What the rich love to 'steal' from hotels

According to the August issue of Town & Country magazine, which covers the comings, goings and doings of the rich or wannabe affluent, it's soap.

Not just any old bar, but the name brands found in the sinks and baths of luxury lodgings, such as Acqua di Parma, Bulgari, Hermes and L'Occitane. Now why would people who could buy and sell most of us 10 times over stash those little rectangles and orbs of scented soap into their Louis Vuitton cases instead of just ordering it at home?

Because, writer Vanessa Friedman theorizes, the HSS (Hotel Soap Syndrome) hits guests who think "I deserve it" since they are "paying through the nose to be cosseted." Or there's wanting to take away as much of the pampering experience as possible -- and "toiletries are the portable answer," she writes. Or it simply may be "mere access to a great product that's hard to get."

RELATED:  What happens to used hotel soap?

Let's go from there to the larger issue. Is it "stealing" to take home hotel soap? Some would say the toiletries placed in the room are yours to use or to hoard. It's not as clean-cut as hotel robes, which are clearly not meant to be taken without paying.

Probably nobody would say it's a sin to pack up partly-used bars of fabulous soap, because they can't be used for the next guest. And some would argue that if you get two bars of soap in the room and only use one, you can take the other home. It's interesting that many times when I leave an especially large tip for the housekeeper, she will leave me extra toiletries when there already are enough. Does that say that housekeepers know many people love to take toiletries home?

So let's take a survey to see how readers feel.

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Say 'oui' to Bastille Day and score a Philly hotel deal

Today is Bastille Day, when French celebrate their independence from royalty.

The Sofitel Philadelphia, right downtown, is marking its French heritage and the occasion with a room promotion that's bookable only today. So if you're heading to Philly between now and Sept. 9, you have the chance to get a room at the luxury hotel for two nights for a total of $222, plus state and local taxes. That would bring your total to $255.74.

Yes, it's not cheap, but this is a luxury brand (the one where former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was staying in Manhattan when he made headlines, but that's another story). The Philly Sofitel is No. 4 in popularity on TripAdvisor.

All you have to do is call 215-569-8300 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., ask for reservations and say "Vive Le Sofitel" to get the rate, which is far below the $165 and up nightly you might normally pay. It's not applicable for existing reservations. You also get free Wi-Fi.

Warning: Don't bring your car.

Parking in Philly in notoriously tight, and the hotel charges $41 a night. Is it just me, or does this seem high? My colleague Laura Bly paid $44 at the Westin Copley Place in Boston July 3, which partially negated the joy she felt getting a $144 Hotwire rate over the July Fourth holiday weekend. New York, where space also is at a premium, is famed for skyscraper-high parking rates: Hotel Check-In's Barbara De Lollis found $50 parking (plus a $10 surcharge for SUVs) at the Gansevoort Park Avenue in NYC. What's the highest per-night parking rate you've seen?

P.S.: Just heard from the Philadelphia tourist board and was told of a "Philly Overnight Hotel Package" that involves more than two dozen properties -- including the Sofitel. You get reduced rates on a two-night stay, a teddy bear, and -- more to the point -- free parking. So if you're headed to Philadelphia sometime, click here and see what you can get.

RELATED:  Parking ups the ante at NYC hotel

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Lenny Kravitz tries his hand at hotel design in South Beach

Rocker Lenny Kravitz joins famed hotel designer Philippe Starck to develop a vision for the much-awaited SLS hotel in Miami's South Beach at 17th and Collins Avenue.

SLS is the brainchild of Sam Nazarian, who started as an Los Angeles nightclub operator but with his company "sbe" has been shaking up L.A.'s restaurant and hotel scene. (I'll tell you more about his hotel ambitions when I return from vacation next week.)

The Miami location will mark the second SLS when it opens next March, following the SLS hotel that opened during the recession at the L.A.-Beverly Hills border. Nazarian plans to open a third at some point in Las Vegas on the site of the just-shuttered Sahara.

The inclusion of Kravitz in the South Beach hotel's look gives us an idea of the vibe that Nazarian likes to create at his hotels. He already assembled a list of heavy hitters for the first SLS, who are also involved in the South Beach location:

Starck, who helped create the boutique hotel concept in the mid 1980s with Ian SchragerJosé Andrés, the chef behind the L.A. SLS hotel's popular Bazaar restaurant with a growing national reputationKatsuya Uechi, the sushi chef behind the company's growing Katsuya restaurant chain.

Kravitz's seven-year-old firm Kravitz Design Inc. is tasked with creating an exclusive bungalow and penthouse suite, which could be a hit with the sports teams and athletes, celebrities and others who consider South Beach their playground.

"Lenny is a weapon of massive construction. He is an explosion of all talents, an unlimited boiling bucket of culture, a daily firework, a tireless explorer," Starck says of his friend in sbe's press release.

Kravitz is not just a South Beach vacationer. He's a Miami native who stayed loyal to his hometown after his musical career took off. His firm, by the way, helped invent the concept for the Delano's revamped Florida Room lounge.

The SLS hotel - located across from the Delano, the Schrager-Starck creation that helped put South Beach on the map - will open with the original 132 rooms, plus 10 new luxury bungalow suites near the pool. This property will have a white-on-white palate with color accents from carpeting, stone or artwork.

If the L.A. SLS is any indication, expect whimsical decor and dark lighting that some will embrace and others will shun. The look isn't for everyone, which isn't a bad thing if you ask hoteliers who like to target specific, design-loving customers. (Starwood CEO Frits van Paasschen says this all the time about Starwood's trendy, chic W chain.)

The SLS South Beach, in fact, will likely go head to head with the W South Beach for some individual customers, since it's a much smaller hotel. At the W South Beach, the smallest of its 408 black-and-white-themed rooms can go for $800 a night during peak winter season.

Another sign that the SLS will target the W crowd: A couple of months ago, sbe plucked W South Beach GM (general manager) Albert Mertz to run the SLS South Beach. Mertz had joined the W after running the Raleigh Hotel, which was part of Andre Balazs' luxury hotel group, and also had experience working with the luxury Mandarin Oriental and Ritz-Carlton chains.

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Hotel massage robberies in Chicago

Note to travelers: If two men dressed as women approach you and offer a massage in your hotel room, just say no.

Apparently there has been a rash of massage cons in Chicago. Chicago's Sun-Times reported that an incident involving a police decoy who played a hotel guest resulted in the arrest of two men Thursday. They appeared in court Saturday.

Here's what the story said: that two men posing as masseuses were arrested at the ritzy Four Seasons Hotel Chicago Thursday. The decoy said they offered him a full-body massage, according to the story. But after he took off his clothes and was lying on the bed, they reportedly took a photo of him and threatened to put it online if he didn't cough up more money.

RELATED:  'B-girls' lure unsuspecting visitors in Miami

The two men were arrested (the story didn't have more details about how it happened, presumably the disrobed decoy did not make the arrest), charged with one count each of attempted armed robbery and are due in court Thursday.

The story raises a lot of questions, such as how two guys dressing as women could fool a hotel guest (or maybe the guest was supposed to be into cross-dressers). Apparently this sort of thing has been happening a bit, if police are sending out decoys to foil robberies. At least no one was hurt, as in the famous 2009 "Craigslist" killing, in which a woman who offered up her services for a Boston hotel massage was targeted.

Thoughts?

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Santa Fe-area hotel rates fall in July as wildfire scare lingers

Demand and rates for Santa Fe-area hotels fell sharply in July as raging wildfires that are sweeping through New Mexico have prompted travelers to think twice about visiting the state.

Santa Fe-area hotels are charging 16% less in July than a year ago, the steepest pricing drop among major U.S. markets, according to Hotwire.com's monthly hotel rate report released Wednesday. The report publishes the rates booked on Hotwire.com during the second week of each month.

As USA Today's Laura Bly pointed out late last month, smoke drifting from New Mexico's massive Las Conchas wildfire, which had grown to more than 70,000 acres and forced the evacuation of Los Alamos, an hour's drive away, has sporadically impacted Santa Fe and other nearby communities.

Firefighters have made progress in recent days but fires continue to burn in other parts of the state. Campgrounds, hiking trails and other park lands - have been closed.

Monterey, Calif. is also reporting a downturn in business, with the average room rate of hotels in the area falling 9% from a year ago to $110. "This great coastal vacation destination had many pre-bookings earlier in the year for summer, but tourist flow has quickly fallen, especially now that the recent holiday weekends have passed," the report says.

Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Flagstaff, Ariz. are tied for third place, each with a 5% drop. Flagstaff has been dealing with slow traffic since February and hopes for a summer boost haven't materialized, it says.

Myrtle Beach had a busy summer last year and started off this summer strong, but hasn't been able to sustain the momentum.

Lake Tahoe in California, where hotels are charging 4% less on average than a year ago, rounds out the top five list of destinations with the steepest price drops.

Meanwhile, some top resort destinations that have struggled through the recession and the global financial crisis of 2008 are enjoying greater pricing powers.

Las Vegas tops the nation in room rate recovery with a 23% increase. "More convention bookings and leisure travelers are causing rates to increase in Nevada's most visited area," it says.

Grand Rapids, Mich., where hotels are 24% more expensive than a year ago, comes in second among the cities with the highest room rate increases. The city hosts "some of the world's biggest music acts this month," it says.

San Francisco (20%), New Orleans (14%) and Vancouver (18%) also made the list due to strong convention and group business and returning leisure travelers.

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Business travel spending rises 6.3% in second quarter

Business travel spending totaled $62.2 billion in the second quarter, rising 6.3% from a year ago despite headwinds facing the economic recovery, according to the latest estimate from the Global Business Travel Association.

GBTA, a trade group for corporate travel managers, also estimates business travel spending will grow 6.9% for 2011.

The growth forecast is based on its expectation that the U.S. economic recovery will march on and resist a double-dip recession despite rising oil prices, slowing global growth and shaky consumer confidence. Growing demand will also allow hotels and airlines to boost pricing, it says.

"We've now hit a soft patch in the economic revival, but business travel spend levels tell us the recovery should continue," says Michael McCormick, GBTA's executive director. "Now is the time when companies will absolutely call upon their strategic travel programs to help offset rising costs and keep travelers doing business."

Business travelers can expect higher prices for the rest of the year compared to a year ago, but the rate of increase will be more moderate than earlier in the year, GBTA says. With higher airfares and hotel rates, business travel prices are expected to increase by 4.5% to 5% in 2011.

International travel spending is growing much more quickly than domestic spending, GBTA says. Total spending on trips abroad is estimated to hit $31.8 billion in 2011, a 9.1% increase over 2010.

The same market forces that are causing travel prices to rise for transient business travel will also push group travel spending to $107.2 billion for 2011, a 6.8% increase.

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Caribbean resort pitches for gay honeymoons with 'queen' freebie

A resort on the tiny island of Saba, whose tourist board dubs it the "Unspoiled Queen" of the Caribbean, is hoping to cash in on the gay honeymoon business when New York legalizes gay marriage. And the way it's doing it is by offering a wedding present in the form of a free night.

Lots of destinations and hotels have pitched themselves as perfect honeymoon spots for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples. But Saba's Queen's Gardens Resort is pulling out all the stops.

RELATED:  NYC hopes for tourism boost from gay marriage law

Its "Queen of New York Hearts" honeymoon special offers a free night and a free breakfast in bed at the luxury resort to any newlyweds with a New York marriage certificate. The offer is valid through Dec. 15, and certificates must be dated on or after July 24, when the new marriage law is scheduled to take effect. And a couple must stay at least four nights.

No discrimination here: Hetero newlyweds are welcome, too.

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Sun and Associated Press recently reported that Sin City's Convention and Visitors Authority is looking into whether it will market itself as a gay honeymoon destination.

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