The latest entry in the increasingly crowded hotel search engine category, DealAngel last month launched a public beta. Its differentiator, as described by co-founders Roman Peskin and Bob Rogers, is that it ranks hotels by absolute value, not absolute price. Read More »

The hotel request for proposal died a brief death here last week, and there were few mourners. Read More »

TripIt plans on Wednesday to launch a feature that suggests hotels to travelers after they book their flights and enables them to book rooms. Read More »

Lanyon recently received a patent on its process for auditing hotel rates and availability, approved without restrictions by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Lanyon chief commercial officer Mike Boult this week spoke with The Beat's Michael B. Baker about why Lanyon sought the patent and what it intends to do now that it has been rewarded. Read More »

A new hotel booking tool launched last month monitors rates after reservations are made and rebooks should they drop. Read More »

Hyatt Hotels Corp. by year-end plans to begin issuing automated responses to electronic requests for proposals for meetings, using technology currently under internal development. The company also is moving corporate transient revenue management from a third-party provider to its internal system, senior vice president of sales Jack Horne told The Beat. Read More »

Global distribution system firms in the coming years will remain part of hoteliers' distribution strategies, and the most recent data shows they accounted for a growing share of all U.S. hotel bookings last year, according to a distribution channel study by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and STR. Read More »

BackBid co-founder and executive vice president of marketing Chris Patridge recently spoke with The Beat's Michael B. Baker about the site's development, growth trajectory and implications for business travelers, including those in managed programs. Read More »

Donald Trump is never one to shy away from the media spotlight, but in recent weeks, he's been trying to share some of those figurative photons with his four-year-old Trump Hotel Collection. Read More »

Hotel company chief executives said they view the recently launched Roomkey.com booking site as a chance to regain control of their inventories, although a few around the industry questioned whether the effort might be too far behind the curve to be successful. Read More »