In one of my final duties for our In Your Shoes program at the Mystic Marriott (Conn.), I turned my back on my journalistic roots and went on a few sales calls.

Determined to reinvent itself as a small, tight-knit community with big-city amenities, Pittsburgh was early to adopt sustainability as a foundation for progressive growth. Needless to say, hotels in the area have followed suit.

Hoteliers along the Gulf Coast are ramping up marketing efforts to summer travelers, noting most beach destinations are squeaky clean. Some organizations expect BP to pitch in.

The Revenue Management & Internet Marketing Strategy Conference will discuss the latest trends and best practices on June 21, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

Hospitality businesses affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are now eligible to receive three months of free business listing and vacation rental subscriptions.

In the Caribbean, where airlift is so critical and directly tied to occupancy, hoteliers live and die by the fortunes of airlines. That's why so much of this week's discussion at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference has centered around both international and regional air networks.

According to survey results released in the Trends in the Hotel Industry report, the average U.S. hotel suffered a 35.4-percent decline in profits in 2009. This is the greatest annual fall-off in the bottom line since PKF-HR began tracking the industry in the 1930s.

The Internet is turning shopping for hotels into a true consumer retail experience. In many respects, consumers use the Internet like a grocery store for hotels: going up and down the aisles looking at products, brands, packaging, prices, offers, etc., from which they make their selection.

A Travelhorizons study predicts where demand for business will come from in the first half of 2010.

According to a hotel internet marketing study by Cornell assistant professor Chris K. Anderson, the "billboard effect" of online marketing increases both reservation levels and average daily rate.