Especially given the current domestic recession, many brands are looking to add franchisees or build new hotels overseas.

Hotel Indigo makes strides toward clarifying what the brand represents; H&MM tours new Staybridge Suites room prototypes created by art and design students; and Holiday Inn's Keycard Hotel was on display. BY SENIOR EDITOR JASON Q. FREED

Atlanta's first "in-town resort" opens in the heart of Buckhead.

Build your biz: Get value out of your advertising agency; Loews Hotels' Jonathan Tisch on the power of sports travel; Promotion of the Week: Best Western

Peter Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Ypartnership, spoke and led a panel at Wyndham's 2009 Owners' and General Managers' Conference. He always provides new insights or a different perspective on the industry, and I often agree with him, but one of the points he hit on today seems a bit counterintuitive.

At both the Super 8 and Days Inn brand conferences, the franchisees seemed most abuzz about the new TV commercials each brand is planning. Personally, I got the biggest kick out of them too. I liked how each ad incorporated what I consider the two most successful commercial conventions - the comical mascot and the catchy song.

I admit it. I am a slave to points. If you offer me a way to earn them, I promise I will excel at it. I’ll focus on a goal to reach, horde them until I meet it and then relish in my “purchase” that I like to view as having come free of charge (kind of).

Lexington, Mass.-There's a lot of talk about eco-friendly hotels and how to know whether a property is green or just greenwashed.

When I started college 14 short years ago, my archaic e-mail inbox was filled with forwarded “humor” lists (100 Ways to tell you’re stuck in the ‘80s),

A new M.B.A. campaign teaches the value of a night's stay and offers up official Major League Baseball merchandise and tickets.