, the meteoric rise of condo development is on the verge of crashing down to earth.
The seemingly unstoppable juggernaut has [...]

The lobby has been remodeled, the building’s exterior painted and model condo units readied for show.
But sales have been slower than expected at 500 N — the former Bridgeway Towers housing complex that’s been converted from mostly apartments to for-sale condos.
Just 20 of the 123 available units have been sold since March when a sales [...]

The old strip swells at nightfall with waves of love, lust and laughter — a ritual of youth that has endured 50 summers by the sea.
Sunburnt teenagers cruise Ocean Boulevard, awash in flashing neon and surging hormones. Music blares from cars clogging the four-lane strip.
The Myrtle Beach Pavilion looms at the heart of the [...]

Jacksonville Beach, with its firm, sandy bottom and moderate surf, is ideal for learning. Summer and early fall are ideal for beginners, before the stronger seas of winter kick up.
Jax Beach has a funky, older, party-beach feel about it, though a recent face-lift has also given it nice parks and plazas as well as beach [...]

Flip through Jody Walker’s family photo album, and you’ll see plenty of kids poised atop carousel horses and playing at The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park.
The candid pictures are mixed among photos of weddings, birthday parties and other major milestones, showcasing a place that has become like a part of the family.
“My youngest daughter is [...]

You can get great bargains to the Caribbean, Florida and other southeastern destinations in late summer. But what if a hurricane disrupts your vacation? Ask in advance about refund policies, and consider buying trip-cancellation insurance.
Cruises may reroute ships to avoid hurricanes, and they do not usually offer refunds — even when passengers who expected to [...]

Looking for a sport none of your neighbors have tried? How about kiteboarding? It’s exactly what it sounds like: A huge kite pulls a wakeboard or snowboard across water or snow.
“Northern Exposure” camps at Broneah Kiteboarding in Traverse City continue weekends through Sept. 9-10; it’s $499 plus lodging (231-392-2212 or www.broneah.com).

What are you doing with your extra weeks of summer? A new law that takes effect this year prevents school from starting until after Labor Day, creating more opportunities for family vacation.
Among events to check out: Seafood Festival in Marquette Thursday-Saturday; Houghton County Fair Thursday-Aug. 27; Emmett-Charlevoix County Fair today through Aug. 27; Mackinac Island [...]

Mongolians are eagerly awaiting a visit this week by the Dalai Lama, although details of the revered Buddhist leader’s travel plans remained secret amid concerns over likely protests from China.
The Tibetan spiritual leader was to arrive Monday in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, almost four years after his last visit, which China condemned as part [...]

Yamhill County is a sweet sip of Oregon’s natural beauty.
Green vines stripe its hillsides, and farmlands blanket its valley. Wineries that produce legendary pinot noir sprinkle the hills. And the sweeping landscape is largely uninterrupted because of long-standing state laws that protect agricultural land.
It’s a sigh-inducing sight that businessman David Kahn wants to share.
Kahn plans [...]