Thailand, air/15 nights, from $1,795
Round-trip international airfare, a local flight, 15 nights' accommodations, and no single supplement, from $1,795 per person?plus taxes of $90-$150, depending on departure city.

Inauguration hotel frenzy spreads
Hotels in Washington area sold out, and inauguration attendees are turning to Baltimore, Richmond and even Philadelphia for accommodations during the partying surrounding the swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama.

Geek Hotels Pass the Nerd Test
: Photo: scottroberts/Flickr Whether your fantasy hotel is a Star Wars -style cave dwelling or a Hobbit hole in New Zealand, specialty accommodations around the world will fulfill your nerdy needs. Other hotels geek out with crazy gear, from Apple- and Microsoft-themed suites to virtual golf courses. And while WiFi has become a common hotel offering, a high-tech hotel in the Middle ...

Kalamazoo commission approves gay-rights ordinance
KALAMAZOO --The city of Kalamazoo has stepped beyond existing state and federal laws, making it illegal to use sexual orientation to discriminate in housing, public accommodations and employment. The Kalamazoo City Commission voted 7-0 Monday night to adopt an expanded...

Interfaith shelter gets intake center
As the nights get longer and colder, the Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing is preparing to once again provide accommodations for the city?s homeless men. The shelter, which operates at one of six area churches on a rotating basis throughout the winter, opened Dec. 1.

Kalamazoo City Commission unanimously approves gay-rights ordinance
KALAMAZOO -- The city of Kalamazoo has stepped beyond existing state and federal laws, making it illegal to use sexual orientation to discriminate in housing, public accommodations and employment. The Kalamazoo City Commission voted 7-0 Monday night to adopt an...

Kalamazoo, MI City Commission unanimously approves gay-rights law
The city of Kalamazoo has stepped beyond existing state and federal laws, making it illegal to use sexual orientation to discriminate in housing, public accommodations and employment.

Online air travel searches down sharply
CHICAGO, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. consumers have cut back drastically on their online searches for air travel accommodations, an industry research group said.

Holiday Inn eyed for Loma Linda
LOMA LINDA - Visitors won't have to look outside the city to find major hotel accommodations much longer. The city is moving forward with plans for a 111-room Holiday Inn on Redlands Boulevard east of Anderson Street.

Challenging times continue for majority of the OTAs
Consumers in the US have "cut back drastically on their online searches for air travel accommodations". According to Comscore Inc., searches for airline information in October fell 14 percent compared with October 2007.

A Microsoft Veteran Embraces Open Source
Keith Curtis has just written a book about the future of software. That in itself isn?t unique. More unusual is that Mr. Curtis, an 11-year veteran of Microsoft, the world?s largest software company, believes deeply that open source is the future of software.

In and around the parish
OPELOUSAS - A trip to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration will depart from Opelousas on Jan. 17 and return to Opelousas on Jan. 21. The cost is $600 and covers transportation (chartered bus) and hotel accommodations at Westgate Resorts. Deadline is Dec. 20 and 40 people are needed. No refunds.

Business, Innovation, Technology, Society
On Wednesday, companies and organizations can register Web addresses with a new top-level domain, .tel. The new domain, which stores and encrypts contact information directly into the Domain Name System, has the potential to become a phone book for the Internet.

Hotel Charlotte mixes regional cuisine, history
(Peter G. Gilchrist) Hotel Charlotte 705 S. Sharon Amity Road; (704) 364-8755; Lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner, 5:30-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5:30-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. www.hotelcharlotte restaurant.com No, Hotel Charlotte does not offer overnight accommodations (it is not an actual hotel), but it does provide casual dining to south-central ...

Winter 'flashpackers' prepare to invade hostels
Skier Paul Wampach, a 49-year-old manager from Chicago, Illinois, hardly matches the stereotype of a hostel dweller: an under-30 backpacker from outside the United States who can't afford fancy lodging.

Burger Boat begins work on 140-foot yacht
MANITOWOC Burger Boat Co. has started construction of Hull 508, a 140-foot tri-deck motor yacht. Scheduled for a spring 2010 launch, the luxury yacht features accommodations for 10 in the owners party.

Shlachter, Perotin, Fuquay & Co.: Posh accommodations for pets
While you go home for the holidays, Mansfield-area pets can go to a home away from home for the holidays.

Online air travel searches down sharply
U.S. consumers have cut back drastically on their online searches for air travel accommodations, an industry research group said.Comscore Inc. said searches for airline information in October -- a time when many winter vacations are arranged -- fell 14 percent compared with October 2007, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.Online traffic declined sharply at Expedia Inc., falling 25 percent in ...

Hotels hope to cash in on inauguration
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Demand for rooms for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration led some Washington-area inns to hike prices and minimum stays, disgruntled customers said.

Cosmic Log: Rocket rides for sale
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: A brand-new travel agency is selling front-row seats on an XCOR Aerospace rocket plane that will soar more than halfway to outer space.